Apple Watch Series 3 screen replacement cost

[gugy]

Hi,
My wife AW S3 38mm screen just cracked and I started to look at screen replacement shops and the cheapest option I see is $180. Wow.
Is that right? I noticed Ifixit offer kist, but I hate DIY stuff.
With S5 right around the corner, I feel it is a better wait and new S3 models will be probably as cheap as the repairs I am finding online.
If anyone has any tips, I appreciate any feedback.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

Yeah you should def wait it out.

Replacing a screen on an Apple Watch is not the easiest task - you have to replace the waterproofing gasket that goes around/below the display.

If you had a stainless steel/LTE version it could be worth it - but a 38mm, aluminum, Series 3 is not worth much.

Wait for the S5 - it'll be 21 days until its release at most and if you don't like it you can get an S4.

 

[gugy]

Yeah you should def wait it out.

Replacing a screen on an Apple Watch is not the easiest task - you have to replace the waterproofing gasket that goes around/below the display.

If you had a stainless steel/LTE version it could be worth it - but a 38mm, aluminum, Series 3 is not worth much.

Wait for the S5 - it'll be 21 days until its release at most and if you don't like it you can get an S4.

yeah, I hear you.
Crazy how inflated the prices are to replace these screens. I just feel bad throwing away a perfect capable watch just because the screens is cracked. What a waste.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

I'm waiting for the announcement too - I have a Series 0 which is bordeline useless (it tells the time... for a certain amount of hours before it dies, and measures heart rate for about 1h30min before it dies too) and if S5 isn't exciting enough I'll just get a discounted S4.

 

[Dwood1970]

Yeah it’s expensive but I definitely wouldn’t do it yourself. From what I’m hearing I don’t think we are gonna have a series 5 this year. I could be wrong but in think the are just going to add a ceramic and a titanium watch this year to the existing line.

 

[44267547]

Hi,
My wife AW S3 38mm screen just cracked and I started to look at screen replacement shops and the cheapest option I see is $180. Wow.
Is that right? I noticed Ifixit offer kist, but I hate DIY stuff.
With S5 right around the corner, I feel it is a better wait and new S3 models will be probably as cheap as the repairs I am finding online.
If anyone has any tips, I appreciate any feedback.

I honestly wouldn’t fix your Series 3 Apple Watch, reason being, You have to factor what the overall watch is worth V.S. the actual cost of repairing it. In your case, I would rather just upgrade to a Series 4 or even wait to see what a Series 5 has to offer. But no, I would not fix your Series 3, nor would I attempt to fix it yourself, because quite a few members have had issues with the watch, where it never seems to work normal _after_ the repair is made.

 

[gugy]

I honestly wouldn’t fix your Series 3 Apple Watch, reason being, You have to factor what the overall watch is worth V.S. the actual cost of repairing it. In your case, I would rather just upgrade to a Series 4 or even wait to see what a Series 5 has to offer. But no, I would not fix your Series 3, nor would I attempt to fix it yourself, because quite a few members have had issues with the watch, where it never seems to work normal _after_ the repair is made.

For sure, at the current repair prices makes no sense. The cheapest quote I received was like $190. I rather buy a new series three once the series five is announced. I might end up paying almost the same.
Again, my grip is just the waste of seeing a perfect watch being discarded because of a cracked screen. A screen replacement should not cost more than $50, especially the fact Apple claims they are so much into the environment.

 

[perezr10]

That’s cheaper than Apple’s price.

 

[Rwardjr]

For sure, at the current repair prices makes no sense. The cheapest quote I received was like $190. I rather buy a new series three once the series five is announced. I might end up paying almost the same.
Again, my grip is just the waste of seeing a perfect watch being discarded because of a cracked screen. A screen replacement should not cost more than $50, especially the fact Apple claims they are so much into the environment.

Agreed. That’s why I’m on here tonight, trying to decide if trash a complete Series 3 just because of the screen. Seems a waste

 

[gugy]

Agreed. That’s why I’m on here tonight, trying to decide if trash a complete Series 3 just because of the screen. Seems a waste

The S3 now is $200. I just bought a new one for my wife. I kept the old broken one and if one day soon enough I can find a cheap way to replace that screen, then I'll do it. Unfortunately, that's the situation. It should cost no more than $60 to replace a cracked screen. Indeed a waste.

 

[Hurley82989]

i agree, the screen replacement prices are outrageous.

i cracked the screen on my S4 earlier this year and it's $299 to replace the screen.

i ended up selling the broken watch on eBay and buying an S3 instead, costing me a total of $120 out of pocket (not including the original purchase price of the watch).

i never buy insurance for anything, but now i'm wondering if it's worth it to buy AppleCare plus for the S3.

it's 2.49/month or $50 up front. then i think the deductible is $60 or something like that for the S3 (S4/S5 prices are even higher).

so if i broke the screen again it would be somewhere between $80-110 for a replacement versus $159 for a screen replacement versus $189 for a brand new one.

paying $2.49/month or $50 one time to possibly save $100.... not sure that's worth it.

on another note, i will say that downgrading to the S3 from the S4 really the only noticeable difference is the screen size. at today's prices, the difference in screen size is not worth the at least $170 difference IMO.