I bought my husband an Apple watch in December 2017 for Christmas. Last week, after normal wear, he looked at his watch and the face was missing - totally gone! We could not find it since we were out in the countryside. Even though he has Apple Care and the watch is only a few months old, he is being told they will not replace/repair the watch. They want him to buy another. Crazy! IThis hurts me as I have been a loyal Apple supporter since the 80s - really! What happened to Apple????
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Watch falls apart
- Thread starter pwebsterco
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I'm not sure what the policy is when pieces are missing completely like that, but I imagine if you escalate the issue it will get replaced assuming you pay the deductible. I would be unhappy too if the screen just fell off and then was told I had to buy a new watch when I had AppleCare+
I take this to mean the screen fell off the watch.
You said you bought your husband an Apple Watch in December 2017, I’m assuming this was a new Watch or what model?
Also, I can understand if Apple cannot assess the situation properly, because they don’t have all the parts to the Apple Watch, which they would need to have the Apple Watch display to verify specifically what occurred and why. They don’t know if perhaps the Apple Watch was tampered/altered with versus what you’re saying is entirely accurate. Also, I’m curious to see how the display actually just ‘fell off’, because it is attached to a ribbon, so that would be difficult to do.
It’s a very strange situation, because not many customers bring a product in with an actual missing vital piece.
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Maybe an expanded battery pushed out the screen? Got a picture of the Watch?
I have seen other reports. If you google "Apple Watch glass fell off" there are quite a few hits.
If the screen fell off in warranty period & Apple refuse to fix it, isn’t it a ground for lawsuit? Something’s just not right.
That’s not what I was referring to, what you’re referring to; is the first generation Apple Watch Having the swollen battery concern where it forces the display off. That’s really been a nonexistent issue with the Series 3, which is why I asked which model and the OP indicated its a ‘Few months old’. Also, it’s very weird that the display would completely disappear being that it’s connected to a ribbon when/or if it is forced off by a swollen battery.
Apple's warranty policy has got a bit tougher. But, have a good case and I would escalate it to the manager of the store or go above him if you do not get satisfaction. Geeks in Apple stores are human and sometimes their information is incorrect.
But it’s not the customers fault if it was a failure of the product.
The entire story sounds like something key is missing though. As others have said the screen is connected by a cable so even if it popped off you would expect it to be attached and flapping around until you then managed to rip it off somehow.
At least one of the hits is a series 3.
I can well imagine that when out in the countryside the ribbon could easily break, and the glass disappear, before being noticed, eg while taking off or putting on a jumper.
It was never once indicated if it was the customers fault or not, Thats somewhat irrelevant, the point is and was; It makes it very difficult for Apple to move forward in the process without actually having all the pieces or parts. I don’t know what their policy is, but I can imagine they’re very stringent about having all the hardware necessary to make a proper evaluation to compete a repair and assess the situation.
You’re Still misunderstanding. You just listed a Reddit article from one individual with the display popping off, the _first generation Apple Watch_ actually had Apple offering an entire program to repair the Apple Watch due to a swollen battery. A Swollen battery can happen with [any] product that uses a rechargeable lithium battery, but this was a widespread issue with the first generation Apple Watch which caused Apple to react. Two different things.
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/04/28/original-apple-watch-repairs-extended/
I understand very well about the much more common first generation problem. I was merely pointing out that there have been reports of later models with the glass falling off, not necessarily due to battery.
I am the husband/owner of the watch. We are photographers. We were doing a photo shoot on a ranch. Not a ton of gear, no lights, just our cameras. We got in the truck. I went to check the time and the LCD face was missing. I have no idea what happened. The biggest jolt the watch ever got was falling off the night stand while charging. The Warranty requires all parts be returned. It is impossible since the screen seperated and fell off and I didn’t notice. I understand why they want the part but as a customer having spent $799 on the watch less than five months ago it is extremely frustrating. Apparently the lcd is attached by adhesive. Despite it being waterproof it has not been in the water other than getting splashed while washing my hands.
Just upsetting. My wife owned two Mac Classics going way back. We have four or five MacBooks. Three iPhones. On our 5th and 6th ipads. Have never sent anything back for repair. Never had a cracked screen.
The watch fell apart. I am screwed since I cannot find the part. If Apple is going to sell products that can fall apart and pieces be lost, they need to revise their warranty.
[doublepost=1524665786][/doublepost]Also Apple Store does not handle the watch repair. It gets sent to a repair depot. That depot makes the determination about warranty, Apple Care etc. I escalated up through three supervisors via phone and bottom line “it is policy” that all parts must be there and this is just “an unfortunate situation”. When the product fails - which they are denying - and separates in ordinary use, part goes missing why punish the customer???? Bad enough that I bought an $800 watch that fell apart to begin with.
despit
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Apple Watch Series 3
If applecare+ was purchased then you could have processed the claim as accidental instead of warranty. I'm assuming the applecare mentioned in the original post is just the standard applecare. I guess apple cannot process the warranty claim as they cannot verify if it's user damage or product failure at this time.
@JackL2018 You should sue. Policy or not, if the watch was broken Apple needs to fix it.. part or no part it has no relevancy. It’s broken. It’s needed to be fixed. Sue their asses.
I purchased Apple Care Plus. They offered to refund a prorated portion of my cost to purchase it.
[doublepost=1524668821][/doublepost]To clarify they did not offer a refund on the watch, they offered a refund on my Apple Care Plus purchase - prorated.
None of this makes sense.
I’ve always been honest with my Apple devices needing repair, sometimes even at my own neglect, and I’ve always encouraged others to be honest when giving advice regarding broken Apple devices and dealing with AppleCare.
If I were in the OP’s situation and Apple refused any and all service (even with AppleCare+ and despite escalation up the ranks), what would stop me from buying a broken Apple Watch on eBay for cheap, ripping the shattered screen off of its ribbon cable, then calling back saying I found the missing screen?
I understand Apple would need all parts of a device to investigate a failure, initiate a repair, or even prevent fraud. However, if the OP is being honest, I fail to understand how this cannot be logically or reasonably resolved.
I’ve always been honest with my Apple devices needing repair, sometimes even at my own neglect, and I’ve always encouraged others to be honest when giving advice regarding broken Apple devices and dealing with AppleCare.
If I were in the OP’s situation and Apple refused any and all service (even with AppleCare+ and despite escalation up the ranks), what would stop me from buying a broken Apple Watch on eBay for cheap, ripping the shattered screen off of its ribbon cable, then calling back saying I found the missing screen?
I understand Apple would need all parts of a device to investigate a failure, initiate a repair, or even prevent fraud. However, if the OP is being honest, I fail to understand how this cannot be logically or reasonably resolved.
LOL! Suing Apple is stupid.
Go see your lawyer and he will ask for money up front from YOU!
That is always a bad sign.
Apple is one of the biggest corps on this planet. Investigating every warranty claim on minor products like apple watches would probably cost them more money than just replacing it would. They'd rather deny claims outright, that would save them even more money.
Huge corps are ALWAYS faceless evils, because they don't need you; if they alienate you somehow, there's always other people who will take your place in their ranks.
AppleCare+ should just allow you to get another watch after paying the deductible. That would count toward 1 of the 2 accident replacements. You don’t have to pay for the full watch again. And they shouldn’t offer to refund (prorated or not) the AppleCare+ instead of processing the accident claim.
Others may not agree with me, but I support Apples decision. Its their policy and how do you expect them to make an evaluation based off what you’re saying without having the necessary hardware to investigate the failure. If other customers brought missing hardware into the Store and asked for a repair, how do you think that looks to Apple? Its suspicious and abnormal, even though I’m inclined to believe everything you’re saying. Its the nature of the situation that ultimately is debunked by their policy and procedure.
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How do you expect Apple to deem the OP is being honest though? They have to treat everyone equally, especially being its their policy to have all the necessary hardware.
If they don’t want to repair it they should at least allow him to claim it under “Accidental Damage from Handling ("ADH Service")” as per the terms of service for AppleCare+. The owner would just have to pay the $70-$100 fee and they would get a replacement watch.