Apple Won't Be Able to Repair Out-of-Warranty Apple Watches Due to Import Ban

[MacRumors]

When the Apple Watch import ban goes into effect after December 25, 2023, Apple will not be able to repair out-of-warranty Apple Watch models in the United States. Apple Watch repairs typically involve replacing a broken unit with a new model rather than fixing an individual component, and replacement devices will not be available.

Apple shared the news with retail employees in a memo that was sent out this week. Portions of the memo were seen by MacRumors, and it was also shared by Bloomberg. Apple is set to stop all U.S. online sales of the Apple Watch in just a few hours, with in-store sales to cease after December 24.

"Product replacement (CRU) programs aren't available in the United States for the watches below: Apple Watch Series 6 or later, Apple Watch Ultra or later," reads the memo.

Apple cannot provide replacements for any out-of-warranty Apple Watch with a blood oxygen sensor, which includes the Apple Watch Series 6 and later and the original Apple Watch Ultra. Customers who damage their Apple Watch will need to wait on repairs until hardware replacements are available again. Software-based repairs will remain available.

Apple Watch models that are under warranty are allowed to be replaced. This includes both the standard one-year warranty for new devices and devices protected through an extended AppleCare warranty.

Customers will not be able to exchange an Apple Watch after the ban comes into effect, but accessories like bands can be replaced and returns will be accepted.

The United States International Trade Commission is putting a stop to imports of Apple Watches with blood oxygen sensing technology, which means Apple cannot bring them to the United States from overseas where they are manufactured. The ITC in October said that Apple infringed on blood oxygen patents owned by medical device company Masimo, and set the ban for December 25.

Apple could avoid a pause in sales if the White House steps in and vetoes the ban, but that has not happened as of yet. The White House has until December 25 to make a decision.

Other options include settling the dispute with Masimo, which would involve Apple having to pay Masimo to license the patent technology, or removing the infringing technology. Apple is working on a software fix for the Apple Watch blood oxygen sensing algorithm that it believes will be sufficient to get the Apple Watch back on store shelves.

While Apple has to stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, the Apple Watch SE will remain available. Third-party retailers like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart will also be able to continue sales of all Apple Watch models while supplies last.

Article Link: Apple Won't Be Able to Repair Out-of-Warranty Apple Watches Due to Import Ban

 

[tuhoops]

Better add AppleCare+

 

[Dwalls90]

What a disaster for existing and potential Apple Watch customers. If Apple doesn’t rectify this before the ban goes into effect, they will be raked over the coals and deserve it.

 

[jz0309]

so this is going to hurt Apple more and more, and perception becomes reality ...

 

[QCassidy352]

Just a totally insane way to resolve a patent infringement dispute that concerns a single, largely irrelevant aspect of the watch.

 

[iLoveDeveloping]

Oh dear.. glad I 1.just got an Apple Watch Ultra and 2.life in the EU. Sounds like a car crash. Tim won’t be happy at all!

 

[The_Gream]

It sounds like someone (a former employee of Masimo) didn’t do their job and make sure they didn’t use the same design from their last job. Someone else failed to make sure that guy didn’t just copy and paste.

A lot of headache for a lot of people who didn’t need one.

Edit: someone else point it out to me, that Apple holds patents for the watch’s system and that they are not a copy/paste of Masimo’s patent.

Still, this is a lot of info headache, specially for customers.

 

[CharlesShaw]

All this bad news is like an early Christmas for MR. Let’s make a holiday drinking game for every time someone mentions ”Tim” in their Scrooge posts.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

What a disaster for existing and potential Apple Watch customers. If Apple doesn’t rectify this before the ban goes into effect, they will be raked over the coals and deserve it.

The only way to rectify it is to get that ridiculous patent voided. And Apple is working on it, but the courts are slow.

 

[lkrupp]

What a disaster for existing and potential Apple Watch customers. If Apple doesn’t rectify this before the ban goes into effect, they will be raked over the coals and deserve it.

They’ve been raked over the coals their entire existence and have been through pundit declared disasters as well. They’ve always been able to withstand it. They don’t care about what the nerd herd thinks.

But I do smell a class action over not being able to get your Ultra 2 replaced. That’s why I think there will be a resolution sooner than later. It’s all a chess game and brinksmanship at this point.

 

[msackey]

Oh this is significant. Hadn't thought that it would affect older models, but of course it does. Yeah, looks like to me the way Apple handled this went bonkers. No good contingency plan other than to not sell (and now not repair). That's not a good plan.

Edit: with regards to the "not repair" issue, I think Apple should "pilfer" their own stock of older models or get them from other retailers and replace those in-warranty watches with basically retail boxed versions if this issue goes on for a while.

 

[Apple Fan 2008]

This seems to be hurting consumers as well as Apple.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Geez. I'm still in my return window for my Ultra 2 thanks to the extended window we get for Christmas, so I'll be keeping an eye on this. No resolution before then and I think I'll probably just return it to see how this all shakes out.

 

[DevyniColiai]

Over 2 decades and my Casio is still working.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Louis Rossmann is gonna have a field day with this

 

[Apple_Robert]

Glad I have AC+ on my Ultra 2 in case something bad happens.

Apple needs facilities in the U.S. or stock up on supplies.

 

[iObama]

Awesome. Another big "**** you, Apple" for sending my 6th gen watch back with 80% battery capacity and refunding the $80 I'd paid for replacement, saying it was "in spec." It went back down to 79% shortly after I got it.

 

[richard371]

So most people that have an original Ultra without Apple care are SOL. Kinda glad I traded in my Ultra 1 for a 2. Wonder how this effects states with "right to repair" law?

 

[truthsteve]

Lol
I find it super hilarious the same people who want Apple to fall are complaining about not being able to service existing customers.

This is like complaining why doesn't Apple just pay the patent license but also complaining about why Apple products are rising in costs.

Embarrassing customers.

 

[gigapocket1]

I mean. Let’s be real… this ban will not fully go into effect. There’s just no way…

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I mean. Let’s be real… this ban will not fully go into effect. There’s just no way…

I mean...it just did. You can no longer buy the Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2 on Apple's website or anywhere in the US. Even older models can no longer be purchased

Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 No Longer Available From U.S. Online Store

As promised, Apple today stopped selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in its online store in the United States, with the devices...

www.macrumors.com

The only Apple Watch Apple can legally sell is the SE since it doesn't have blood oxygen monitoring so there's no patent it's infringing on

 

[citysnaps]

All this bad news is like an early Christmas for MR. Let’s make a holiday drinking game for every time someone mentions ”Tim” in their Scrooge posts.

Yeah... it's the equivalent of dancing in the streets for the day-in/day-out Apple haters here. A tiny victory that makes life worth living.

 

[GMShadow]

All the blame lies with Masimo on this. The bulk of these patents (15 of 17) have been invalidated by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and when it went to trial Apple had all but one juror agreeing with them (which meant it was declared a mistrial). Even the ITC wasn't unanimous on this ban decision.

Apple is also suing Masimo for their W1 watch, stating that Masimo has used these lawsuits to gain access to source code and confidential information which they then used to develop their own device.

In January 2020, Masimo brought a patent lawsuit against Apple targeting Apple Watch. In that case, access to Apple’s confidential information and source code for various models of Apple Watch, including details of its construction and functionality, was provided to a board member of Cercacor—a spin-off from Masimo that focuses on research and development. That was two years before Masimo released the W1 to the general public.
Masimo, while trying to block importation or sale of Apple Watch, was also secretly copying it. Masimo hid its copying until the W1 was ready for the public.
When the Masimo W1 became public, it was clear that Masimo had copied Apple. As more details emerged, it was clear the scope of that copying was expansive. In addition to copying Apple Watch’s overall look and feel, the Masimo W1 appropriates specific patented features and functionalities from Apple Watch. Apple worked hard to develop innovative designs and features for Apple Watch. Masimo took shortcuts.

Everyone can think this is Apple being a bully, but it sure reads different when you see the actual facts.

 

[TechRemarker]

When the Apple Watch import ban goes into effect after December 25, 2023, Apple will not be able to repair out-of-warranty Apple Watch models in the United States. Apple Watch repairs typically involve replacing a broken unit with a new model rather than fixing an individual component, and replacement devices will not be available.

Apple shared the news with retail employees in a memo that was sent out this week. Portions of the memo were seen by MacRumors, and it was also shared by Bloomberg. Apple is set to stop all U.S. online sales of the Apple Watch in just a few hours, with in-store sales to cease after December 24.

"Product replacement (CRU) programs aren't available in the United States for the watches below: Apple Watch Series 6 or later, Apple Watch Ultra or later," reads the memo.

Apple cannot provide replacements for any out-of-warranty Apple Watch with a blood oxygen sensor, which includes the Apple Watch Series 6 and later and the original Apple Watch Ultra. Customers who damage their Apple Watch will need to wait on repairs until hardware replacements are available again. Software-based repairs will remain available.

Apple Watch models that are under warranty are allowed to be replaced. This includes both the standard one-year warranty for new devices and devices protected through an extended AppleCare warranty.

Customers will not be able to exchange an Apple Watch after the ban comes into effect, but accessories like bands can be replaced and returns will be accepted.

The United States International Trade Commission is putting a stop to imports of Apple Watches with blood oxygen sensing technology, which means Apple cannot bring them to the United States from overseas where they are manufactured. The ITC in October said that Apple infringed on blood oxygen patents owned by medical device company Masimo, and set the ban for December 25.

Apple could avoid a pause in sales if the White House steps in and vetoes the ban, but that has not happened as of yet. The White House has until December 25 to make a decision.

Other options include settling the dispute with Masimo, which would involve Apple having to pay Masimo to license the patent technology, or removing the infringing technology. Apple is working on a software fix for the Apple Watch blood oxygen sensing algorithm that it believes will be sufficient to get the Apple Watch back on store shelves.

While Apple has to stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, the Apple Watch SE will remain available. Third-party retailers like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart will also be able to continue sales of all Apple Watch models while supplies last.

Article Link: Apple Won't Be Able to Repair Out-of-Warranty Apple Watches Due to Import Ban

They all come with a 1 year warranty though and in one year the new models without any patent issues will be out and so Apple would just need to replace people's devices with the latest model instead so doesn't sound like a problem for customers. And of course it's 99% more likely something changes in the near future such as Biden making an exception, or if he doesn't Apple blocking the feature on newly sold devices or Apple settling, giving them until next year when they can release a new device that doesn't use the other companies patents. This is presumably became headline news because Apple wants to pressure the administration into making Apple's job easier, which seems like a smart business move. And if they don't fold, then Apple has several options as I'm sure they have been preparing for this for many months.

 

[turbineseaplane]

If Apple doesn’t rectify this before the ban goes into effect, they will be raked over the coals and deserve it.

As you said -- this entire situation is Apple's own fault