Influencer Says He Was Denied Boarding Due To Swollen Samsung Smart Ring. His Story Is Viral

A tech YouTuber's post about his malfunctioning smart ring has gone viral on social media, highlighting how technology can cause unexpected setbacks while travelling. Daniel Rotar, a well-known influencer and founder of ZONEofTECH, took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his story. On September 29, 2025, he posted about his Samsung Galaxy Ring's battery starting to swell while on his finger. He revealed that he was supposed to board a flight soon. "Now I cannot take it off, and this thing hurts," Daniel stated. He tagged the official X handles of Samsung to ask for possible solutions. He also posted a close-up shot of the device, noting, "You can see the battery expanding. Not great for something that's now stuck to my finger."

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Daniel's post quickly went viral and clocked millions of views on X. He later shared an update, which also took social media by storm. Samsung UK responded to his first post on the same platform, stating, "We're sorry to hear about the issue you're experiencing with your Galaxy Ring, Daniel. As we take such matters very seriously, we'd like to escalate this for you. To get this started, can you please send us a DM?" But Daniel ended up being forced to fix the problem himself.

His next post was shared a few hours later. Daniel claimed that he was denied boarding due to the swollen smart ring. The situation was especially frustrating since he had been travelling for 47 hours straight at that point. He revealed that he was sent to the hospital as an emergency case and that the ring was successfully removed. However, since he couldn't take his chosen flight, he was obliged to pay for a hotel for the night and fly back home the following day. After this harrowing experience, Daniel declared that he "won't be wearing a smart ring ever again."

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👌

- was sent to the hospital, as an emergency

- ring got removed

You can see the battery all… https://t.co/SRPfYI92Zg pic.twitter.com/ob8uUp5BeW

— Daniel (@ZONEofTECH) September 29, 2025

X users had a lot to say about the incident. Some wondered what caused the smart ring to swell. Daniel admitted that he did not know. But he did share a list of possible reasons, including "Heat from Hawaii; salt water; being on 2 flights before and a previously problematic battery."

No clue.

My guess? Some or all of the below:
- Heat from Hawaii
- Salt water
- Being on 2 flights before
- A previously problematic battery (I know this was for sure an issue, because the battery life has been very poor for months before).

— Daniel (@ZONEofTECH) September 29, 2025

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Some people were curious to know why he was denied boarding. While Daniel hasn't responded directly to those comments yet, several users pointed out that any person carrying something with a malfunctioning lithium-ion battery is not allowed on planes. A damaged or defective lithium-ion battery presents a safety risk of overheating, short-circuiting, or fire. Read some of the reactions from X below:

I wonder if airport employees and ring users are trained on how to cut this ring at all. You could've been on the flight if someone just cut the thing as mentioned on ther website, I guess you're not the first one with such issue, unfortunetely.

— conne 💤 (@conne_psd) September 29, 2025

Glad you got it sorted. Since batteries can combust once they swell, this seems like a really dangerous idea. It could swell, burst into really hot flames and you couldn't get it off.

— Gary Chadwick (@GaryCha53477485) September 30, 2025

It's good they didn't let you board

It's good you went to the hospital

Lithium batteries, Samsung being famous for it, are known to burst into flames when they start to swell.

Now make @SamsungMobile pay for your hotel room and other inconveniences.

— Christopher Fishell (@chieffishell) September 30, 2025

I will be taking off my oura before I go anywhere near a plane again (for the record have flown with one before without issue, but I'm not a fan of flight delays or the ER, in case any other Oura people are in the comments)

— definitely not advice (@stillnotadvice) September 30, 2025

Different temperatures, salt, and expansion rates created a gap that let water in.
Two flights, cabin pressure changes, and even washing hands mid-flight made it worse.

Gate staff tried to help but only added more water and battery damage.
Glad you managed to get it out with…

— Aoravan (@Ageofravan) September 29, 2025

Did not know such things existed. Nor did I know there are humans that would voluntarily wear it...

— William Wallace Welker (@Will_W_Welker) September 30, 2025

The incident has shed light on how even state-of-the-art technology can pose its own set of challenges for users and travellers.