Unresponsive out of warranty Watch - UK Consumer Rights

[Mark359]

Hi, after some advice please.

My Apple Watch series 3 has died. All it shows is a black screen with a white Apple logo.

I have taken it to Genius Bar and they have said nothing they can do as it was purchased Aug 2019. I was hoping they could do a reset via the diagnostic port but they were not interested.

I have gone to Amazon (where I purchased the watch) to try and claim via UK consumer rights laws. Amazon are pushing back and stating that the onus is on me to prove the decide was faulty at the point of purchase. This is obviously not possible for me to do. I am sure the watch was probably perfectly fine when it was purchased, but subsequent normal usage and or software updates may well have broken it.

Does anyone have any experience with this or any advice on what I can do?
I feel I have pushed Amazon as far as I can and they are standing firm on me proving that the decide was faulty when I got it.

I was expecting the lifespan of these devices to well exceed 3 years!

Are there any unofficial repair services that may be able to fix the watch?

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Expos of 1969]

Hi, after some advice please.

My Apple Watch series 3 has died. All it shows is a black screen with a white Apple logo.

I have taken it to Genius Bar and they have said nothing they can do as it was purchased Aug 2019. I was hoping they could do a reset via the diagnostic port but they were not interested.

I have gone to Amazon (where I purchased the watch) to try and claim via UK consumer rights laws. Amazon are pushing back and stating that the onus is on me to prove the decide was faulty at the point of purchase. This is obviously not possible for me to do. I am sure the watch was probably perfectly fine when it was purchased, but subsequent normal usage and or software updates may well have broken it.

Does anyone have any experience with this or any advice on what I can do?
I feel I have pushed Amazon as far as I can and they are standing firm on me proving that the decide was faulty when I got it.

I was expecting the lifespan of these devices to well exceed 3 years!

Are there any unofficial repair services that may be able to fix the watch?

Thanks in advance for any advice

I agree that 3 years is not a decent lifespan. As it is a fast depreciating device and will not be supported by Apple very soon, it may not be worth spending much to get it repaired, if a repair is even possible.

 

[StumpyBloke]

Hi, after some advice please.

My Apple Watch series 3 has died. All it shows is a black screen with a white Apple logo.

I have taken it to Genius Bar and they have said nothing they can do as it was purchased Aug 2019. I was hoping they could do a reset via the diagnostic port but they were not interested.

I have gone to Amazon (where I purchased the watch) to try and claim via UK consumer rights laws. Amazon are pushing back and stating that the onus is on me to prove the decide was faulty at the point of purchase. This is obviously not possible for me to do. I am sure the watch was probably perfectly fine when it was purchased, but subsequent normal usage and or software updates may well have broken it.

Does anyone have any experience with this or any advice on what I can do?
I feel I have pushed Amazon as far as I can and they are standing firm on me proving that the decide was faulty when I got it.

I was expecting the lifespan of these devices to well exceed 3 years!

Are there any unofficial repair services that may be able to fix the watch?

Thanks in advance for any advice

Unless you can prove (yes the onus is on you) that there is an inherent fault then you do not have a leg to stand on.

As said above, don’t waste any money on repairing a series 3. Suck it up and buy a newer model.

 

[russell_314]

Unless you can prove (yes the onus is on you) that there is an inherent fault then you do not have a leg to stand on.

As said above, don’t waste any money on repairing a series 3. Suck it up and buy a newer model.

I second this advice. Other than maybe for a kid the series 3 isn't really good compared to current models. Perhaps look for a used series 5 if you're trying to save money. That's as far back as I would go though.

 

[Huw Price]

Hi, after some advice please.

My Apple Watch series 3 has died. All it shows is a black screen with a white Apple logo.

I have taken it to Genius Bar and they have said nothing they can do as it was purchased Aug 2019. I was hoping they could do a reset via the diagnostic port but they were not interested.

I have gone to Amazon (where I purchased the watch) to try and claim via UK consumer rights laws. Amazon are pushing back and stating that the onus is on me to prove the decide was faulty at the point of purchase. This is obviously not possible for me to do. I am sure the watch was probably perfectly fine when it was purchased, but subsequent normal usage and or software updates may well have broken it.

Does anyone have any experience with this or any advice on what I can do?
I feel I have pushed Amazon as far as I can and they are standing firm on me proving that the decide was faulty when I got it.

I was expecting the lifespan of these devices to well exceed 3 years!

Are there any unofficial repair services that may be able to fix the watch?

Thanks in advance for any advice

If you are a member Id try Which Legal advice. Such technology should have a life longer than you have stated. If you don't, you might wish to state consumer law as the Watch not being of merchantable quality in that it has only lasted the times stated. Amazon won't budge but Apple may if you write ( recorded delivery) politely. All the best .\

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

My wife had a similar experience with a series 2 that was bought from John Lewis. The screen failed just after the 2 year mark and we took the watch to Apple who said if we’d bought it from them, they’d have replaced it for free. John Lewis didn’t want to know and told us we could complain but they’d refer to their legal team. The moral of the story I’ve learned is to buy future watches from Apple. Not much help to you OP but this might be a battle not worth wasting money on pursuing.

 

[russell_314]

My wife had a similar experience with a series 2 that was bought from John Lewis. The screen failed just after the 2 year mark and we took the watch to Apple who said if we’d bought it from them, they’d have replaced it for free. John Lewis didn’t want to know and told us we could complain but they’d refer to their legal team. The moral of the story I’ve learned is to buy future watches from Apple. Not much help to you OP but this might be a battle not worth wasting money on pursuing.

I suspect that's why some third party merchants are able to sell some Apple products cheaper than Apple. We have B&H photo here in the USA and while they're a reputable company their return policy mirrors most other stores in the USA so you don't get the no questions asked return and if you have issues down the line they won't just replace it.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I suspect that's why some third party merchants are able to sell some Apple products cheaper than Apple. We have B&H photo here in the USA and while they're a reputable company their return policy mirrors most other stores in the USA so you don't get the no questions asked return and if you have issues down the line they won't just replace it.

John Lewis are quite a high end department store here in the UK and over pretty good warranties on white goods etc. They aren’t cheap and Apple products cost the same as Apple, we just learned that after 24 months they aren’t as generous as Apple. No big deal, we both bought watches from Apple next time around and iPads. There are other retailers like your example that offer things a few quid cheaper but I’d imagine they are only offering 12 months without a fight.

 

[jambuie]

I'm in a similar situation now. I wore my 18 month old SE in a swimming pool for the first time and it instantly died. Screen went half black, then showed the apple logo intermittently. Won't charge, displayed the thermometer icon while on the charger. I took it Apple and they said I should go back to the retailer - in this case very.co.uk - and they provided a Genius Bar report stating it should be replaced under UK consumer law, and that there was no visible damage that could of caused a failure on the water resistance sealing.

Very.co.uk have told me that they'll refund the cost of a replacement, less 20% as I'd had 18 months of use - apparently this is part of the law so retailer can deduct some of the value. I've sent the genius bar report to them but haven't had a response yet.

For a set of Gen 1 AirPods, bought direct from Apple, I couldn't get anywhere - the left airpod drained it's battery twice as fast as the right. Because of the pandemic I didn;t get to a genius bar until about 3.5 years after purchase. I argued that because the right performed as expected, and was clearly different from the left, and there was no visible damage that showed a manufacturing fault. They refused to repair or replace saying I should have contacted them sooner, and within the first 2 years they would have replaced them, and that after 3.5 years of use I shouldn't expect the batteries to last very long.