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When the makers of the Ultrasonic cleaner said watches, they most certainly did not mean Electronic Watches with gyroscopes and all sorts of sensors.
 
Why is everyone giving this guy such a hard time? I work in aviation as an avionics engineer and we use ultrasonic cleaning baths to clean circuit boards all the time.



There's nothing wrong with cleaning electronics this way, as long as you use demineralized water and allow the electronics to dry for some time.


microelectronics may be damaged by ultrasound.
 
Why is everyone giving this guy such a hard time? I work in aviation as an avionics engineer and we use ultrasonic cleaning baths to clean circuit boards all the time.

I also work in aviation as an avionics engineer (small world ;)). Are any of the PCBs that you are washing in ultrasonic cleaning baths fitted with MEMS accelerometers?
 
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Looks like OP just found a way to get a replacement watch for any reason. just throw it on an ultrasonic cleaner then take it in for replacement and act like you don't know what happened. I hope apple has a way to check for this
 
Looks like OP just found a way to get a replacement watch for any reason. just throw it on an ultrasonic cleaner then take it in for replacement and act like you don't know what happened. I hope apple has a way to check for this

I'd imagine they have the usual water damage senors in there.
 
Just to confirm, can you put your iPhone in there too and see if it does the same thing? :)

Sorry dude, that sucks. Apple will probably replace it because it will be nearly impossible for them to tell what happened. Unless you tell them. But that's dishonest.

and then we wonder why :apple: is so $$$ .... it's because people break stuff by being stupid and then sneak it into the :apple: store and make a warranty claim out of it. too bad Apple is so generous and makes everybody else pay for those people... sorry.... but this has to be 10th+ posting/comment indicating that someone should do a warranty claim because they broke the watch on their own....
 
Um, ok. This isn't a mechanical watch. It has micro fabricated moving parts which resonate in the ultrasonic frequency range, like the gyroscope. Thanks for being the guinea pig, but bummer for you. Oops.

Even mechanical watches break under ultrasonic cleaning. It isn't good for any timepiece.
 
it's only submerged in a couple of inches of water for a couple minutes, so absolutely no water damage.

the only way to know for sure if there was no water damage from this procedure is to open up the watch and look inside. is that how you came to the conclusion that there's no water damage? it's been stated many times that the watch is not water proof just water resistant. just because some dude on youtube swam with his watch for 10 minutes and it still worked doesn't mean it wouldn't damage in ALL under water situations. if the motion sensor isn't working i'd guess you water damaged your watch or SOMETHING damaged your watch.
 
Anyway, you take your regular old $500 Citizen to a watch shop and ask for a cleaning, and guess what they'll do? Yes, they will shove it in an ultra sonic cleaner and basically do nothing else (well, the every day mall watch shops anyway.)

This is an excellent example of why you shouldn't take your watch/jewelry to the cheapo mall shop to be cleaned.
 
lmao you cleaned a two week old smart watch in a ultra sonic cleaner. OCD runs strong on this forum.
 
It's quite typical to clean regular watches in ultrasonic cleaners. It shows how few people interested in Apple Watch around here have even the slightest clue about regular watches. What an interesting crowd, then, that Apple has as its early adopters.

Anyway, you take your regular old $500 Citizen to a watch shop and ask for a cleaning, and guess what they'll do? Yes, they will shove it in an ultra sonic cleaner and basically do nothing else (well, the every day mall watch shops anyway.)

Sample: http://www.amazon.com/Magnasonic-Pr...5325&sr=8-3&keywords=ultrasonic+watch+cleaner

Now that doesn't mean it's okay for Apple Watch, but, still. It's not strange to clean a watch this way.

Well, this is how Apple says to clean your Apple watch:

Cleaning and care

Keep Apple Watch clean and dry. Clean and dry Apple Watch, the band, and your skin after workouts or heavy sweating. Dry Apple Watch and the band thoroughly if they are exposed to fresh water. Clean Apple Watch if it comes in contact with anything that may cause stains, or other damage, such as dirt or sand, makeup, ink, soap, detergent, acids or acidic foods, or comes in contact with liquids other than fresh water, including those that may lead to skin irritation such as: sweat, salt water, soapy water, pool water, perfume, insect repellent, lotions, sunscreen, oil, adhesive remover, hair dye, or solvents. The Apple Watch and band colors may vary or fade over time.
How to clean Apple Watch:
• Turn off Apple Watch. Press and hold the side button, then drag the Power Off slider to the right.
• Depress the band release buttons and remove the band. See Remove, change, and fasten bands on page 87.
• Wipe Apple Watch clean with a nonabrasive, lint-free cloth. If necessary, you can also lightly dampen the cloth with fresh water.
• Dry Apple Watch with a nonabrasive, lint-free cloth.
• Apple Watch Edition (gold) models benefit the most if you clean them regularly. Clean with a nonabrasive, lint-free cloth to remove surface oil, perfumes, lotions, and other substances, especially before storing Apple Watch Edition.
The following things are not recommended in the care of your Apple Watch:
• Don’t clean Apple Watch while it’s charging.
• Don’t dry Apple Watch or the bands using any external heat source (for example, a hair dryer).
• Don’t use cleaning products or compressed air when cleaning your Apple Watch.
The front of Apple Watch is made of Ion-X glass (strengthened glass) or sapphire crystal, each with a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic (oil repellent) coating. This coating wears over time with normal usage. Cleaning products and abrasive materials will further diminish the coating, and may scratch the glass or the sapphire crystal.
 
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If you took the bands off couldn't fluid have got in through the diagnostic port? I know the fluid should be safe for electronics but it appears the strap functions to seal these ports when in normal use on your wrist or am I looking at it wrong?
 
I can't believe my eyes, are people actually entertaining and defending this point?

Why would anyone perform this operation to a highly specialized, tuned and unknown device? Of course you shook that poor sensor and who knows what else.

Perhaps Apple will replace but why would you publicly post about it?
:rolleyes:
 
If you took the bands off couldn't fluid have got in through the diagnostic port? I know the fluid should be safe for electronics but it appears the strap functions to seal these ports when in normal use on your wrist or am I looking at it wrong?

The port has an o-ring seal around it. (See iFixit's tear down).
 
There's no water damage as it's IPX7 water resistant, unless the OP has an ultrasonic cleaner that measures more than 1 meter deep. It's the ultrasonic, not water, that killed the watch.

Well then we have a lucky OP as there's probably no way for Apple to tell what he did.
 
There's no water damage as it's IPX7 water resistant, unless the OP has an ultrasonic cleaner that measures more than 1 meter deep. It's the ultrasonic, not water, that killed the watch.

Hmm...I wouldn't be that confident about it. You think those o-rings couldn't get gaps from the enclosure if they aren't vibrating at just the right frequency? It's certainly possible.

Obviously, the watch wasn't designed for such treatment.
 
Hmm...I wouldn't be that confident about it. You think those o-rings couldn't get gaps from the enclosure if they aren't vibrating at just the right frequency? It's certainly possible.

Obviously, the watch wasn't designed for such treatment.

Perhaps you're right. Nevertheless, they won't know unless you let the cat out of the bag that you were actually foolish enough to place it in an ultrasonic cleaner. Otherwise they'd treat it as a water ingress defect covered under the standard warranty.
 
Perhaps you're right. Nevertheless, they won't know unless you let the cat out of the bag that you were actually foolish enough to place it in an ultrasonic cleaner. Otherwise they'd treat it as a water ingress defect covered under the standard warranty.

Yep...would be interesting to see what the reaction is of the tech in their RMA department that tears it down. "How the hell....?" :)
 
Yep...would be interesting to see what the reaction is of the tech in their RMA department that tears it down. "How the hell....?" :)

They'd just dismiss it as a factory defect and think nothing of it. A certain percentage of Watches will fail due to water ingress from manufacturing defects, and they'd be replaced under the standard warranty.
 
No. Let a mechanical engineer reassure you, an ultrasonic cleaner will not cause an o-ring to fail. You're suggesting the vibrations can somehow deform or compress the o-ring enough to create a gap. This just wouldn't happen, the mass of the o-ring is so small that the force created by vibrating it is miniscule.

Plus, it's compressed in its gland... it's not going to turn to jelly and open up gaps...

Hmm...I wouldn't be that confident about it. You think those o-rings couldn't get gaps from the enclosure if they aren't vibrating at just the right frequency? It's certainly possible.

Obviously, the watch wasn't designed for such treatment.


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Dude, no. O-rings vibrate all the time. Planes, trains, cars, and, um, water pumps! The o-ring in a water pump creates a seal, not a pump. Come on guys you sound as foolish as the OP.

I can imagine that vibrating O-rings can act like a water pump. Wash that S1 squeaky clean!
 
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