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BulkSlash

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 20, 2013
267
697
The screen on my mother’s Series 3 Watch has suddenly detached from the casing and it looks like a swollen battery is the problem. Everything works it’s just the screen isn’t stuck down. I got in contact with Apple but they want £156 to repair it, which I think is pretty excessive, for £43 more I could just buy a brand new Series 3. Maybe that’s what Apple want people to do?

Admittedly the Watch is a couple of years old now but does anyone know if this is something that they should be repairing under warranty?
 
As it's a couple of years old, it isn't covered by warranty.

That said, I'd be more than disappointed if it was mine and it happened within 24 months or so. By a couple of years old, do you mean two years or is it actually a bit older? After three years I'd still be upset, but it would be easier to take. I also assume of course it's not had a hard life, been dropped etc.

The £156 seems about right in my mind, and I wouldn't expect a traditional watch of a similar price/age to be fixed for free. This feels like it's all about the age of the device, rather than the price....two years isn't long enough for this to be acceptable.
 
It was bought 2nd December 2018 to be exact, so just a smidgen over 2 years old. It’s never been dropped or knocked, my mother is in her 70s so she isn’t out jogging with it on or anything.

I definitely agree if it was more like 3 years it would be time to consider a replacement but at the two year mark it just feels a bit excessive for it to require a repair bill almost equal to the cost of a replacement when it has been well looked after.
 
I'd have them revisit the repair price. If this was due to a swollen battery they ought to charge just the battery replacement rate (the battery does need replacement), which should be £82.44 according to the pricing at the web site.
 
It was bought 2nd December 2018 to be exact, so just a smidgen over 2 years old. It’s never been dropped or knocked, my mother is in her 70s so she isn’t out jogging with it on or anything.

I definitely agree if it was more like 3 years it would be time to consider a replacement but at the two year mark it just feels a bit excessive for it to require a repair bill almost equal to the cost of a replacement when it has been well looked after

I think the fact it's come down in price makes the repair price seem more excessive. When new it was £329.

As it's now established tech and they need to keep the price down vs their other watches, a AW3 seems like a bargain.

I agree with the post above, and try and persuade them to repair for a better price. A battery shouldn't go in 2 years flat. If you get no-where with them, sell the watch on eBay for spares/repair and buy a new one.
 
Thanks, yeah I’ll give that a try and hope Apple are feeling generous.
 
wasn't there a recall or whatever apple calls it because of swollen batteries on AWs where apple would fix/replace it at no cost to the owner.
 
My s0 battery swelled up. Took it to Best Buy (no Apple stores around here) and the tech said it was a full replacement cost which was like $200 (this was last year). I said no thanks.
 
The screen on my mother’s Series 3 Watch has suddenly detached from the casing and it looks like a swollen battery is the problem. Everything works it’s just the screen isn’t stuck down. I got in contact with Apple but they want £156 to repair it, which I think is pretty excessive, for £43 more I could just buy a brand new Series 3. Maybe that’s what Apple want people to do?

Admittedly the Watch is a couple of years old now but does anyone know if this is something that they should be repairing under warranty?

Sadly that’s how it is with repairs outside of Apple care + for watches. Like I remember seeing how much for a screen repair is outside of Apple care plus which was around $299(?) for series 4 44mm vs $69 for Apple care +coverage. I would just buy a new watch and get the SE then imho
 
I’ve had a look at the battery replacement process on Ifixit and it doesn’t look too bad so I’ve ordered a new battery and screen adhesive. If it works then great, if it doesn’t then I’ll certainly be getting my money‘s worth out of Apples repair process. 🤪
 
Had the same problem with my SBSS series 0 last year. Display popped off due to a swollen battery.
Genius said, cause the watch is 4 years old, they can‘t replace it under that swollen battery program. But she offered me a battery replacement for around 80$. I agreed and a week later I could pick up the watch. They replaced it with a new SBSS series 0.
I would call apple again and ask for a senior advisor. They should at least offered you a repair around 80$ for a battery replacement.
 
Them senior advisors can work miracles. I had my front side pop off of a Series 0 about 2 weeks after my warranty had expired. I was so pissed. I spoke to the regular customer service who then passed me onto a senior advisor. I told her how disappointed I was in them not backing their product. Also pointed out that I had been an Apple faithful customer since the iPhone 3G, also had iPad, MacBook, Mac mini, and several kids with iDevices. She said there was nothing she could do and I let her know that I was sorely disappointed and that I would be seriously reconsidering my future dealings with Apple and I would share this bad experience with anyone that would listen.

She called me back about 25 minutes later and said she had made arrangements to send me a replacement refurbished watch along with a prepaid label for me to return the faulty watch. Actually, I think I got the box to send mine in first snd then they sent me the refurbished watch. Anyhow, as I recall, I believe the whole process began on a Wednesday and I had my replacement by the following Tuesday.

Yes, I have remained faithful to Apple ever since.
 
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This happened with my first gen Apple Watch. Apple apparently extended the repair period for swollen batteries for the first Apple Watch, but mine popped off about a month beyond the extension so Apple was only offering a $199 repair. The Apple employee agreed with my assessment that it was due to a swollen battery. I guess it's still an issue with later models as well. You can try to escalate it but I doubt Apple will budge if it's out of warranty.
 
I’ve had a look at the battery replacement process on Ifixit and it doesn’t look too bad so I’ve ordered a new battery and screen adhesive. If it works then great, if it doesn’t then I’ll certainly be getting my money‘s worth out of Apples repair process. 🤪
Keep us updated, I saw a couple of videos by Hugh Jeffery I believe and it doesn't look that bad but be careful with the force touch layer.
 
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