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Apple Watch 6 Touchscreen stopped working?

P

patriotaki

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 1, 2016
188
3
Hello,

my apple watch series 6 stopped responding to touches after today’s swim in the sea.

i’ve tried the following
1) cleaned it with compressed air
2) unpaired and paired again
3) hard restart (crown + button reset)
4) method 3 while charging

i dont know what else i can do, siri, crown, apple watch app work fine
 
akash.nu said:
Did you activate the water dispenser feature?
Click to expand...
I was going to but the apple watch does not respond to touches. During my swim it asked me if i want to record my swimming activity and i said yes but when i finished the touchscreen was not working.
 
patriotaki said:
I was going to but the apple watch does not respond to touches. During my swim it asked me if i want to record my swimming activity and i said yes but when i finished the touchscreen was not working.
Click to expand...

Recording a swimming workout engages the water lock feature.

Apple Watch User Guide

Here’s everything you need to know about Apple Watch and the Apple Watch app on iPhone, straight from Apple. This definitive guide helps you get started using Apple Watch and discover all the amazing things it can do.
support.apple.com

You don't list rotating the crown as one of the things you've tried.
 
nicho said:
Recording a swimming workout engages the water lock feature.

Apple Watch User Guide

Here’s everything you need to know about Apple Watch and the Apple Watch app on iPhone, straight from Apple. This definitive guide helps you get started using Apple Watch and discover all the amazing things it can do.
support.apple.com

You don't list rotating the crown as one of the things you've tried.
Click to expand...
Hello,
Yes i tried to rotate the crown but there was no "water drop" icon. Also, I have restarted the watch multiple times, even if the water lock option was on I assume that it would be disabled after restarting the watch?
 
Wow, I came to post this exact thing. My S6 touchscreen stopped working after a swim in the sea, after asking me if i wanted to record a swimming workout. I tapped yes, and once I was out of the water and unlocked the water lock by rotating the crown, the screen was completely non responsive.

Since the watch was working otherwise, I tried a hard reboot (which worked, but the screen was still not responding), and then after that an unpair, wanting to set it up again… however I cannot complete the setup since I cannot select a passcode (on the screen).

I am on vacation and there are no Apple stores nearby. The watch is still under warranty and I will take it in as soon as I am back home, but would really appreciate any tips to get the screen working again if possible - really feel weird without the watch.
 
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patriotaki said:
Hello,

my apple watch series 6 stopped responding to touches after today’s swim in the sea.

i’ve tried the following
1) cleaned it with compressed air
2) unpaired and paired again
3) hard restart (crown + button reset)
4) method 3 while charging

i dont know what else i can do, siri, crown, apple watch app work fine
Click to expand...

How did you complete the pairing process without the screen working?
 
BigDO said:
How did you complete the pairing process without the screen working?
Click to expand...
With the crown, and i just brought the apple watch close to the iphone and it asked me to pair it and i restored it from the cloud backup
 
Bizarrely, I got it to work. In my frustration, here’s what I did:

- Filled up a basin with water, left the watch submerged for about 5min
- Took it out, dried it with a towel
- Tapped it against a mattress on all sides for about a minute

The screen started responding, and I was able to pair the watch again and restore from backup.

The screen is not working great, and there are a lot of missed taps in the lower third of the screen. However tapping it helps, temporarily.

I think that the water damaged some of the contacts inside the watch, which now work intermittently after being submerged / tapping the watch on a firm surface. It will probably fail again, I just hope it stays working like this until
I am back home and can take it in.
 
Does anyone think it could be the saltwater? Salt doesn’t evaporate and gets everywhere. Maybe i shouldn’t be wearing mine when attending to my aquarium?
Submerging it sounds like a good idea, to dissolve any salt creep inside.
 
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Apple says:
"Apple Watch should be cleaned with fresh water and dried with a lint free-cloth if it comes in contact with anything other than fresh water."
One trick that can help if the touchscreen is only partially working (and in the "wrong" area): rotate the watch orientation in the Watch app in the iPhone.
 
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Livvie said:
Does anyone think it could be the saltwater? Salt doesn’t evaporate and gets everywhere. Maybe i shouldn’t be wearing mine when attending to my aquarium?
Submerging it sounds like a good idea, to dissolve any salt creep inside.
Click to expand...

Yes, pretty sure it is the salt.
 
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Mine is completely dead, touchscreen is not working at all nothing worked so far
 
Apple devices that are IP water rated, are rated in fresh water. Sea water is a no go.

If you do go the apple support route, swimming pool, u were in a swimming pool.
 
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Mine just went black less than an hour ago.
I thought it was powered off but it is giving haptic response to my touches. Only the screen is black.
WTF!!!!!
I fully charged it earlier today and left it sitting on the desk and got the update notification which i ignored.
and now the screen is black.
 
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After two more long soaks in the basin, followed by drying throughly, watch is back to normal.
 
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Hi,

I own a S6 and a SE, and mainly use my SE for sports. I'm a Standup Paddle enthusiast and wear my SE everytime i go out to sea; I do remember reading somewhere (Apple Support pages or whatever) that after salt water use you should turn off the watch, and rinse it with lightly warm running water for 10 secs, while gently pressing the side button and turning the crown to dissolve any salt residues.

Its been working for me...
 
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edhchoe said:
Mine just went black less than an hour ago.
I thought it was powered off but it is giving haptic response to my touches. Only the screen is black.
WTF!!!!!
I fully charged it earlier today and left it sitting on the desk and got the update notification which i ignored.
and now the screen is black.
Click to expand...

Two days ago I was wearing my less than 5 months old series 6 AW when this happened to me. I was just sitting at my desk when suddenly it went blank. At first I thought it was completely dead but like you say it sometimes gave haptic feedback. I think it was just the screen that was dead. I was able to unpair it from my iPhone. Yesterday I took it to an Apple Store for a genius bar appointment. The guy hadn't heard of any similar cases and tried telling me it would take a few weeks to repair. I said this is a defective product and I want to exercise my legal right to a replacement or a refund. After a while he gave in and ordered a replacement which I'm supposed to receive in about a week.

Perhaps you should do the same.
 
My toxic cycling sweat seems to have dissolved the adhesive on the up-arm/non-crown side of my S6. It's amazing they can get an IP rating out of the tiny 1/16" gasket they use around the perimeter. Apple Service is going to replace it. I can't believe how much I have gotten used to the thing.
 
kpeex said:
My toxic cycling sweat seems to have dissolved the adhesive on the up-arm/non-crown side of my S6. It's amazing they can get an IP rating out of the tiny 1/16" gasket they use around the perimeter. Apple Service is going to replace it. I can't believe how much I have gotten used to the thing.
Click to expand...

Tell me about it. Didn't want one for ages, finally caved with the 6 and now can't bear being without. Also, my stats are going to pot while I wait for the replacement and I can't cook without the timer
 
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