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Apple Offering Free Repairs for Apple Watch Series 5 and SE Models With Power Reserve Issue Not Fixed by watchOS 7.3.1

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Apple today released watchOS 7.3.1 with a fix for an issue that can cause the Apple Watch Series 5 and SE not to charge after entering Power Reserve mode.

apple-watch-power-reserve.jpg

In a support document, Apple outlines the issue, which affected "a very small number of customers." Apple says that these people saw a problem with charging after the Apple Watch went into Power Reserve mode.

While watchOS 7.3.1 will fix the issue for customers who haven't previously experienced it, those who already had the problem may need to get support from Apple. Apple says to check if an Apple Watch is affected by the bug, users should place the watch on a charger and then wait for at least 30 minutes.

If the Apple Watch won't charge after the 30 minute time period, customers should contact Apple Support to set up a mail-in repair, which will be done free of charge by Apple.

Article Link: Apple Offering Free Repairs for Apple Watch Series 5 and SE Models With Power Reserve Issue Not Fixed by watchOS 7.3.1
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/15/apple-free-repairs-apple-watch-power-reserve-bug/
Last edited:
Mr. Dee said:
Its one of the impressive parts of Apple, they really go out of their way to fix a product when there is a problem.
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All things considered these units were recently released and would be covered under the regular 1 year warranty. This “offer” isn’t really anything special.. there is nothing “impressive” about covering a defect under the original 1 year warranty. The regular warranty covers defects in workmanship like we’ve seen here.

If this was a program being offered for 2-3 year old units, then we can talk.
 
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ouimetnick said:
All things considered these units were recently released and would be covered under the regular 1 year warranty. This “offer” isn’t really anything special.. there is nothing “impressive” about covering a defect under the original 1 year warranty. The regular warranty covers defects in workmanship like we’ve seen here.

If this was a program being offered for 2-3 year old units, then we can talk.
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SE hasn't been around for a year yet, but Series 5 was introduced in September 2019, so there certainly are Series 5 that aren't covered by the one-year warranty.
 
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Mr. Dee said:
Its one of the impressive parts of Apple, they really go out of their way to fix a product when there is a problem.
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As someone who currently has a 15” Macbook Pro with a line of dead pixels down the center of the screen that are 99% due to a bad screen flex cable design I disagree somewhat. Had another Macbook Pro die on me years ago that was obviously due to a well documented issue with certain faulty logic board designs. Wasn’t covered by Apple because mine wasn’t in the serial number range they deemed was affected even though the issue was pinpointed to the exact same problem by an Apple certified repair center 🤦🏻‍♂️.

I’d say they are hit and miss when it comes to acknowledging problematic issues. It seems like whenever it points in the direction of a design flaw they go to great lengths to subdue the issue. Maybe that’s because they sell so many units that the number of repairs/swaps they would have to make would cost a lot. That‘s just a bit of a dick move for a company that prides themselves on great design AND is the richest company in the world.

All said the above update mentioned in the article might explain why I had a Series 5 watch die on my during Xmas. Happy they exchanged mine for free and can fix it via software!
 
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ouimetnick said:
All things considered these units were recently released and would be covered under the regular 1 year warranty. This “offer” isn’t really anything special.. there is nothing “impressive” about covering a defect under the original 1 year warranty. The regular warranty covers defects in workmanship like we’ve seen here.

If this was a program being offered for 2-3 year old units, then we can talk.
Click to expand...
S5 is more than a year old.
 
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goobot said:
Interesting, when I got my s6 the s3 charger I already had would often not charge my battery.
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I've been using my original S0 charger as a main charger, since it has a much longer cable than future watches I've had.

Currently still using a S5, my watch has never entered power save mode, but I'll update it just in case. The inconvenience of sending it to Apple is not worth waiting until the next update.
 
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HiVolt said:
I've been using my original S0 charger as a main charger, since it has a much longer cable than future watches I've had.

Currently still using a S5, my watch has never entered power save mode, but I'll update it just in case. The inconvenience of sending it to Apple is not worth waiting until the next update.
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Trust me, defo not worth the hassle!

zjzsliyang said:
Sometimes, yes. However, when it comes to a significant amount of customers, they may pretend not to see that. e.g. 16 inch MacBook Pro Overheating issue.
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You are so right!
 
Anyone else find it... interesting that Macs and the Apple Watch both had an issue with not being able to charge from a depleted state around the same time?

It makes me wonder if they share charging circuit design and firmware. Pretty wild that a smart watch would be using the same code as a full-on laptop!
 
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ouimetnick said:
All things considered these units were recently released and would be covered under the regular 1 year warranty. This “offer” isn’t really anything special.. there is nothing “impressive” about covering a defect under the original 1 year warranty. The regular warranty covers defects in workmanship like we’ve seen here.

If this was a program being offered for 2-3 year old units, then we can talk.
Click to expand...
I can't tell from the article if this is US only or worldwide, in the EU it's 2 years warranty, some countries even longer.
 
ouimetnick said:
All things considered these units were recently released and would be covered under the regular 1 year warranty. This “offer” isn’t really anything special.. there is nothing “impressive” about covering a defect under the original 1 year warranty. The regular warranty covers defects in workmanship like we’ve seen here.

If this was a program being offered for 2-3 year old units, then we can talk.
Click to expand...
"The Apple Watch Series 5 is the sixth-generation model of the Apple Watch. It was released on September 20, 2019 during an Apple Special Event alongside the iPhone 11." so 1.5 years, that is beyond your 1 year warranty to which you were referring?
 
JPack said:
What a coincidence. Last week, Big Sur was killing the battery firmware of MacBooks. Now watchOS does something similar.
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Must be something wonky with some power management chips on some batteries. It would be so refreshing to hear from someone who actually knew what was going on. 1) not all units are impacted, so its definitely a hardware issue impacting only certain units.
 
goobot said:
Interesting, when I got my s6 the s3 charger I already had would often not charge my battery.
Click to expand...
Am I reading you correctly, your new S6 could not charge with an old charger from a series 3? Not seeing your issue man, incompatible chargers?
 
zorinlynx said:
Anyone else find it... interesting that Macs and the Apple Watch both had an issue with not being able to charge from a depleted state around the same time?

It makes me wonder if they share charging circuit design and firmware. Pretty wild that a smart watch would be using the same code as a full-on laptop!
Click to expand...
on a battery? Those are probably pretty simple circuits, sounds like a bad batch from a manufacturer more than anything else. Where are the articles who dig into the issue and explain it?
 
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ouimetnick said:
All things considered these units were recently released and would be covered under the regular 1 year warranty. This “offer” isn’t really anything special.. there is nothing “impressive” about covering a defect under the original 1 year warranty. The regular warranty covers defects in workmanship like we’ve seen here.

If this was a program being offered for 2-3 year old units, then we can talk.
Click to expand...
You may not see it as impressive but Lenovo, Netgear and a few other companies ignore problems and never fix them or will put out repair programs. I give Apple a huge thumbs up for acknowledging and fixing issues faster than most other tech companies. This is exactly why Apple is always in the top 5 for customer service.
 
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ouimetnick said:
All things considered these units were recently released and would be covered under the regular 1 year warranty. This “offer” isn’t really anything special.. there is nothing “impressive” about covering a defect under the original 1 year warranty. The regular warranty covers defects in workmanship like we’ve seen here.

If this was a program being offered for 2-3 year old units, then we can talk.
Click to expand...
Back in 2011, Apple had an Gen 1 iPod nano replacement program that allowed me and plenty of others to swap our Gen 1 nano's out for a Gen 6 nano (which was current at the time). Ironically, I then bought a watch band to make my new Gen 6 nano into a watch lol Good times...
 
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MauiPa said:
Am I reading you correctly, your new S6 could not charge with an old charger from a series 3? Not seeing your issue man, incompatible chargers?
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Very often when I put it on the s3 charger when I came back to it it wouldn’t have charged at all (tho only when it ran out of battery). I ended up breaking out the newer charger and it has no issues.
 
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