Apple Sued Over Swollen Batteries in Apple Watches

[44267547]

I'm a shareholder and believe in the mission. I have tons of apple products.

OK? So am I. And I can easily criticize Apple for everything they do wrong versus they do right. It’s not about how many products somebody owns or purchases, this is a company that is completely scrutinized for everything they do and every product they release. There is no such thing as ‘perfection’ when you mass-produce something into the millions, but by no means, am I willing to believe that _every_ Apple Watch manufactured has experienced this problem with the battery swelling. I’m willing to believe it’s a very small fraction of those who have experienced battery swelling, and for those who have, likely have had the issue quickly rectified by being issued a replacement watch throughApple.

I have read very few cases where customers were denied the battery swelling, and I frequent these forums quite regularly. And anything on the Internet tends to be ‘blown out of proportion’ anything Apple related, and I’m not willing to believe that ‘Apple can’t make a successful product’ theory. Those types of analogies don’t fly with me.

 

[nyoungman]

My Apple Watch (Series 0) had a swollen battery and detached screen. It was a few years old when it happened (I got it second hand) and no longer under warranty, so my only recourse was to donate it to Apple to recycle. Shrug.

Hopefully lawsuits like this encourage Apple to make better products.

 

[ikramerica]

My screen popped off when I bumped it against my car on exit. Series 0. I also tried pushing it back on, but it would pop off again.

Genius bar said that it was probably going to be replaced because the battery bulged and caused the screen to want to come loose, but won't know for sure until the exchange department investigated it for damage. Bumping it isn't considering user error (it's made to be bumped). Apple doesn't repair the watches, they give a new one. They sent it in and a few days later I had a brand new Series 0. I told them I hadn't planned to pay for a repair as I was about to buy a Series 4 which was a month away at the time.

This building issue seems to be bad, and it's inherent in the design of many small lithium batteries after so many charges. If Apple doesn't leave space in the case for bulging, every watch will eventually pop it's screen.

 

[MyRomeo]

My wife’s 38mm original series watch did exactly this and Apple in Newcastle UK were more than happy to replace it out of warranty. My original 42mm is still going strong. Both were SS models.

 

[Pink Flamingo]

That Apple watch looks trashed. No wonder the battery swelled up. It's not Apple's fault if you can't take care of stuff and beat it all up.

If the battery was swollen enough to pop and crack the screen, you couldn't have pushed down the screen to FIT back on!
They and the pic shows impact damage to that corner where the crack is.
Swollen battery, issue. Fixing yourself and breaking, void warrenty.

 

[MacinTek]

New Jersey resident Gina Priano-Keyser has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Apple this week in U.S. district court, accusing the company of fraudulent business practices and breach of warranty related to the Apple Watch, according to court documents accessed by MacRumors.

Apple Watch with display popped off and swollen battery via Shawn Miller​

Priano-Keyser alleges that all Apple Watches up to and including Series 4 models are prone to a defect that results in the lithium-ion battery swelling and causing the screen to "crack, shatter, or detach from the body" of the watch "through no fault of the wearer, oftentimes only days or weeks after purchase."

The plaintiff believes that Apple either knew or should have known that the Apple Watch models were defective before selling them, adding that they pose "a significant safety hazard to consumers" -- a "number" of which have suffered "cuts and burns" as a result of the scratched, shattered, or detached screens.

Apple has acknowledged the possibility of swollen batteries in select Apple Watch models in the past, and offered free repairs up to three years after purchase. However, the complaint alleges that the company often attributes the issue to "accidental damage" and thus "refuses to cover repairs" under warranty.

Priano-Keyser states that she purchased an Apple Watch Series 3 in October 2017. In July 2018, while charging, she alleges that the screen "unexpectedly detached" from the watch's body and cracked. Her daughter "pushed the screen back into place," but the Apple Watch has been "unusable" ever since.

The plaintiff booked a Genius Bar appointment in August 2018, but upon inspection, she alleges that Apple denied to repair the Apple Watch free of charge under warranty and instead quoted her an out-of-warranty fee of $229 for service.

The plaintiff's damaged Apple Watch Series 3​

The complaint cites over a dozen similar experiences described by users on the Apple Support Communities over the past few years.

Priano-Keyser is seeking damages in an amount to be proven at trial for herself and all others similarly situated. The proposed class includes all residents of New Jersey who are current and former owners of all models and sizes of the Apple Watch Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 purchased in New Jersey.

The complaint was filed by Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLP, the same law firm that filed a nearly identical class action lawsuit regarding the swollen Apple Watch batteries in California back in June 2018. That case was tossed by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in January due to being "vague."

"Plaintiff's description of the alleged defect identifies only the consequences of the alleged defect (i.e., cracking, shattering, or detaching), but is notably silent on identifying the defect that causes such consequences," Judge Koh stated.

The lawsuit in New Jersey addresses this by attempting to identify a cause.

"Upon information and belief, the Defect is caused by aging or otherwise faulty li-on batteries, or by defective internal components of the Watches that regulate temperature, electrical currents, charging, and other mechanisms that could affect the Watches' li-on batteries," the complaint states.

It remains to be seen if the New Jersey case proceeds to trial or is also tossed.

Full complaint is embedded after the break...

Click here to read rest of article...

Article Link: Apple Sued Over Swollen Batteries in Apple Watches

 

[macfacts]

LOL, my dads had this problem and the screen popped off, you know what he did? Took it to the Apple store, they apologized and gave him a new one. I guess he could have filed a lawsuit? If he was bored, and an idiot? I don’t know, sounds like a company doing exactly what they should do?

What would your dad have done when apple refused replacement and asked for $229 to repair it?

 

[C DM]

The list of bad news from Apple continues unabated. This is what happens when we have a bean counter CEO.

Because there were no bad news in earlier times? Or there haven't been times with plenty of good news? Or there haven't been all kinds of comments of this nature since even before these forums existed? Seems rather moot.

 

[user_xyz]

That's really hard to believe.
How many incidents?

 

[MacinTek]

Horse hockey. I have an original Apple Watch (pre-Series 1)... I wear it everywhere, all the time (except at night when it's recharging). I wear when digging the garden, working under my car, repairing all sorts of electronics, etc. I've never had any problem with the battery or any other component overheating or breaking. No, my Apple Watch isn't in mint condition... it's anything but mint but it keeps working as apple intended...

 

[drumcat]

Horse hockey. I have an original Apple Watch (pre-Series 1)... I wear it everywhere, all the time (except at night when it's recharging). I wear when digging the garden, working under my car, repairing all sorts of electronics, etc. I've never had any problem with the battery or any other component overheating or breaking. No, my Apple Watch isn't in mint condition... it's anything but mint but it keeps working as apple intended...View attachment 830056View attachment 830057View attachment 830058

Are you acidic?

 

[MacModMachine]

Battery tech breakthrough!

But seriously, we could use some battery breakthroughs. They wear out too quickly, they’re prone to swelling like this, they use cadmium... Battery tech is holding us back.

Cadmium.....where have you been living...cadmium batteries have been obsolete for 15 years or more

 

[paul4339]

So someone filed a lawsuit against Apple? Big deal. Fact is, there are some watches that will experience the battery swelling, and it’s not necessarily a widespread issue, it’s more sporadic at best. Apple will acknowledge it, replace the watch without any cost to the customer. Multiple members in this thread Have already mentioned that their previous watches that had battery swelling, they were replaced under warranty.

It’s not necessarily about a product being perfect in every which way, it’s about the customer service standing behind the product, that’s why Apple has such a strong credibility with their customer service.

Also, the person at the apple store has to make some kind of decision, is it abnormal use, accident, abuse or legit defective claim?... When they produce millions of products there will be some defective products. But the apple employee at the store has to make a call/decision/judgement.

 

[Intellectua1]

This happened to my Series 0 stainless Apple Watch I ordered and got on day 1. The screen detached due to the swollen battery but was still working. Apple wouldn't fix it, but would replace it for $2XX. I paid over $700 and 3 years later have to throw it away because they couldn't or wouldn't change the battery? The other Apple Watch, the aluminum version, we ordered at the same time hasn't swollen up and works fine to this day.

I have all Apple everything in our house, but this made me really mad. I walked out but later went back and bought a Series 4 stainless for around $900 including tax. I hope I get more than 3 years out of it. I'll be joining the class action. All I wanted them to do was to replace the battery and reattach the screen.

The day has come where we have to replace our watches and head phones every year or two, sad times...

 

[drumcat]

The day has come where we have to replace our watches and head phones every year or two, sad times...

I truly hope not. E-waste is the worst.

I'm still rocking a 0, and I plan to for a while. I'm tempted by the heart monitor, but I hate quitting things still working.

If I were King of Earth, I'd require the option to replace batteries in all things.

 

[0947347]

The list of bad news from Apple continues unabated. This is what happens when we have a bean counter CEO.

He makes the batteries swell then? I have had swollen battery in MacBook in a times of Steve Job. Was he also a battery swelling bean counter?

 

[Brandhouse]

Geez. My "series 0" Apple watch is older than hers and looks nicer. What on earth did she do to it?

Agree, I've got the Series 0 stainless steel, and not a scratch on it.

 

[ElRojito]

Man, as a former genius I hated these appointments “sorry your slightly SCRATCHED (not cracked!) Apple Watch had a swollen battery. Our repair center declined to repair it due to deep scratches... which wasn’t your original issue, and the swollen battery was out of your hands. Suck it.”

 

[Brandhouse]

What would your dad have done when apple refused replacement and asked for $229 to repair it?

Certainly not sue, but that seems to the the way of the US. Pathetic really.

 

[Regbial]

If it's not working, return/replace it, why sued? Just another greedy money grab.

Did you not read the article?

A lady was being charged $229 to repair it, that’s more than half it’s price.
[doublepost=1554244148][/doublepost]Pfft, well, there goes any passing thought of getting one of these. Just saved myself $300+ ... thanks Apple?

 

[0947347]

I truly hope not. E-waste is the worst.

I'm still rocking a 0, and I plan to for a while. I'm tempted by the heart monitor, but I hate quitting things still working.

If I were King of Earth, I'd require the option to replace batteries in all things.

Same here, I have 0 in stainless and wear them on a meetings and so on. My daily is 3 Nike editions.
I always buy used, I give my older things to other people or occasionally resell them.

And if I were a King of the world, I would make a competitions like
- who finds a cleaner yet sufficient energy source, will get $$$$$$$$ (to make a solar panel is a horrible on environment and needs a lots of energy itself to be made, so, something else would be nice)
- who can find a way how to avoid using batteries all together, would get $$$$$$$
and so on and so forth

 

[BobK60517]

This happened to both of our watches just a couple of weeks apart, both bought together. One was worn daily and the other mostly sat in a drawer. At first they claimed we had mis-used them (hah, we treated them like gold, they were so expensive) even though we could see the swollen battery pushing up the screens. I saw an article about swollen batteries and quoted it to the service rep and then they fixed them both under warranty. Didn't like being treated like a criminal for a defect on Apple's part.

 

[ElectricPotato]

(looks at article photo) A white watch band with a hairy arm is a bad combination.

 

[vegtro]

Had mine popped off and Apple wanted $229 for it. I asked for my watch back, but they threw it away so Apple discounted me for a refurbish.

 

[SDColorado]

This happened to my wife’s Apple Watch S0 about a year and a half after purchase if I recall. She had Apple Care on it, so they sent it off for a battery replacement and it’s been fine since. I never had the issue with my S0.

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

That case was tossed by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in January due to being "vague

How can a court case be tossed for being vague when Apple has an extended warrantee program in an obvious acknowledgment to the defect? The judge should have looked at that and continued with case.

“Upon information and belief, the Defect is caused by aging or otherwise faulty li-on batteries, or by defective internal components of the Watches that regulate temperature, electrical currents, charging, and other mechanisms that could affect the Watches' li-on batteries,“

In other words they have no clue and are throwing out every possible cause they can think of.

They didn’t design the product though. Is it up to lawyers to be engineers too? Obviously Apple is admitting to the problem in the form of extended warrantee programs, so what is Apple’s explanation?

There is not yet any way to make a Li-ion battery that has 0% likelihood of swelling. But I guess may as well sue anyway.

Then Apple should take that into account and allow enough space for swelling. Right?