'I was denied boarding on my flight due to ring disaster I never saw coming'

A man was left vowing to "never" wear a piece of jewellery again after he was denied boarding a plane thanks to it. Wearable smart rings have become all the rage as an alternative to the sometimes clunky smart watch. But when Daniel Rotar noticed his ring wouldn't come off his finger just before he was meant to board a flight, he was left incredibly stressed.

Sharing a picture of the ring stuck on his finger, he wrote on X: "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. Now I cannot take it off, and this thing hurts".

He shared another picture, writing: "You can see the battery expanding. Not great for something that’s now stuck to my finger".

Some asked how long he'd had the device, and Daniel explained he bought it in January 2025. Some Samsung ringsretail for £399, depending on the model.

He wrote: "Had it since January 2025. No clue on the battery health (never checked it and not even sure if that’s visible in the app).

"I think it definitely had some battery issue before, as it stopped lasting for more than 1.5 days. When I first got it, it was close to the advertised seven days, so I even stopped charging it regularly because of this. When it swelled, it had no battery juice left in it".

Somebody shared that the same thing happened to them with a smart ring, saying: "I cut it off with a Dremel. If you do this, be sure you do not cut the battery, and slide a file underneath so you don’t slice your finger. I just saved you four hours in urgent care! Good luck".

Another urged: "Go up to the nearest restaurant and tell them you need a stick of butter warmed for 30 seconds. Finger the butter and then wiggle that thing off".

One man seethed: "This is so messed up. It's one thing for a battery in a phone or even smartwatch to expand like this (at least you can take it out of your pocket or off your wrist), but a ring...very glad to see you got it removed ok".

Daniel then shared an update, saying: "I was denied boarding due to this (been travelling for 47 hours straight, so this is really nice). Need to pay for a hotel for the night now and get back home tomorrow".

He also shared that he "was sent to the hospital, as an emergency," and "the ring got removed".

"You can see the battery all swollen. Won’t be wearing a smart ring ever again," he fumed.

Someone wrote: "Dude, I'm sorry you had to go through this". Daniel said he was just glad his finger was "fine".

Another person suggested they should be designed with a gap in them instead to get on and off easier.

A spokesperson for Samsung said: "The safety of our customers is our top priority. This is an extremely rare case, and we are in direct contact with Mr Rotar to retrieve the product and learn about the concerns".