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Back fell out of Apple watch

T-Will said:
Congrats! I think you're the first SS to have this happen to on the forum. ;)
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Maybe the first in this forum, but not the first buy far, just spreaded around in diffrent forums including apple's own forum, this is my third time the back has come off and yes Apple has replaced the watch, but be warned after a year if you do not have apple care, it will cost you almost as much as the watch cost to replace it.
 
It happened to my wife too, when removing her 35mm SS Apple Watch from the charger. The heat is melting the glue. I made an appointment at the Genus Bar. They said they would have to send the watch in for repair because the retail store doesn't carry an inventory for replacements. In a few days we had a brand new watch. If you have Apple Care, you can just phone the 800 number and they will send you a new watch in advance and a box for returning the defective one, or so I have been told. Let me be the first to coin the title "gluegate."
 
Studivan said:
Maybe the first in this forum, but not the first buy far, just spreaded around in diffrent forums including apple's own forum, this is my third time the back has come off and yes Apple has replaced the watch, but be warned after a year if you do not have apple care, it will cost you almost as much as the watch cost to replace it.
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That's horrible. So Apple has had to replace your watch three times? What did the service rep say on the last call? Did they offer you any compensation beyond just sending you yet another watch?

If this is a manufacturing/engineering defect and if it only affects a small percentage of watches, as I suspect, why has it happened to you three times? Is it just bad luck or is there something more to it? Could it be that some chargers are defective and are causing the watch to heat more than others?
 
Roller said:
If this is a manufacturing/engineering defect and if it only affects a small percentage of watches, as I suspect, why has it happened to you three times? Is it just bad luck or is there something more to it? Could it be that some chargers are defective and are causing the watch to heat more than others?
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I agree. His appears to be the only SS model reported on this forum, yet it was replaced three times due to the back falling off. Where's the rest of the story?
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
I agree. His appears to be the only SS model reported on this forum, yet it was replaced three times due to the back falling off. Where's the rest of the story?
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There are other possibilities in addition to variations in charger-related heating. For example, could some chargers have stronger magnets? As well, does it matter how you remove the charger from the watch? I usually slide it off rather than pull it off - the former action would be less likely to cause the back to separate in marginal situations. Regardless, however, the watch should stay intact without being babied.
 
Roller said:
There are other possibilities in addition to variations in charger-related heating. For example, could some chargers have stronger magnets? As well, does it matter how you remove the charger from the watch? I usually slide it off rather than pull it off - the former action would be less likely to cause the back to separate in marginal situations. Regardless, however, the watch should stay intact without being babied.
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I doubt it's the method of removing the magnet. I've been pulling it off on mine, with no ill effect.

Clearly there's a common denominator. The OP included, as it also happened with his wife's watch. Is it the power load in the home (causing the charger to heat more than normal)? Are they exposed to some chemical that weakens the glue? And so on.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
I doubt it's the method of removing the magnet. I've been pulling it off on mine, with no ill effect.

Clearly there's a common denominator. The OP included, as it also happened with his wife's watch. Is it the power load in the home (causing the charger to heat more than normal)? Are they exposed to some chemical that weakens the glue? And so on.
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I agree that the method by which you pull off the charger shouldn't make a difference, but maybe it does in marginal situations over time. We may never know for sure. In any case, Apple needs to address this sticky situation lest they cause more separation anxiety for watch owners.
 
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Night Spring said:
It's a manufacturing defect, it should not happen that often -- having it happen again would be about as likely as winning a lottery.

Gluing means less parts and thinner products. iPhones and iPads are all glued together as well.
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You are mistaken my friend, look at any tear down of an iPhone or iPad you will see they are held on by clips and two screws and no watch in history has had the back glued on, this is the first.
 
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This is a common problem. I've seen about a half dozen at work, yet I work in a huge company with hundreds of employees per building on our campus. Setting aside defects or whatever the issue is that causes the failure, this type of a problem is rather unacceptable for a watch at this price point. Luckily Apple has very forgiving customers that will generally overlook issues if they can be dealt with at some point in time.
 
Studivan said:
Maybe the first in this forum, but not the first buy far, just spreaded around in diffrent forums including apple's own forum, this is my third time the back has come off and yes Apple has replaced the watch, but be warned after a year if you do not have apple care, it will cost you almost as much as the watch cost to replace it.
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I sent my SS watch in for repair for just this problem. Got an email today saying I abused my watch and would be charged for the repair. My watch has not been abused ever! Never in water, always taken good care of it. Just took it off charger and it came apart. It really burns me that they are charging to fix it! It's plain and simple a defect. I'll call them in the morning and hopefully get some satisfaction.
 
josied said:
I sent my SS watch in for repair for just this problem. Got an email today saying I abused my watch and would be charged for the repair. My watch has not been abused ever! Never in water, always taken good care of it. Just took it off charger and it came apart. It really burns me that they are charging to fix it! It's plain and simple a defect. I'll call them in the morning and hopefully get some satisfaction.
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Don't accept that. Ask to have your case escalated and point them to this thread if needed.
 
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josied said:
I sent my SS watch in for repair for just this problem. Got an email today saying I abused my watch and would be charged for the repair. My watch has not been abused ever! Never in water, always taken good care of it. Just took it off charger and it came apart. It really burns me that they are charging to fix it! It's plain and simple a defect. I'll call them in the morning and hopefully get some satisfaction.
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Just hard to believe. There have been reports of the back falling off in this forum and Apple has always replaced it. What would make Apple to think you are the exception and abused yours to the point the back fell off? Do you have a lot of nicks and dents in your watch? Just hard to believe they could come to that conclusion without a reason.
 
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Studivan said:
I said know one in history has glued the back on a watch, you don't wear an iPad everyday on you wrist do you?
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Well, no, but I don't see how wearing the watch on my wrist would increase the likelihood for glue to fail.
 
Night Spring said:
Well, no, but I don't see how wearing the watch on my wrist would increase the likelihood for glue to fail.
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Pay attention and you might understand, it has nothing to do with wearing the watch, every post says while pulling the watch off the charger the back fell off, the charger heats the glue and eventually it gets weak and the back of the watch sticks to the magnetic charger.
 
Studivan said:
Pay attention and you might understand, it has nothing to do with wearing the watch, every post says while pulling the watch off the charger the back fell off, the charger heats the glue and eventually it gets weak and the back of the watch sticks to the magnetic charger.
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You are the one who brought up wearing iPad/watch on the wrist.
 
T-Will said:
Yep, has happened to multiple other Sport Watches.
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It's not just happening to Sport Watches. The design is exactly the same on all Watches, just the casing alloys are different. And I read someone's Watch (stainless steel) had the same experience in the Apple discussion community.
 
Roller said:
I understand that Apple isn't stocking replacement units in their stores. But if someone brings a defective AW into an Apple Store and has AC coverage, Apple should accept it on the spot and initiate the process of sending a replacement to the owner. It shouldn't take longer to replace just because you bring the watch to the store.
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And you're right, it shouldn't, if the Genius Bar is taking control of your repair...I'm sure they have an upline they can immediately alert regarding these situations.
 
Newtons Apple said:
No way the small amount of heat generated from charging should be affecting the glue that holds the watch together.
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Exactly, A cursory search of 'glue* melting point' on google gives an average of about 180ºc, the low temp glue was 110ºc! (*disclaimer: I have no idea what glue is used to hold the watch back on but its got to be stronger than glue gun stick glue!)
If your charger is reaching 100ºc and over I'm sure you'll notice it well before you pull your watch off the charger!
 
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