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Digital Crown is catching...

gwhizkids

gwhizkids

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jun 21, 2013
13,498
22,043
The last few days my SS model Digital Crown is catching as I try to rotate it. It frees up with a little pressure, but I'm sensing that this is not correct behavior. Anyone else having this issue? Could it be from workouts? (Sorry to be gross...). If so, how do you clean the exterior of the watch?
 
There are several threads with sticky crown and crown o-ring failure. (The two are not all connected, but there may be an association.) Most of those threads and posts were when the watches were relatively new. Yours is still in that new timeframe like the others. If I were you, I would push for a fix or replacement from Apple.
 
I've had the watch for almost a year and I do workouts with it. Sometimes the crown is a little sticky but it always seems to get better on its own after a while. I've never bothered with trying to wash it out, and it hasn't gotten any worse over time, so I think this is pretty much normal.
 
Thanks, everyone. Hard to believe Apple actually recommends running it under water! I'll give it a try and report back.
 
Like many others, I workout regularly with my AW and I rinse it after most workouts. However, read through the threads with others who have sticky crowns. The rinse does not work for them. And many of them do not exercise with their watches. I believe a few people are dealing with a defect in the crown that is unrelated to workout and rinsing.
 
Well, I'll give the rinse a try. If not, back to the Apple Store it goes for a replacement. Its pretty sticky right now and while it frees up, it definitely feels wrong.
[doublepost=1454616209][/doublepost]Rinse seems to have worked. Digital crown is now travelling much more freely (and like new). I have to tell you though, it scares me to death holding this thing under running water!
 
gwhizkids said:
I have to tell you though, it scares me to death holding this thing under running water!
Click to expand...
As soon as Tim Cook told some Apple Store staff before the Watch retail launch about how he showers with his watch daily, I felt comfortable buying one for myself. I'd never buy a smartwatch (or any watch) if it can't handle water.
 
Well, sad to say, but the turning resistance came back. Makes me wonder if the water from the rinse temporarily lubricated the mechanism. I'll give it another try,perhaps for a bit longer. If that doesn't work, it's off to the Apple Store...
 
gwhizkids said:
Well, sad to say, but the turning resistance came back. Makes me wonder if the water from the rinse temporarily lubricated the mechanism. I'll give it another try,perhaps for a bit longer. If that doesn't work, it's off to the Apple Store...
Click to expand...
Yep, that is the exact same pattern in all of the other threads with the sticky crowns.
 
Seems funny but I had the sticky crown the first month I owned the watch, washed it under water one time and it has been perfect ever since. The bath made the crown work like new.
 
Mine seems to be sticking now also. Worn it every day since launch. I do workout with it but always rinse it when showering.
 
kdarling said:
Of course, Tim Cook never has to worry about getting a free replacement :)
Click to expand...
Sure, but the engineers have to answer to him when it breaks.

[edit]
I've already tried the previous-generation iPod nano as a watch. I still call it Apple's "Watch Public Beta", and its total lack of protection from water made me consider it as a terrible wristwatch. I thought it might be a cool daily-wear gadget until the first time I washed my hands. I have more confidence in the ability of my dad's 48-year-old Omega than I did in the Nano to resist water.

After reading Tim's remarks, then seeing DCRainmaker's tests on his blog, plus the various YouTube videos of Apple Watches surviving being submerged in swimming pools, I figured the AW would be good enough to wear every day. I wouldn't spend money on a wristwatch of any kind -- smartwatch, quartz, or mechanical -- if it didn't tolerate water.
 
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