Gabb Watch 3 Smart Watch for Kids - New Software Upgrade, GPS Tracker, Safe Cell Phone, Talk and Text Ability, Parental Controls, No Social Media Apps, SOS Button, Ages 6 Plus, 30 Activation Fee

We purchased the Gabb 3 watch on November 10, 2023, from Amazon as a big gift for my son's birthday. We started using the watch on November 23 and it operated reasonably well for approximately 2 weeks. We were able to set it up with little trouble, although the setup directions are different than the instructions that come with the watch, so the process takes some trouble-shooting and effort. My son was able to use it to make calls and send texts. While it was functioning, we noticed that the location tracking was at times wildly inaccurate (for example, it would show him still at school miles away for several hours after he got home) and at most other times was just delayed (showed him at a friend's house a few blocks away about 30 minutes after he came home). The other minor problem we had at this point was that the access limits (i.e., limiting calls and texting after bedtime) simply were no longer recognized and worked only randomly. We tried deleting the settings and resetting them, but it did not make a difference. The battery lifetime allowed it to operate for about 1 full day without extensive use (just simply having it on), so we got in the habit of just charging it every night. But these were minor concerns, as the watch eventually became completely unusable. On December 9, we received an email from Gabb stating that Gabb 3 watches were experiencing issues with screens going blank, and the company presumably pushed hardware updates to the watches because our son's watch reset itself multiple times across a couple of days. Later that same day, we received another email from Gabb stating that they had solved the issues. We did not experience the blank screen issue, but my son's watch continued resetting itself over and over again and we were now unable to keep the screen on for more than about half a second up to a second, regardless of the screen time-out limit that was set (the shortest is actually supposed to be about 10 seconds). We could navigate to the upgrade window if we worked very fast, and we were able to make sure the firmware was fully updated. However, the behavior is now consistently the same. We charge it to 100% and boot it up (we don't even both to remove it from the charger now). The screen will not stay on past about 1 second and it will reboot itself over and over again for maybe up to about 20 times. Of course, it is unable to be used for calls or texts while it is in this cycle. Eventually it displays a screen that says it cannot load the Android system. The options are to "try again", which starts the same reset process over again, or factory reset. I tried contacting Gabb many times during the business hours listed on their website and every time it returned an automated response stating that their technical team is overwhelmed with calls from their "busiest season" and then it hangs up. There is no option to leave a message. I tried the chat function during business hours on a Saturday and a representative joined the chat 12 minutes after I started it. I followed their instructions to factory reset the watch and start completely from scratch. The watch was now unable to even connect to my phone, so it remains 100% unusable. The technician, Israel, said he was "elevating" my case and that I would receive an email with further instructions on Monday. On Tuesday, I did receive an email asking me to send pictures of the front and the back of the watch, which I did. I immediately received an auto-response with the subject line "Closing Request due to Holiday Influx", stating that "Due to the current influx of customer interactions due to our current Holiday Promotions and Sales, our agents are not going to be able to answer your email in a timely manner." The email includes links for further help and states that if my issue isn't resolved by these articles, feel free to reach out through the phone number (which Gabb no longer answers) or the live chat. There is an option under my account to request a replacement for a faulty watch, which only tells me that the watch is not under warranty, which I find fascinating since I just bought it just 2 months and 1 week ago. So, I tried contacting them through chat 1 week after my original chat with them, and an agent responded after a 41-minute wait. This agent, however, merely requested that I try to factory reset the watch. After explaining to them that I had already done that multiple times with their own support people, I asked if they could pull up my account, tell me what further action was needed since I had already sent the pictures in, and how I could get the faulty watch replaced. At that point, the agent referenced me to the technical support line (which is no longer answered) and ended the chat. It was apparent that the chat agents are not allowed to deviate from their script of telling people to do the factory reset process. Meanwhile, after reading reviews from customers who had experiences nearly identical to mine, I learned that Gabb is still answering their sales line even though they do not answer their technical line. Sure enough, I was able to get someone at that number to answer after sitting on hold for 36 minutes. This person was able to pull up notes on my current situation and the photos that I had sent in. She finally agreed that Gabb would replace the watch at no additional cost, that Gabb would pay for me to ship the watch back to them, and that my 12-month contract would not be extended or changed, but she needed approval from her supervisor and put me on hold. I was on hold for 26 minutes, only to be told that Gabb would not replace the watch since it was purchased through Amazon, but they would certainly sell me another watch for $150, which was about twice what I paid for it since it was on sale during the holidays.There is obviously no way I am going to throw another $150 away for another faulty product, so we are returning this watch to Amazon and preparing for the fight of trying to get out of a contract for a watch that worked for a span of 2 weeks and that we no longer own. Judging by the complaints listed for this company at the Better Business Bureau going back months, this is going to be a challenge.

UPDATE 01/05/24 - Since writing this review Gabb reached out and informed me of updates available to the watch and battery saving tips. After installing the update, we found the GPS tracking to be vastly improved. The GPS updates itself every so often, or on demand if I hit the "Locate" button. In addition, the battery life has been greatly extended. It's gone over 20 hours on one charge. Leaving Wi-Fi on is a huge battery drain, and Wi-Fi only needs to be on if you are downloading updates. All other times it can be off, which I did not realize. The wireless charging has also improved - I am able to charge the watch on the wireless charger with the watch on, which I was unable to do before.I think we were one of the early buyers of the Gabb Watch 3 (November 2023), and there may have been some gaps in the new product. While we were initially disappointed with some of the expected features (as reported in my initial review), I was pleased with Gabb's attention to customer feedback, their willingness to troubleshoot problems, and working to improve their tech and products. Speaking of, on the next update, I hope Gabb considers removing the "delete text" option on the watch :)-----We got the watch to be able to communicate with and GPS track the location our daughter, because of after school activities and sports events. We paid full price for the watch and signed a 2 year contract. The first two weeks of use the parent app could NEVER locate the watch. Went a full 24 hours of "Unable to locate" the watch, even though it was sitting in my house with perfect Verizon coverage. I contacted customer service, and after a lengthy process, I had to do a full reboot. Since then the location tracking has been spotty - working maybe 50% of the time. The other times it says it either cannot locate the watch, or give the wrong position of the watch (saying it's in the safe zone Home instead of School).The calling and texting features have worked fine. The voice to text is especially handy and makes it easy for her to respond quickly. One thing I don't understand is why the user/child can delete text messages on the watch. I wish the texts would show up on parental dashboard or account or be unable to be deleted off the watch.The wireless charging has been spotty, too. I will put the watch on the charger, it vibrates and lights up with Charging screen, and when I come back a couple hours later the battery charge has not changed, and sometimes has even dropped. It only seems to consistently charge well when the watch is completely off, but who wants to keep turning their watch on/off everyday?!Since one of the main reasons we got the watch was for communication, I am satisfied with that part of the functionality, but to sell GPS tracking as a main feature and not have it work consistently is a big disappointment. It has been as much of a hassle as it has been a help, and I wish we did not sign a 2 year contract. We're stuck with regular frustrations for the foreseeable future.

This is awful. They sold this way before it was ready. I had zero issues with the original watch, but have had nothing but problems with the 3. The “super strong” screen cracked within a week of normal use with no idea of how it happened. Got a screen protector on it as soon as I noticed. Then that same watch stopped working all together only a week or two later. Wouldn’t turn on, and kept saying error, please reset. Sent it back for a new one. Had to redo everything, they made me start a new contract saying it was an upgrade, even though it wasn’t, it was just replacing with the same exact thing that will hopefully actually work?? The cloud is supposed to save all the contacts, it didn’t. It’s the biggest pain in the butt to set up. Finally got it set. Only a month later of seldom use due to school break, and it’s a piece of crap. Won’t hold a charge. It sits on the charger all night and I’ll get alerts at 2am that it’s dying and needs to charge soon. I take it on and off, it says it’s charging, then A couple hours later I get an alert that it’s powered off. Go turn it on, it says 80% battery. So why did it power off like it was dead. Then you can’t get it out of the Home Screen to text or call, it goes black and back to the Home Screen. Restart it again and it seems to work. Send it in his backpack to school at 80%. Comes home later after it’s been in his backpack all day and it’s at 15% after no use. I’m done with it, and going back to the old one that we thankfully saved. Wish I would have read reviews before hand, cause it’s a common issue. And their support is on hold for hours, I’m sure because of all the people dealing with these same issues. I emailed about it last month and just get a reply that they’re closing my request due to the influx from the new release. So no idea how to even deal with it. Thank heavens Amazon is good with returns.