Series 8 screen black - signs of life, can't display anything.

[djc6]

My wife has a Series 8 watch - GPS model, 45mm. It appears to be charged but the screen is black and nothing appears. There are signs of life - if I triple press the crown you can hear it say "voiceover on" or "voiceover off". It vibrates randomly (notifications?). But I cannot get the screen to display anything. I've tried resetting it by holding down the crown button and side button simultaneously 10-60 seconds. It seems to reset because voiceover toggle stops working for a minute or so, but nothing on the screen. I've used a flashlight on the screen but since its OLED there is nothing shown. I think an LCD would show me something if the backlight were broken.

There are no physical signs of damage, the watch looks in excellent shape. No scratches or chips on the screen.

Any ideas what to do? Part of me wants to try opening it and try re-seating the display cables - it can't get much more broken.

I found another post where someone left watch alone for two weeks to let the battery really drain, then it suddenly came back to life once charged.

 

[goldmac2006]

My wife has a Series 8 watch - GPS model, 45mm. It appears to be charged but the screen is black and nothing appears. There are signs of life - if I triple press the crown you can hear it say "voiceover on" or "voiceover off". It vibrates randomly (notifications?). But I cannot get the screen to display anything. I've tried resetting it by holding down the crown button and side button simultaneously 10-60 seconds. It seems to reset because voiceover toggle stops working for a minute or so, but nothing on the screen. I've used a flashlight on the screen but since its OLED there is nothing shown. I think an LCD would show me something if the backlight were broken.

There are no physical signs of damage, the watch looks in excellent shape. No scratches or chips on the screen.

Any ideas what to do? Part of me wants to try opening it and try re-seating the display cables - it can't get much more broken.

I found another post where someone left watch alone for two weeks to let the battery really drain, then it suddenly came back to life once charged.

First and foremost, is the Apple Watch Series 8 covered under AppleCare +?

It obviously has a display issue whereas it does not work at all, but the battery is still running fine.

Take it to an Apple Store, get a Genius Bar appointment and have it checked out.

 

[jz0309]

My wife has a Series 8 watch - GPS model, 45mm. It appears to be charged but the screen is black and nothing appears. There are signs of life - if I triple press the crown you can hear it say "voiceover on" or "voiceover off". It vibrates randomly (notifications?). But I cannot get the screen to display anything. I've tried resetting it by holding down the crown button and side button simultaneously 10-60 seconds. It seems to reset because voiceover toggle stops working for a minute or so, but nothing on the screen. I've used a flashlight on the screen but since its OLED there is nothing shown. I think an LCD would show me something if the backlight were broken.

There are no physical signs of damage, the watch looks in excellent shape. No scratches or chips on the screen.

Any ideas what to do? Part of me wants to try opening it and try re-seating the display cables - it can't get much more broken.

I found another post where someone left watch alone for two weeks to let the battery really drain, then it suddenly came back to life once charged.

Was it exposed to water?
Since you did the force reboot, its certainly possible that the screen is dead.
Contact Apple support, they might be able to diagnose that remotely

 

[djc6]

I'm trying to totally drain the battery as another post suggested - I've had the watch sitting on a shelf for 2.5 days now and I still hear voiceover off/on when I triple press button. I guess that battery lasts a long time with no working display!

Her watch has been exposed to water in the distant past, she had attempted swimming with it in an indoor pool once to see if it was of any value to track swimming. She did the water lock and & water eject thing. Its been well over a year.

No valid AppleCare+ - watch was purchased October 2022, almost 2.5 years ago. My wife has her old watch - a Series 3 - that still works great she is using in the interim. Her first watch was actually a Series 2, but Apple replaced it with a Series 3 when the battery on her Series 2 swelled so much it cracked the display!

 

[goldmac2006]

I'm trying to totally drain the battery as another post suggested - I've had the watch sitting on a shelf for 2.5 days now and I still hear voiceover off/on when I triple press button. I guess that battery lasts a long time with no working display!

Her watch has been exposed to water in the distant past, she had attempted swimming with it in an indoor pool once to see if it was of any value to track swimming. She did the water lock and & water eject thing. Its been well over a year.

No valid AppleCare+ - watch was purchased October 2022, almost 2.5 years ago. My wife has her old watch - a Series 3 - that still works great she is using in the interim. Her first watch was actually a Series 2, but Apple replaced it with a Series 3 when the battery on her Series 2 swelled so much it cracked the display!

🤯
My series 1 screen separated like yours after 7 years! I got it traded in to get a sweet deal on a strap at the Apple Store last month.

So AppleCare + expired? Had you got a chance to get the Apple Watch Series 8 checked out by Apple Genius 🧑‍💻?