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Repair Period for First-Gen Apple Watches With Battery Issues Extended to 3 Years

Okay. So after having service issues with my 7 Plus, a bent iPhone 6, a battery recall on my 6s, issues with the logic board on two SE models and dead pixels on a 5s...

Tada! It got worse for me.

My watch screen separated from the base. So now I wait to get a box to send it in and see if is covered under their extended warranty.

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MacRumors said:



Apple today informed retail store employees and Apple Authorized Service Providers that it is extending the service coverage for first-generation Apple Watch models experiencing battery problems to three years.

In an entry in Apple's repair database (via 9to5Mac), the company explains that coverage is extended for original Apple Watch models that are seeing swollen or expanded batteries. A public announcement about the service extension has not been made, and it's not clear if Apple will offer reimbursements for customers who have already paid for battery replacements or have done battery replacements themselves.

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Image via MacRumors forum user Rosepod5​
Customers who have an original Apple Watch afflicted with a swollen or expanded battery will now be able to have the device repaired for up to three years after its purchase date, even when AppleCare was not purchased for the watch. From the repair database:Complaints about swollen batteries on the original Apple Watch have been circulating for a few months on reddit, the Apple Support Communities, and the MacRumors forum.

Reports are rare, but it does appear to be an issue affecting a small number of original Apple Watch users. The battery problem causes the Apple Watch screen to pop away from the casing, rendering it unusable.

The first-generation Apple Watch, first introduced in April of 2015, recently reached its second birthday on April 24.

Article Link: Repair Period for First-Gen Apple Watches With Battery Issues Extended to 3 Years
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[doublepost=1510794357][/doublepost]My, my, my. I had this happen at least twice - maybe three times - but never knew it might be associated with expanding battery. Latest replacement has lasted about a year - so maybe they fixed the problem over time?
 
Mine went yesterday... have a box coming to ship it out. Had it since launch day, in a myriad of work environments, all considering if it wasn’t being repaired/replaced I still think it has been well worth it. Now I just feel naked not having it.
 
Now my second time going through this. They said I have to pay $80!

That even though articles state 2 years on top of the 1, so 3 total they are saying it's only 2 years.

My last watch they changed out no problem. I'm so sick of this crap!
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The worst. $350 I paid for a stinking watch that doesn’t do much except answer phone calls. Battery got fat just after the 2 years after I bought it. Didn’t call about it for a while. They want $199 to fix it. It’s not 3 years after original purchase, it’s 2.
For something at that price it should last longer than 2 years.
Same thing happened with the previous apple watch. After about a year and a half it wouldn’t even turn on. My iphone is so slow and gets super hot sometimes. What a ripoff. This is a con. A scam.
 
KellyPaw said:
The worst. $350 I paid for a stinking watch that doesn’t do much except answer phone calls. Battery got fat just after the 2 years after I bought it. Didn’t call about it for a while. They want $199 to fix it. It’s not 3 years after original purchase, it’s 2.
For something at that price it should last longer than 2 years.
Same thing happened with the previous apple watch. After about a year and a half it wouldn’t even turn on. My iphone is so slow and gets super hot sometimes. What a ripoff. This is a con. A scam.
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No it's 2 on top of the original one. I just got my husbands watch back and it was past the two year mark. I'd suggest having a little talk with Apple. Go up the chain if you need to. A swollen battery is 3 years and I had to fight to get it but they did me right in the end.
 
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Septembersrain said:
No it's 2 on top of the original one. I just got my husbands watch back and it was past the two year mark. I'd suggest having a little talk with Apple. Go up the chain if you need to. A swollen battery is 3 years and I had to fight to get it but they did me right in the end.
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I called again and the senior supervisor said no.
 
I'm going through the complaints process with a senior advisor from AppleCare at the moment. The battery in my S0 has swollen up and caused the screen to detach. It's three weeks outside the three year period the store are trying to charge the £80 battery service fee for a repair/replacement. My argument is that under consumer law in the UK the device is not durable and not fit for purpose. I believe that Apple have acknowledged this with the warranty extensions and the seemingly numerous free of charge repairs/replacements already completed.

We'll see what happens.
 
applepie2100 said:
I'm going through the complaints process with a senior advisor from AppleCare at the moment. The battery in my S0 has swollen up and caused the screen to detach. It's three weeks outside the three year period the store are trying to charge the £80 battery service fee for a repair/replacement. My argument is that under consumer law in the UK the device is not durable and not fit for purpose. I believe that Apple have acknowledged this with the warranty extensions and the seemingly numerous free of charge repairs/replacements already completed.

We'll see what happens.
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Good luck, keep us updated.
 
Septembersrain said:
Good luck, keep us updated.
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Thanks. The senior that's dealing with it at the moment is waiting on a report from the engineering team after I've sent them in photos of the watch. This all started with a visit to one of the stores where they examined it, weren't aware of the warranty extensions then swore until they were blue in the face that consumer law didn't apply. I'm determined to take them as far as I can on this as a point of principle.
 
applepie2100 said:
Thanks. The senior that's dealing with it at the moment is waiting on a report from the engineering team after I've sent them in photos of the watch. This all started with a visit to one of the stores where they examined it, weren't aware of the warranty extensions then swore until they were blue in the face that consumer law didn't apply. I'm determined to take them as far as I can on this as a point of principle.
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I went through this with two watches. The first was easy. Second required talking to a bunch of people and them incorrectly telling me only two years. I asked them to look at that internal memo. It's two on top of the standard one in the USA. Took work but sent them photos. They replaced it.

My story got convoluted when between Apple and UPS the replacement was lost. It showed up like two weeks later and UPS just threw it on my doorstep. At an apartment with open stairs.

Glad I was home and heard them.
 
Septembersrain said:
I went through this with two watches. The first was easy. Second required talking to a bunch of people and them incorrectly telling me only two years. I asked them to look at that internal memo. It's two on top of the standard one in the USA. Took work but sent them photos. They replaced it.

My story got convoluted when between Apple and UPS the replacement was lost. It showed up like two weeks later and UPS just threw it on my doorstep. At an apartment with open stairs.

Glad I was home and heard them.
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So after little to no contact from the senior who was handling my case and the case being open for 11 days with no real action I spoke to a different AppleCare senior today. The short version is they've agreed a free of charge repair/replacement as should have happened in the first place. They covered themselves by claiming it was goodwill due to the length of time the case has been open. Got an appointment with the store on Wednesday to take it in and have it sent off. Looks like I'm close to having it resolved :)
 
applepie2100 said:
So after little to no contact from the senior who was handling my case and the case being open for 11 days with no real action I spoke to a different AppleCare senior today. The short version is they've agreed a free of charge repair/replacement as should have happened in the first place. They covered themselves by claiming it was goodwill due to the length of time the case has been open. Got an appointment with the store on Wednesday to take it in and have it sent off. Looks like I'm close to having it resolved :)
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Did u get a series 0 or a series 1 as a replecement?
 
Lubidubi said:
Did u get a series 0 or a series 1 as a replecement?
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It was a series 0. I did rather wonder if they went out of their way to find me one after kicking up a stick about their ignorance of consumer law!

I'm going to replace it with a series 4 shortly :)
 
applepie2100 said:
It's a shame it doesn't have a tool to speed up the arrival of stock!
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I have a series one that it just happened to so I called them and they told me that that warranty ended the beginning of December said it would be $250 to repair a series one watch.
 
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