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brett_l

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 12, 2015
7
8
Australia
Only 2 months after getting my Stainless Apple watch 42mm with the stainless link bracket (the most expensive watch and watch band I have ever purchased $1479 Au and the most expensive watch sold by Apple with the exception of the models made with Gold) it is falling apart.

I wear this device for a maximum of 8-10 hours per day. Some days not at all.

10 days after speaking to an "Apple customer relations" employee I still have a $1479 paperweight that is falling apart with no resolution in sight.

This same "Apple customer relations" person claims that it appears there is RUST on the stainless steel band and that is the cause of failure. I have supplied this individual with images of the watch band. The fault is clearly visible, so it escapes me as to this individual insists on stalling and aggravating me.

The solution is so ridiculously simple and would do a lot to preserve the relationship with Apple. SEND ME A REPLACEMENT BAND WITH A RETURN SATCHEL AND YOU CAN HAVE YOUR ENGINEERS INSPECT THE FAULTY ONE AT THEIR LESURE FOR AS LONG AS THEY REQURE.


Im no metallurgist but I think it would be fair to say that an obscenely expensive stainless steel watch band that rusts without exposure to water may not in fact be Stainless Steel.

Rust however is not my problem. My problem is that one of the buttons that releases the watch band from my wrist has fallen off. I think these may just be glued on and the glue has failed.

On the upside this is only Stainless Steel, if it had been Gold I would be out of pocket hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars in lost precious metal due to poor design/workmanship.

My local Apple Authorised repairer inspected this unit (at the direction of the "Apple customer relations" employee and their report states in black and white
"We have taken photos of the watch band and emailed them to rgogia@apple.com
We cannot see any obvious indication of abuse"
.

This evaluation is consistent with what I knew they would find as this product has had very little, very cautious use.

My warning to people based purely on my experience is DO NOT BUY the link bracket. It is the most expensive and least suitable choice for a watch band you intend to wear, it may only be suitable for display in a climate controlled glass cabinet although I am unable to confirm if it would be durable enough for this either.

To date I have owned 4 iPhones, 1 iPod, 2 Macbook Airs, 2 Macbook Pros, 2 iMacs, 6 iPads and never had any issues with any device failing. Each of these devices is still in service and have never had screens or any other part replaced as a result of breakage on my part.

There are some very minor scratches on the band (i would expect this to happen as I do not dress myself in bubble wrap before put the watch on because this is 1. Impractical 2. Never explained to me at time of purchase would be essential for reliable operation).

I have a 23 year old Citizen Stainless Steel watch that cost me about $150. This has been faultless with the exception of a $5 battery about every 3 years.

The fact that this much less expensive old watch has been so durable and has outshone the much more expensive Apple Watch built with the latest technology is a fairly poor endorsement of the quality of the Apple Watch.

Attached is an image of the Apple Watch band with the missing button and an image of the 23 year old Citizen for comparison.

I am generally a fan of Apple products because to date their products and support have been astounding.
I hope the Apple Watch is not an indicator of the new precedent for quality and support to expect in the years to come.

I would be interested to hear from any other people having such a poor experience with this technology giants latest but questionably greatest device.

IMG_1607.jpg
IMG_1612.jpg
 

TETENAL

macrumors 6502
Nov 29, 2014
258
281
Is the watch falling apart or just the band? You didn't write what makes the watch itself the worst you ever owned.

If the band is broken you should have it replaced under warranty. Apple is legally obligated to do so.

Citizen has almost 100 years of experience in watch making. Apple has never built something that was intended to last. I'm not surprised by the difference in quality.
 

testcard

macrumors 68040
Apr 13, 2009
3,742
2,828
Northumbria, UK
So it's the link bracelet that you have an issue with, rather than the entire watch? Assuming that it's a manufacturing fault I'm sure Apple will replace it. My link bracelet is faultless after 6 weeks of continuous wear.
 
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Bigdog9586

macrumors 6502
Apr 15, 2015
338
112
So it's the link bracelet that you have an issue with, rather than the entire watch? Assuming that it's a manufacturing fault I'm sure Apple will replace it. My link bracelet is faultless after 6 weeks of continuous wear.
He also said one of the buttons that releases the band fell off. That also makes it a watch problem.
Also I've always been under the impression that stainless doesn't rust if good quality and for the price they want it should never rust.
 
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mcdj

macrumors G3
Jul 10, 2007
8,970
4,225
NYC
Sweet tirade fella. Classic. I give it a 96.

Misdirected anger. Check.

Highly rational doomsday warning. ("My one bracelet out of hundreds of thousands produced is broken, so no one else should even think about buying one!") Check.

Throwing the baby out with the bath water. ("If the bracelet is defective, the whole watch is the worst and Tim Cook has a weird nose!") Check.

Dramatic hyperbolic rambling about non existent products. ("If the bracelet were made out of plutonium I'd be out millions! And dead!") Check.

Inability to get satisfaction because foot stomping jars brain and disrupts logic. ("Talking to one customer service rep for 10 days has to be the only way to solve this!") Check.

Requisite comparison to completely different product at a completely different price point. ("My 23 year old sun dial isn't broken, why is my incredibly complex state of the art watch THE WORST WATCH EVER MADE?") Check.

Bravo. Bravo sir.
 
Last edited:

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,434
9,295
He also said one of the buttons that releases the band fell off. That also makes it a watch problem.
Also I've always been under the impression that stainless doesn't rust if good quality and for the price they want it should never rust.
He is referring to the band, not the watch. In the picture of his band, one of the release tabs is missing.
 

telefono

macrumors 6502
Dec 17, 2007
391
102
Understandable Anger but chill-out, a simple genius appointment and any faulty band or watch will be replaced without questions. It shouldn't rust and the button shouldn't fall off.

I think the Link Bracelet is priced well and the quality is pretty good. I wear mine every day up to 18hrs and so far no problems, looks great feels great, very comfortable and excellent value. In my opinion the best looking band for the Apple Watch as long as it remains fault free :)
 
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papbot

macrumors 68020
May 19, 2015
2,303
1,077
I understand that you're, upset, and Apple should definitely replace the band unless there are obvious signs of damage. However you've apparently had no problems with the watch, just the band. I know it's not what you want to hear, but if it were me, until the band is replaced, I would get something like one of the sport bands or even one of the cheaper third party ones so I could use the watch until the original was replaced.

With that tab missing I can see that it might be quite uncomfortable wear. However if this band was the disaster you're shouting about there would be thousands of complaints that would be easy to find.

From my own personal experience as well as what I've read others post, Apple has been bending over backwards to take care of issues with the watches. You should be taken care of fairly quickly.
 

brett_l

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 12, 2015
7
8
Australia
Sweet tirade fella. Classic. I give it a 96.

Misdirected anger. Check.

Highly rational doomsday warning. (My one bracelet out of hundreds of thousands produced is broken, so no one else should even think about buying one!") Check.

Throwing the baby out with the bath water. ("If the bracelet is defective, the whole watch is the worst and Tim Cook had a weird nose!") Check.

Dramatic hyperbolic rambling about non existent products. ("If the bracelet were made out of plutonium I'd be out millions! And dead!") Check.

Inability to get satisfaction because foot stomping jars brain and disrupts logic. ("Talking to one customer service rep for 10 days has to be the only way to solve this!") Check.

Requisite comparison to completely different product at a completely different price point. ("My 23 year old sun dial isn't broken, why is my incredibly complex state of the art watch THE WORST WATCH EVER MADE?") Check.

Bravo. Bravo sir.
 

jasie02

macrumors 6502a
Sep 18, 2014
777
245
Might as well return iPhones, MacBook Airs, MacbookPros, iMacs, iPods, iPads,... They are all bad. If AW stainless band could break like this, all other Apple stuff owns are no good. o_O
 

brett_l

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 12, 2015
7
8
Australia
For the sake of clarity ...

The Apple watch was purchased as 1 ONE unit and was invoiced to me as such. I think most sane people could agree that a "Watch" is comprised of several parts, the most obvious being a face or mechanism for the purpose of telling time and a system to attach this device to the body (normally the wrist) to make a product namely a "Watch". As such I think it would be reasonable to think that a watch band is NOT a watch, and that a watch face is NOT a watch but the collection of parts (face and band) is what would be considered a watch.

I understand these things are mass produced and that faults will occur. I do not accept the poor response of the "Apple customer relations" employee. This is a simple problem with and equally simple remedy. It is the failure of the implementation of this remedy that is highly distasteful.

To those that for some bizarre reason needed to reference Tim Cook and his nose in this thread, along with plutonium and non existent products, your up late. They say the only person more stupid than the fool is the person that argues with him. ABC kids is on in the morning, I believe you may be better occupying yourself watching that.

I am no stranger to technology as I work servicing, repairing and operating surgical Lasers. These are devices some of the individuals responding to this thread could not even begin to conceptualise let alone understand.

At $1400+ AU I will NOT be buying another band because the one that was supplied with the unit is unfit for purpose.

At $1400+ AU I do NOT expect to be given the run around.

At $1400+ AU I would expect a product that could at least perform as reliably as a much cheaper (approx. one tenth of the price) 23 year old product built with inferior technology.

At $1400+ AU I do not expect to have to spend days trying to sort out a problem that could be sorted out in less than 24 hours.

I would be much happier if I was given honest straight answers. My disappointment stems from the fact that this is not something on offer.

Yes the watch has some scratches on it. I would expect that given that I wear it. I have no issue with the scratches.
Once again My local Apple Authorised repairer inspected this unit (at the direction of the "Apple customer relations" employee and their report states in black and white We cannot see any obvious indication of abuse. I presume this "Apple Authorised repairer" gained Authorised repairer status by demonstrating their ability to make judgements in line with the standards Apple sets.
 

doug in albq

Suspended
Oct 12, 2007
1,449
246
OP, you will find little support for your situation in your typical Mac Rumors forum thread. This is especially true within the Apple watch sub category, as the ratio of apologists to truth tellers is very high because of the mostly correct presumption that the Apple Watch is a flop. Apple's 1st major new product in the Tim Cook era, and it has not gone well.

OP, Your mistake was buying the Apple Watch in the first place.
 

friedmud

macrumors 65816
Jul 11, 2008
1,415
1,265
OP, you will find little support for your situation in your typical Mac Rumors forum thread. This is especially true within the Apple watch sub category, as the ratio of apologists to truth tellers is very high because of the mostly correct presumption that the Apple Watch is a flop. Apple's 1st major new product in the Tim Cook era, and it has not gone well.

OP, Your mistake was buying the Apple Watch in the first place.

No, he won't get much sympathy because this is the first time this has been reported and his entire attitude about the situation is terrible.

It's pretty obvious from his enormous rants why his customer service experience isn't going so well...
 

Warbrain

macrumors 603
Jun 28, 2004
5,702
293
Chicago, IL
OP, you will find little support for your situation in your typical Mac Rumors forum thread. This is especially true within the Apple watch sub category, as the ratio of apologists to truth tellers is very high because of the mostly correct presumption that the Apple Watch is a flop. Apple's 1st major new product in the Tim Cook era, and it has not gone well.

OP, Your mistake was buying the Apple Watch in the first place.
Since you're taking it there, bring some data. Back up your statements.
 
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