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So, any updates on trying to charge the watch?
Sorry was busy with work as well as celebrating Lunar new year over the weekend.

Update: I placed the watch in the garage on the Apple watch charger (plastic housing) that came with my Apple Watch SE. I've got in on a concrete floor away from anything flammable.

After a min or so, the screen came on! I've had it charging for about an hour and it seems to work and be taking a charge. I went to the "battery health" thing in the battery settings and it is reporting "84%" which is about what I would have expected for a watch over 2 years old (not sure what it was before the incident). I'll continue watching it (pun intended) till it finishes charging, and will keep a close eye on it for the rest of the week. The watch did get very warm, within what I'd consider a normal range...certainly not hot enough to be uncomfortable to hold.

Fingers crossed, this looks like a good outcome so far.
 
Seeing the OP has viewed the thread recently, I'd say he doesn't want to reveal whether the watch charges normally or not..
  1. Not sure why some people think literally everything is a conpiracy. Sometimes life gets in the way of gadget-testing.
  2. Not sure how you would surmise I've "recently viewed" the thread, or jumped to the conclusion that I'm trying to abandon the thread I've been very active on. I think the last time I looked at this thread was sunday sometime...before I had a chance to test. Job, wife, 2 kids, labradoodle puppy, new year celebrations, and a new Ring alarm system to install left me with little time to do anything other than posting a few snarky comments on other threads over coffee.

    Given the severity of what happened previously, there was no way I was going to just toss the watch on the charger and walk away. I want to make sure this puppy is under supervision while charging till I'm satisfied the watch itself didn't cause the incident.
Anyway, as you'll see in my previous post, it powered on and thus far it appears to have escaped the original charger meltdown incident unscathed. I'll update as I test it out more.

PS. If you look at my post from Friday, I quite emphatically stated I'd be testing it over the weekend.
 
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  1. Not sure why some people think literally everything is a conpiracy. Sometimes life gets in the way of gadget-testing.
  2. Not sure how you would surmise I've "recently viewed" the thread, or jumped to the conclusion that I'm trying to abandon the thread I've been very active on. I think the last time I looked at this thread was sunday sometime...before I had a chance to test. Job, wife, 2 kids, labradoodle puppy, new year celebrations, and a new Ring alarm system to install left me with little time to do anything other than posting a few snarky comments on other threads over coffee.

    Given the severity of what happened previously, there was no way I was going to just toss the watch on the charger and walk away. I want to make sure this puppy is under supervision while charging till I'm satisfied the watch itself didn't cause the incident.
Anyway, as you'll see in my previous post, it powered on and thus far it appears to have escaped the original charger meltdown incident unscathed. I'll update as I test it out more.

PS. If you look at my post from Friday, I quite emphatically stated I'd be testing it over the weekend.
People get impatient. It's the way things go around here lol. I'm glad it's charging. Seeing the issues going on I've opted to order a new charging puck as mine is original from the first Apple Watch (circa 2015). Could be an age thing maybe?

So what's the final verdict did Apple send you a new charger free of charge?
 
People get impatient. It's the way things go around here lol. I'm glad it's charging. Seeing the issues going on I've opted to order a new charging puck as mine is original from the first Apple Watch (circa 2015). Could be an age thing maybe?

So what's the final verdict did Apple send you a new charger free of charge?
They sent it but it has not arrived yet. So given the watch seems to be ok thus far and they sent me a new charger cable I guess we have been made whole. I’m still surprised they didn’t ask to inspect the whole setup though.
 
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  1. Not sure why some people think literally everything is a conpiracy. Sometimes life gets in the way of gadget-testing.
  2. Not sure how you would surmise I've "recently viewed" the thread, or jumped to the conclusion that I'm trying to abandon the thread I've been very active on. I think the last time I looked at this thread was sunday sometime...before I had a chance to test. Job, wife, 2 kids, labradoodle puppy, new year celebrations, and a new Ring alarm system to install left me with little time to do anything other than posting a few snarky comments on other threads over coffee.

    Given the severity of what happened previously, there was no way I was going to just toss the watch on the charger and walk away. I want to make sure this puppy is under supervision while charging till I'm satisfied the watch itself didn't cause the incident.
Anyway, as you'll see in my previous post, it powered on and thus far it appears to have escaped the original charger meltdown incident unscathed. I'll update as I test it out more.

PS. If you look at my post from Friday, I quite emphatically stated I'd be testing it over the weekend.
No conspiracy.. As far as surmising when the last time you checked the thread it’s no secret. All you have to do is click on your avatar and it lists last time you were seen on the forum and what thread you were or are viewing.. When I made my post, your last post said you checked the thread an hour earlier..
 
Glad the watch is okay. Honestly exactly what I expected. Also good on apple to just replace the faulty charging cable (something not every company would have even done). Now time to move on with your busy life ;) Hope the burn is healing well!
 
Glad the watch is okay. Honestly exactly what I expected. Also good on apple to just replace the faulty charging cable (something not every company would have even done). Now time to move on with your busy life ;) Hope the burn is healing well!
That burn is what makes this story sort of uncomfortable.

Yes, things happen; and if the stupid thing had just stopped working this at most would have been a thread about an entitled person upset about his toy breaking long after warranty ended. At most. So not targeting this OP in particular.

However, when someone gets burned you sort of expect a little bit more from the company making/selling the product. A bit more worried about how it could happen; and at least a token compensation, if nothing else for the PR-value of it. Like at least a new watch band or something.
 
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Well, welcome to the real world. Where do you draw the line of the companies feeling responsible? My neighbor crashed his car due to a fault in the powersteering of his car, resulting in multiple severe injuries. Car was 4 years old and thus out of warranty. No compensation or nice gesture from the manufacturer whatsoever.
 
Well, welcome to the real world. Where do you draw the line of the companies feeling responsible? My neighbor crashed his car due to a fault in the powersteering of his car, resulting in multiple severe injuries. Car was 4 years old and thus out of warranty. No compensation or nice gesture from the manufacturer whatsoever.
Having charger-cables spontaneously combust isn't your normal "out of warranty"-situation, though; just like a design flaw in your neighbour's power-steering would have gone beyond what is/isn't covered by the regular warrant.
 
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I read: "Apple watch charger burned and melted my wife!" 🙈

I'm glad she turned out ok, and it seems like the situation will be solved! 👍
 
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No conspiracy.. As far as surmising when the last time you checked the thread it’s no secret. All you have to do is click on your avatar and it lists last time you were seen on the forum and what thread you were or are viewing.. When I made my post, your last post said you checked the thread an hour earlier..
It is entirely possible I clicked on the thread title, then got distracted... or perhaps on Autopilot and just didn't register in my memory. I browse tons of threads on MacRumors every day, kindof my go-to-place when taking a break.

Either way, at that point in time, I had nothing new to add. Thanks for pointing out the shockingly bad "default" privacy settings in MacRumors though! I'm kindof a privacy nut and hadn't looked into that. I've since fixed my profile.


Glad the watch is okay. Honestly exactly what I expected. Also good on apple to just replace the faulty charging cable (something not every company would have even done). Now time to move on with your busy life ;) Hope the burn is healing well!
Yes, her burn is healing nicely. Just like touching a hot stove or oven grate, the burn hurt...formed a blister, but ultimately wasn't severe enough to require medical attention. Nothing a good balm won't handle.

Well, welcome to the real world. Where do you draw the line of the companies feeling responsible? My neighbor crashed his car due to a fault in the powersteering of his car, resulting in multiple severe injuries. Car was 4 years old and thus out of warranty. No compensation or nice gesture from the manufacturer whatsoever.
Wow your neighbor's situation sounds horrible! But you are right, in most cases the warranty is the end of it. Alternatively, there have been certain failures where car companies issue recalls long after the car warranties are expired. My 2013 SUV had a recall done last year by Mercedes on a poorly designed air conditioner part that could cause the cabin to smell moldy. Of course we've all heard about the airbag fiasco causing massive recalls on many models of cars as well. Typically though these out of warranty repairs/recalls are done when they discover systemic problems...whereas my charging cable meltdown seems to be more of a one-off.

I still would have expected them to at least request the charging cable/watch back to take them both apart and look for a root cause. Even if they just asked me to send in the charging cable. Makes me wonder if I'm not the only one? Or perhaps I AM the only one, and they are just assuming it was a fluke.

Anyway, I've been made whole, the watch still seems to be working ok as of this morning. I'll update more if anything changes.
 
Update:
When this whole thing went down and initially the Apple support folks weren't being helpful, I did send an email to Tim Apple. In that email I expressed my disappointment that Apple didn't at least request I send back the charger and watch for inspection & verification it would be safe to continue charging the watch on a new charger.

I've since been contacted by the executive support team in response to this email. The person who contacted me was very professional and understanding and said they actually would like to "capture" the watch and melted charger cable. They sent me a pre-paid shipping label and had me send both back to the mothership in Cupertino.

When I asked for an ETA on when I can expect the watch back, he responded that as soon as they receive the watch back they'll ship me a replacement. Since they no longer make the Series 4, he is going to be sending my wife a series 6 as a replacement!

Needless to say, I'm very happy and impressed at that level of customer care, this has really restored my faith in the company's ability to handle exceptional circumstances.
 
Update:
When this whole thing went down and initially the Apple support folks weren't being helpful, I did send an email to Tim Apple. In that email I expressed my disappointment that Apple didn't at least request I send back the charger and watch for inspection & verification it would be safe to continue charging the watch on a new charger.

I've since been contacted by the executive support team in response to this email. The person who contacted me was very professional and understanding and said they actually would like to "capture" the watch and melted charger cable. They sent me a pre-paid shipping label and had me send both back to the mothership in Cupertino.

When I asked for an ETA on when I can expect the watch back, he responded that as soon as they receive the watch back they'll ship me a replacement. Since they no longer make the Series 4, he is going to be sending my wife a series 6 as a replacement!

Needless to say, I'm very happy and impressed at that level of customer care, this has really restored my faith in the company's ability to handle exceptional circumstances.
Tim's office comes through again with fine customer service follow-up. I am glad to read Apple stepped up and did the right thing for you and your wife.
 
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