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Digital Crown hard to rotate (Ultra)

zimen74

zimen74

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 21, 2015
35
73
Hey,

Is the crown of your Ultra hard to rotate like mine or did I get a defective model?

Basically to rotate it needs more effort and it feels a bit less responsive than a normal Apple Watch.

I’m not sure if this has been done on purpose for use with gloves.

What do you think?

Thanks
 
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zimen74 said:
Hey,

Is the crown of your Ultra hard to rotate like mine or did I get a defective model?

Basically to rotate it needs more effort and it feels a bit less responsive than a normal Apple Watch.

I’m not sure if this has been done on purpose for use with gloves.

What do you think?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Mine is the same way. It’s way tighter than my S7. It’s not bothering me though - I feel like I have better control with it.
 
Came in here to post this as I thought it might be some sort of defect. Mine definitely takes more effort for rotating and pressing it in.

Felt weird at first after coming from previous AW’s but I’m getting used to it and kind of prefer it. Might also help with accidental rotations/presses.
 
I’d guess there is a tradeoff between effective waterproof seals and ease of movement.
 
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Because of the horrible design of the lump it makes it hard, I am glad I returned it and went back to series 7 was like magic going back to that
 
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No issue rotating it at all. Pressing the button takes a little more effort than previous models but you do get used to it.

I’ve heard some people say the rotating button rubs on your skin but I haven’t had that issue.
 
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Rotating it felt fine for me (seemed more clicky than my series 5) but the Digital Crown definitely felt mushier to press. Like something is off with the spring inside. Based on my time with it in the apple store, that is.
 
Hermes Monster said:
I thought the same, but then I realised it’s actually because it’s pressing against my wrist slightly. If I lift it away I can see it’s actually very easy to move … not ideal
Click to expand...
This is exactly it for me as well. I thought at first it was hard to rotate but then noticed that because of the increased size of the Digital Crown it rubs against my wrist slightly depending upon how it’s resting on my arm.

A slight annoyance for sure but still overall don’t have any major issues with it. I would hope that in future iterations they downsize the Digital Crown just slightly to help prevent this from occurring.
 
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I find it awkward to scroll the crown - but I think its mainly due to years of being used to the prior watches and reaching for the crown at a certain angle that now results in me hitting the guard on first attempt instead of the crown.
 
chabig said:
I’d guess there is a tradeoff between effective waterproof seals and ease of movement.
Click to expand...
This is probably the reason here.

It’s not difficult to rotate or press, it just has noticeably more resistance than the non-Ultra models.
 
After using every series watch from the 0 to 7, the ultra crown is definitely stiffer to turn and press. Glad to see others here having a similar reaction to it so I know that's just the way it is. Might be needed because of the deeper water resistance maybe.

The crown button on the series watches always had a nice satisfying click when you pressed it while the ultra is more mushy, feels like it's half the travel distance. Getting used to it now though.

The main button next to the crown is definitely easier to press and has a nicer feel to it when that's pressed tough, that button now feels much more clicky as I usually found that button mushy on the series watches.
 
if you are wearing the crown towards your wrist here is a tip. The proper way to wear a sports or diving watch with the crown towards your wrist is a little further back from the hand and when you use the crown do like they did back in adventure movies of the 70s and lift it towards your face so the wrist bends upward and is not getting the way of the controls. The crown has a guard on the watch to keep it working even in extreme conditions.
 
It's a stiffer turn than my S4 or S5 and that's better for me. When hiking/climbing and going to turn the crown to zoom in/out of maps it was too easy on the older watches to zoom too far too easily. More control on the Ultra with the more resistance.

So, for my application it's better.
 
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Same thing I’m seeing with mine. Crown is a little stiffer to rotate, but mushier/less clicky to press. Also notice the crown has some wobbly to it. You can rock it/wiggle it a bit (a bit more than my 7). Don’t think it’s really an issue, but it’s be nice if it clicked like the other two buttons.
 
Yep it doesn’t scroll as smoothly as the non Ultras. I think that’s because they want to prevent accidental scrolling in extreme conditions, like when I’m emptying the dryer or reaching for a coffee mug. 😆 Also it rubs against my arm so that causes more resistance. Finally the crown guard prevents long scrolling arcs. But this watch is for mountaineers not scrollers 🤣🤣
 
I just got my Ultra and this is the first thing I noticed. The crown is digging into my skin more than my series 6 and this is making it much harder to turn. This seems like a design flaw with the new crown design on the Ultra.
 
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powerslave65 said:
The proper way to wear a sports or diving watch with the crown towards your wrist is a little further back from the hand
Click to expand...
That’s how I’m positioning it and have no problem with the crown. It is bigger so if you let it slide all the way down toward your hand it could dig in a little at the end of your ulna bone. My Rolex diving watch does that as well. The Ultra’s crown is less prone to accidental presses and rotations, feels better to me that my previous versions, that bigger size makes it easier to manipulate especially if a glove is worn. I really like the feel of the side button as well, I can launch Apple Pay more easily which would also be a boon when wearing gloves.
 
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I'm having the same problem, it digs into my skin as I rotate the crown and it's quite uncomfortable. I'm coming from a 41mm S7 SS and didn't have this issue. I've just trained myself to slightly lift the watch with my pointer finger as I rotate.
 
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I have zeros issues with crown movement. It does not touch my skin when moving at all. Seems to me you are either wearing the watch to low on your wrist or too tightly wrapped.
 
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