HELP!!! Software to Hardware Problem

[raffyx]

I have a Nike series 2 watch and i just seldom use it coz i have other watches. Last Saturday i used it and updated to ios 12. It got corrupted and the screen shows red ( ! ). So i called apple support and they told me theyre gonna send a box for repair for free. Then i received an email today saying that the repair was on hold. So i called the Apple support. They told me its a software issue plus the watch has hardware problem that i have to pay $229 + tax for repair / replacement of watch. My question is : if its a hardware issue in the first place then why is the watch working properly before i updated it to ios 12?? How would i know that theyre not making up this hardware problem just to make me pay $229???