UPDATE: Tech founder denied airplane boarding after smart ring battery swells up and gets stuck on his finger: 'This is... not good'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Oct 1, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

There are many reasons you might miss a flight, but a malfunctioning smart ring is quite an unexpected one. 

Have you ever seen a smart ring up close? Unless you look closely, you can't even tell that a person is wearing a smart ring, since they look pretty similar to regular jewelry. They're also not quite as ubiquitous as smart watches, which have become quite commonplace. People wear those to answer texts without taking their phone from their pocket, or for tracking their bio stats, or just for the stylishness of such a device. 

Other people choose to wear smart rings. Although you can't take a phone call on these things, they're great if you want to track your biometric data, like seeing how many minutes you're sleeping each night. 

This dude's smart watch totally malfunctioned, and unlike a smart watch, which could just be unhooked, he couldn't even remove this thing from his finger! That's pretty scary — to watch the battery of your smart ring swell up, trapping your finger, is an event worthy of live-tweeting. Check out the whole saga below, including people's reactions, as well as the aftermath (since this guy did, unfortunately, have to miss his flight). 

Up next, read about one Long Island-based sports coach who is tired of the parents of 7-year-olds overreacting to their children's sporting performances: 'Why are the Moms acting this way?'

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  • 01
    Ahhh...this is...not good. My Samsung Galaxy Ring's battery started swelling. While it's on my finger And while I'm about to board a flight
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 02
    Now I cannot take it off and this thing hurts. Any quick suggestions @SamsungUK @SamsungMobileUS?
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 03
    Man's finger wearing smart ring with swelling battery
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 04
    Man's pointed index finger wearing smart ring with swelling battery
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 05
    Closeup. You can see the battery expanding. Not great for something that's now stuck to my finger
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 06
    Closeup of swollen smart ring battery
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 07
    Update: - I was denied boarding due to this (been travelling for ~47h straight so this is really nice ). Need to pay for a hotel for the night now and get back home tomorrow
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 08
    - was sent to the hospital, as an emergency - ring got removed You can see the battery all swollen. Won't be wearing a smart ring ever again.
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 09
    Update #2 Finally got home after way over 50h of flying/travelling =
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 10
    Samsung reached out to me: - refunded me for my overnight hotel - booked me a car to get me home this morning - collected the ring from me, for further investigation
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 11
    My finger is also doing well, aside from some small marks that I'm sure will heal in a few days.
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 12
    Man in suit touching rings on fingers, with white airplane and blue sky in background
    via Jay Wennington on Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 13
    Some extra things to mention: - the battery of my ring has been acting very weird for many months (stopped lasting for more than 1-1.5 days and at one point, didn't even power on after being charged for a full day, until I charged it for 2 days)
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 14
    - when this swelling incident happened, it wasn't even charged - many other users have been experiencing similar battery life issues -
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 15
    - one user also reported battery swelling, a few months ago
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 16
    Personally, I think there's something going on with the battery inside many (if not most) Galaxy Rings. According to these posts on Reddit, Samsung has been offering free replacements but even these ended up having the same issue, later on.
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 17

    That's a frightful result!

    Two fingers holding smart ring with swollen battery
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 18
    Samsung told me they'll inform me of the investigation findings, so will keep you guys posted! Hopefully they diagnose the issue and permanently replace all the affected units.
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 19
    Max Ja... @MaxJmb Thanks for the update! Hopefully this turns out to be an isolated case and Samsung can resolve it quickly. It would be a shame if the product line had to be discontinued over this. Glad to hear your finger is recovering!
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 20
    White airplane with blue sky and clouds in background
    via Aakash Dhage For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 21
    Vince Varga @vincevargadev new fear unlocked
    via @ZONEofTECH
  • 22
    Ltt @ltt_ta Someone remind me why do we as a human need smart- rings again? Also hope the guy is ok
    via @ZONEofTECH

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rings technology smart ring ring Tech
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