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If a burn occurred, what is a possible cause?

nooaah

nooaah

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 3, 2009
1,600
165
Philadelphia, PA
I'm not going to make any grand claims here. I was just slightly burned. I took the watch off the charger, and immediately upon resting it on my wrist, I heard sort of a slight click and a quick pain. Upon reflexively throwing the watch, I found a small red mark with a white mark in the shape of the watch head surrounding it.

There is a very small red mark still, 10 minutes later - the size of a mosquito bite. The skin is raised but doesn't hurt. So, I'm not claiming injury or trying to ride some sort of hysteria regarding that guy who claimed the watch almost burned his hand off.

What I'd like to know is how this could've happened. The watch wasn't hot 20 seconds afterward, not even sure it was hot at the initial touch. I don't believe my wrist was wet (it shouldn't have been). Could this still have been some sort of shock? I had the watch on my skin within seconds of taking it off the charge - is this a no-no for inductive charging? Wondering and strongly believing the watch is fine, it was just some sort of environmental condition/fluke that allowed this to happen.


And before I get attacked as a liar/opportunist/Google shill (inevitable, I know), I do have pictures that I'd just prefer not to post. Hopefully my post history will speak for itself regarding any agenda. TIA!
 
nooaah said:
I'm not going to make any grand claims here. I was just slightly burned. I took the watch off the charger, and immediately upon resting it on my wrist, I heard sort of a slight click and a quick pain. Upon reflexively throwing the watch, I found a small red mark with a white mark in the shape of the watch head surrounding it.

There is a very small red mark still, 10 minutes later - the size of a mosquito bite. The skin is raised but doesn't hurt. So, I'm not claiming injury or trying to ride some sort of hysteria regarding that guy who claimed the watch almost burned his hand off.

What I'd like to know is how this could've happened. The watch wasn't hot 20 seconds afterward, not even sure it was hot at the initial touch. I don't believe my wrist was wet (it shouldn't have been). Could this still have been some sort of shock? I had the watch on my skin within seconds of taking it off the charge - is this a no-no for inductive charging? Wondering and strongly believing the watch is fine, it was just some sort of environmental condition/fluke that allowed this to happen.


And before I get attacked as a liar/opportunist/Google shill (inevitable, I know), I do have pictures that I'd just prefer not to post. Hopefully my post history will speak for itself regarding any agenda. TIA!
Click to expand...

I have no idea what this could have been but I would definitely contact Apple about it ASAP, there's no problem with putting the watch on immediately after charging so something else has gone wrong.
 
Yeah, just looked at the charger and it actually is damaged in the middle part of the plate. Looks burned, actually. I'll post a pic of it soon.
 
I have this same problem. I figured out that it was probably all the electrical outlets inside my house being too powerful, so I charge the watch in my garage at night using a low power socket.
 
DadBod630 said:
I have this same problem. I figured out that it was probably all the electrical outlets inside my house being too powerful, so I charge the watch in my garage at night using a low power socket.
Click to expand...
Ah ha! I was wondering if having it plugged into my mbp had something to do with it does your charger and watch look like this?
 

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How about a charging station like this, low power 2 USP ports and 3 110 outlets.
 
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I do wonder if the loss of coating actually is allowing heat to transfer during the charging process. Could explain why the sting was in a very narrow part of the watch and why it wasn't overall hot.

Any evidence that the white coating plays a roll in preventing heat conduction?
 
nooaah said:
Ah ha! I was wondering if having it plugged into my mbp had something to do with it does your charger and watch look like this?
Click to expand...

my camera doesn't work at the moment but my charging puck has turned to a sort of nasty beige color and there are cracks in it.
 
When I saw the pic of your charging puck I thought it looked dirty so I went to take a close look at mine. I clean my watch every time I put it on the charging puck. To my surprise, my charging puck looks scratched and has the small beginnings of a pitted appearance that makes it look a little grungy, too. I tried wiping it clean with a flannel cloth but that look is here to stay. I'm not so concerned with scratching, that's to be expected. But I don't know what the tiny pinprick pits are. They are darker in color. It's still faint so I don't know if I could get a decent picture at this point.

I'll have to keep an eye on it, I guess. I was surprised because I do put a clean watch gently onto the puck. It does get really warm sometimes. Other times it stays very cool. I don't know enough about this subject to conjecture on why that is.

Just checked--husband's charging puck is scratched and a tiny bit grungy, but not pitted.
 
Sounds like something from the watch shorted out on your wrist. Maybe some arching. That explains the auditory sound and the short burn sensation.

Also that also would correspond with the pitted chargers...
 
DadBod630 said:
I have this same problem. I figured out that it was probably all the electrical outlets inside my house being too powerful, so I charge the watch in my garage at night using a low power socket.
Click to expand...

All of the sockets in your house provide the same voltage(except for the ones specifically designed for higher voltage appliances such as your dryer, but these use a different plug). Some circuits in your house may be rated for a higher current draw, but the device plugged in determines how much current is drawn.

Additionally, the AC adapter will convert whatever the socket is supplying to 5v DC.
 
GrumpyMom said:
When I saw the pic of your charging puck I thought it looked dirty so I went to take a close look at mine. I clean my watch every time I put it on the charging puck. To my surprise, my charging puck looks scratched and has the small beginnings of a pitted appearance that makes it look a little grungy, too. I tried wiping it clean with a flannel cloth but that look is here to stay. I'm not so concerned with scratching, that's to be expected. But I don't know what the tiny pinprick pits are. They are darker in color. It's still faint so I don't know if I could get a decent picture at this point.

I'll have to keep an eye on it, I guess. I was surprised because I do put a clean watch gently onto the puck. It does get really warm sometimes. Other times it stays very cool. I don't know enough about this subject to conjecture on why that is.

Just checked--husband's charging puck is scratched and a tiny bit grungy, but not pitted.
Click to expand...

Definitely some arching going on. Take both units (watch and charger) to the apple store.
 
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gman36 said:
Definitely some arching going on. Take both units (watch and charger) to the apple store.
Click to expand...
Can you tell that from the slight pitting or the fact that sometimes my watch is very warm (almost hot) and sometimes cool. Or are both signs of arcing?
 
Is there any way a few metal filings could've got stuck under your watch during the day and then transferred to the charger at night?

They'd have a current induced in them as a by-product of the watch charging. That could heat them up considerably, cause a quick localized burn, but cool instantaneously as their heat dissipated into your skin. That would leave you wondering what just happened as the bulk of the watch would be puzzlingly cool.

Are you a science teacher, metalworker or jeweler by trade? Or do you work in an area where metal particles would be found (car body shop, key cutting store, picture frame gilder/restorer, dental lab, etc.)
 
DadBod630 said:
I have this same problem. I figured out that it was probably all the electrical outlets inside my house being too powerful, so I charge the watch in my garage at night using a low power socket.
Click to expand...

What exactly is a "too powerful" outlet?
 
Arran said:
Is there any way a few metal filings could've got stuck under your watch during the day and then transferred to the charger at night?

They'd have a current induced in them as a by-product of the watch charging. That could heat them up considerably, cause a quick localized burn, but cool instantaneously as their heat dissipated into your skin. That would leave you wondering what just happened as the bulk of the watch would be puzzlingly cool.

Are you a science teacher, metalworker or jeweler by trade? Or do you work in an area where metal particles would be found (car body shop, key cutting store, picture frame gilder/restorer, dental lab, etc.)
Click to expand...
Metal shavings would be way to small to dissipate any considerable energy at these power levels.
 
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