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Dropped my SE... what should I do now??

D

davidg4781

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 28, 2006
2,886
430
Alice, TX
I'm so frustrated about this. I had an S0 for years, no problems until the end when the battery decided to swell up with joy. I got that and the screen replaced but ended up getting an SE around Christmas 2019. During 2020, the screen got scratched up pretty bad (I don't even know how, I'm not really rough with these). I ended up getting a red ! and Apple replaced it with a refurb.

Not a month later the new one's watch band got hung up on a shirt button, pulled apart, and it fell on the concrete at work, cracking the screen.

So Apple wants $250 to fix the glass on it, according to their website (assuming I'm reading that right). I can then trade it in for $135 credit?

Or for $529 I can get a S7 with the most crack-resistant front crystal. Or a SS S7 for $750. Now that I think about it, that's quite a bit. But I'm assuming I wouldn't have to worry about scratches with that sapphire front glass.

I don't know why I didn't buy AppleCare+ on it when I got it. I have it on everything else, it just slipped my mind. It just seems like an expensive mistake that I'm stuck with, unless I stop with wearables all together.
 
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Well I would suggest a few things

Get a screen protector. With modern glass screen protectors you hardly notice they are there. If they get cracked or whatever then you just peel it off and replace it.

Also consider getting a case. I used to always keep my phone in an OtterBox but now I’m using an Apple Silicone case. It’s not as protective but I’ve dropped my phone several times and it’s not cracked. I don’t care how crack resistant phones claim to be they will still break if dropped. Some type of case is required if you know that’s a possibility

Whatever phone you get in the future get insurance or AppleCare. Regular insurance isn’t as good but if you’re going for a Samsung phone it’s your only option and it’s better than no insurance.

Also you might consider the used market but you have to be very careful with that. There are so many scammers out there.

Edit I thought you were talking about your phone ?‍♂️

You have terrible luck with watches. I would just buy a new Apple Watch if I was you but I don’t know your budget. Go with the always on display if you can afford it.

I have a S4 that I wear for work and it’s working perfectly. I wear it while sandblasting so the screen is badly scratched but I don’t notice that when it’s lit up and you’re looking at it. It’s only noticeable at an angle when it’s off. You can get the stainless steel model but to me that’s totally not worth it just because of the extra cost. I’ve never used a screen protector on a watch so I can’t tell you how that works compared to the phone.
 
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TechRunner said:
Consider getting a Garmin Instinct instead. It's not as pretty, but they're designed to take that sort of beating ;)
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The Instinct is a great watch, the complete opposite of an AW but brilliant, simple screen with excellent contrast, tough, light as a feather and great battery life (especially the solar version).
 
Monkswhiskers said:
The Instinct is a great watch, the complete opposite of an AW but brilliant, simple screen with excellent contrast, tough, light as a feather and great battery life (especially the solar version).
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It is indeed. I'm coming up on three years with mine, and the poor thing has taken quite a beating haha. I've actually been thinking about getting the solar version.
 
TechRunner said:
It is indeed. I'm coming up on three years with mine, and the poor thing has taken quite a beating haha. I've actually been thinking about getting the solar version.
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Instinct 2 is out imminently, with an eInk screen which I assume means even better battery life!
 
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Can they do anything for me same day in store? I’ll be near an Apple store in the next week or two.

If not, I might as well take care of this today. If I trade it in or whatever, I still have to get this fixed. If it gets wet, it’s done for.
 
davidg4781 said:
Or for $529 I can get a S7 with the most crack-resistant front crystal. Or a SS S7 for $750. Now that I think about it, that's quite a bit. But I'm assuming I wouldn't have to worry about scratches with that sapphire front glass.
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Sapphire glass is more scratch-resistant, but it would likely also crack with that kind of drop. I've always used screen protectors with my Apple Watches. That means I don't have to worry about scratches, and I can replace them when they get roughed up. I buy them in packs of 6-8. Unfortunately, they wouldn't protect against the kind of drop you had -- only the more bulky cases would.

I tend not to buy Apple Care for my mobile devices, as I find that overall, they tend to not need repairs. If I had paid for Apple Care for every mobile Apple device I've owned, that would add up to a lot more than the amount I've paid Apple the few times I had my Apple devices repaired out of warranty. Your calculations may vary.
 
davidg4781 said:
Can they do anything for me same day in store? I’ll be near an Apple store in the next week or two.

If not, I might as well take care of this today. If I trade it in or whatever, I still have to get this fixed. If it gets wet, it’s done for.
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I think the only thing they can do is give you a refurb and charge you the out of warranty replacement fee. I wouldn't get it fixed just to do a trade-in. If, as you posted earlier, that replacement fee is more than the value you get from a trade-in, it's not worth it. Right now, you are out $0. If you pay replacement fee, which according to your earlier post is $250, then get only $130 in trade-in, you are out $120.
 
Ok. So maybe I don’t want to get it repaired just to go to upgrade to another Apple Watch.

A few questions….

Is the aluminum S7’s glass really that much better than the SE?

It looks like Apple won’t give me any credit for this one with the cracked screen. And it doesn’t look like it’s charging either (it died, I put it on the charger but I don’t see it charging, time does show though). Would a local repair shop pay anything for it for the parts that are good?
 
Sapphire is more scratch resistant but it is also more likely to shatter from an impact like a drop. The S7 ion glass isn't a huge improvement over your SE so it would of been damaged regardless..
 
BugeyeSTI said:
Sapphire is more scratch resistant but it is also more likely to shatter from an impact like a drop. The S7 ion glass isn't a huge improvement over your SE so it would of been damaged regardless..
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Is it more scratch resistant? It seems it was getting scratched any time I’d bump against something.
 
davidg4781 said:
Is it more scratch resistant? It seems it was getting scratched any time I’d bump against something.
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If it's following the same trend of the iPhones display it will be more impact resistant to cracks and probably not noticeably different in scratch resistance. The sapphire screen will be much better in that respect. If your planning on scraping the watch or banging it against objects,the sapphire is the way to go..
 
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BugeyeSTI said:
If it's following the same trend of the iPhones display it will be more impact resistant to cracks and probably not noticeably different in scratch resistance. The sapphire screen will be much better in that respect. If your planning on scraping the watch or banging it against objects,the sapphire is the way to go..
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Yes, sapphire is more scratch-resistant, but if you drop it, it's more likely to shatter. Also, while the sapphire screen is more scratch-resistant, the steel case will still get scratched. So if you are scraping and banging your watch, your screen may be less scratched, but your case will be. This may or may not bother people, just pointing it out if it's a consideration.
 
davidg4781 said:
Ok. So maybe I don’t want to get it repaired just to go to upgrade to another Apple Watch.

A few questions….

Is the aluminum S7’s glass really that much better than the SE?

It looks like Apple won’t give me any credit for this one with the cracked screen. And it doesn’t look like it’s charging either (it died, I put it on the charger but I don’t see it charging, time does show though). Would a local repair shop pay anything for it for the parts that are good?
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You could try listing it on Mercari or ebay for parts. I have seen these sell for around $50-$100 for broken screens there. I think that is the best you will get out of it.

Not sure about the aluminum S7, but the sapphire on SS or titanium version are significantly more scratch resistant that ionx glass. The screens on my titanium S5 and S6 are flawless after 1+ years of use. Same was for my SS S5 and S6. The SE and series 6 aluminum I had got faint scratches after a month of use.
 
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I got a basic aluminium S7 on release day. It quite frankly gets the crap beaten out of it on a regular basis. It's been covered in mud, bashed around doing DIY work, in and out of the sink doing washing up, up and down two mountains and knocked on rocks, attached to my arm as I drunkenly stagger around bouncing off street lights on the way back from the bar. It looks like it's new. My previous SE got scratched up fairly quickly.

I'd go for the S7 and if you're as much of an incompetent user as I am, get AppleCare :)
 
Danfango said:
I got a basic aluminium S7 on release day. It quite frankly gets the crap beaten out of it on a regular basis. It's been covered in mud, bashed around doing DIY work, in and out of the sink doing washing up, up and down two mountains and knocked on rocks, attached to my arm as I drunkenly stagger around bouncing off street lights on the way back from the bar. It looks like it's new. My previous SE got scratched up fairly quickly.

I'd go for the S7 and if you're as much of an incompetent user as I am, get AppleCare :)
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I'm definitely getting AppleCare+. My S0 never gave me problems. I don't know if it's the materials or I'm just getting older.
1CaesaR1 said:
You could try listing it on Mercari or ebay for parts. I have seen these sell for around $50-$100 for broken screens there. I think that is the best you will get out of it.
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Yeah, I'd rather get something for it than let it sit in a drawer. Or give it to Apple to recycle for free. I'll see what's local whenever I can get off from work and get to an Apple store. I need my iPhone battery replaced, too.
 
That's a bummer. My Series 5 Space Gray Aluminum is still going strong, going on 2 years now. It's scratched up a bit as I wear it every day, and night for sleep tracking, but I basically don't baby it at all and has been fine.

I don't get AppleCare+ on my Apple Watches as I've *knock wood* never cracked the screen (including the 3 years I had my prior Series 2 SG Aluminum). At the end of the day, it's one of those things where I feel the Apple Watch is "cheap enough" (compared to an iPhone for example) where on the small chance I do break it, I'll just buy another one.

Would echo other's opinions that I definitely wouldn't get your SE repaired. I would just buy a new Series 7 Aluminum. while it's a bit more expensive than the SE, the SE even more so isn't particularly great value right now if buying new from Apple Store given it's over a year old hardware. Unless your budget is super tight, I think it's worth it to get the S7. If you're up for it, you might even be able to get a new-in-box version for cheaper than Apple Store, at "Reasonably low-risk" if you go with an established seller on Ebay / FB Marketplace or something like that.
 
I just want to chime in and say that I’ve had many watches over my life, including 5 Apple Watches. Almost all of them have had sapphire crystals, and I’ve never shattered a single one. The worst that’s ever happen to me was that I chipped a small piece of sapphire on a Rolex once.

I think it’s unlikely to shatter unless you drop it on a hard surface or hit it very hard on a hard object. Anything and everything has its breaking point. Personally, I believe you’re more likely to scratch a watch face than shatter it. That’s why I always get sapphire.
 
Does anyone recommend getting it repaired at a local 3rd party repair place?

I know I’m 3 months into the S7 but I’m also 9 months from the S8. I figure if I’m having to buy new I should hang on until then.

I guess I can use my S0. The thing is, this is on an AT&T line attached to a BOGO offer for a different line. I knew I shouldn’t have done that deal.
 
davidg4781 said:
Does anyone recommend getting it repaired at a local 3rd party repair place?

I know I’m 3 months into the S7 but I’m also 9 months from the S8. I figure if I’m having to buy new I should hang on until then.

I guess I can use my S0. The thing is, this is on an AT&T line attached to a BOGO offer for a different line. I knew I shouldn’t have done that deal.
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Why not purchase a display and gasket and try the repair yourself? There are plenty of videos on you tube that show what's involved and ifixit sells all the parts for relatively cheap
 
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