Ifixit opened up the SS and noted the digital crown bracket being substantially thicker.
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Help with sticky crown!! [MERGED]
- Thread starter findnemo
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Ifixit opened up the SS and noted the digital crown bracket being substantially thicker.
Good Morning All, I know others have reported this problem over at the Apple Discussion Form (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7017165) but I wanted to reach out to this forum and see if anyone else has had a similar issue since they started using their AW.
I have a 42mm Sport.
I woke up this morning and put my watch on after it had sat on the charger overnight. I noticed that the digital crown was VERY difficult to turn with my finger. I was able to turn it but not with a single finger as I have been easily able to do since I received the watch.
I went on a run with the watch yesterday after which I wiped off the sweat from the back of the watch. It didn't seem like anything had made it's way up to the digital crown but maybe something had gotten in there that locked it up overnight?
I am able to turn the crown with two fingers (as I would a normal watch crown) and it eventually loosens up a little bit. However, after I let it be for awhile the "stickiness" returns...
I have a Genius Bar appointment this evening after work. I wonder if they'll replace on the spot or have to send it out? anyone had their watch replaced/sent in for replacement yet?
I have a 42mm Sport.
I woke up this morning and put my watch on after it had sat on the charger overnight. I noticed that the digital crown was VERY difficult to turn with my finger. I was able to turn it but not with a single finger as I have been easily able to do since I received the watch.
I went on a run with the watch yesterday after which I wiped off the sweat from the back of the watch. It didn't seem like anything had made it's way up to the digital crown but maybe something had gotten in there that locked it up overnight?
I am able to turn the crown with two fingers (as I would a normal watch crown) and it eventually loosens up a little bit. However, after I let it be for awhile the "stickiness" returns...
I have a Genius Bar appointment this evening after work. I wonder if they'll replace on the spot or have to send it out? anyone had their watch replaced/sent in for replacement yet?
Have you tried to wash it off? Maybe something sticky really did get between the watch and the crown.
Thanks Ventmore! I could have sworn I saw a similar thread here yesterday but couldn't find it this morning to share my issues.
How am I completely wrong? The crown stem is not thicker in the stainless steel. The only difference is the metal piece surrounding the crown stem. I'm not talking about differences in the cases. Those are very obviously different. I'm talking about the actual hardware inside the device, like the crown.
You said "You do realize that the innards of the Sport, Watch, and Edition are EXACTLY the same, right?"
And I said you were completely wrong, as you were, I had to post the 2 images in defence of Kdarling who you were tearing into. But thanks for clarifying what you 'actually' meant to say
Wow I'm glad i'm not the only one who is having this issue.
At first I thought I was crazy. I even thought about keeping the watch and living with it......but there's no way I could. One of the best things about this watch is how smooth the crown is, it's a joy to use.
As other people pointed out, it feels more sticky/stuck the longer you don't use it. If it dont touch the crown for an hour, it takes some effort to move it.
Hopefully I will get my watch back by Friday (doubt it) or next week.
At first I thought I was crazy. I even thought about keeping the watch and living with it......but there's no way I could. One of the best things about this watch is how smooth the crown is, it's a joy to use.
As other people pointed out, it feels more sticky/stuck the longer you don't use it. If it dont touch the crown for an hour, it takes some effort to move it.
Hopefully I will get my watch back by Friday (doubt it) or next week.
I have the exact same feeling as you.
There is absolutely no genius slot available on my local AS so I will try to get there without an appointment on saturday.
You should try to gently put some water on the crown, it completely unstucked mine for the moment.
I figured since it's "water resistant" (despite many videos leading me to believe it's more along the lines of waterproof) that I would try to place some water between the watch housing and digital crown to "loosen" it up in case a bit if some sweat got in there from my workout yesterday and "froze" things up overnight. Seems to be quite a bit better now.
Hard for me to purposefully add water to a $400 piece of technology...
Hard for me to purposefully add water to a $400 piece of technology...
Issue seem getting worst!
Many people have this problem:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/28161616
Many people have this problem:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/28161616
So it's been a couple hours since I placed some water in between crown and watch body and the crown still seems to be loose. I can't say whether it's as smooth as it was initially though. Biased at this point 
I'll have to stop by an Apple Store and see if their display models/demo units there are as easy to turn as mine is now to compare.
Also, over at the Apple Discussion Forums someone has reported it happened on their SS watch as well: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7017165?start=15&tstart=0
I'll have to stop by an Apple Store and see if their display models/demo units there are as easy to turn as mine is now to compare.
Also, over at the Apple Discussion Forums someone has reported it happened on their SS watch as well: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7017165?start=15&tstart=0
Some people in that thread seem to think it's related to sweat incursion after a few exercise sessions.
As for putting water behind the crown to clear out any crud, I don't think that's a good long term plan. I was going to suggest putting something else in to act as a moisture repellent or seal, but then realized anything like that would likely prevent the crown from spinning freely, and might eventually even stop the internal button from working.
Just checked my return/repair status.
Step 1 Request
April 28, 2015 : Product received by service center
Step 2 Service
April 28, 2015 : Service completed
Step 3 Return
April 28, 2015 : Product replacement pending
Also it looks like Apple is recommending washing the crown off too.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204639
Step 1 Request
April 28, 2015 : Product received by service center
Step 2 Service
April 28, 2015 : Service completed
Step 3 Return
April 28, 2015 : Product replacement pending
Also it looks like Apple is recommending washing the crown off too.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204639
Interesting! Thank!
I had figured the water could make its way inside pretty easily.
However, the patent application for the digital crown shows a coupling (which I marked below in red) and a rubber O-ring seal (green).
If the actual assembly has those, then it explains why it's okay to use water to try to clean that tight crevice behind it. (And we can also see why it's so easy for any foreign matter to cause trouble.)
I had figured the water could make its way inside pretty easily.
However, the patent application for the digital crown shows a coupling (which I marked below in red) and a rubber O-ring seal (green).
If the actual assembly has those, then it explains why it's okay to use water to try to clean that tight crevice behind it. (And we can also see why it's so easy for any foreign matter to cause trouble.)
I'm wondering if there's some way to hide a tiny felt pad behind it, to prevent other gunk from getting between the crown and the case.
As for cleaning, it's funny, my first thought would've been to slide a piece of double-sided tape behind there, like a lot of us do between computer keyboard keys to get lint and hair out.
Water creeps me out because it's not compressible, and I'd hate for any to get trapped. Hey! What about compressed air?