watchOS 5.1 - I think my watch is bricked

Just got off the phone. Here in Germany they have a no replacement policy. They only offer repairs. I will have to mail in my watch. The repair will take 5-10 business days. However, due to the large amount of cases, the apple guy told me I should expect the latter (or even a little more). Man, I am quite annoyed.
 
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nasa25 said:
Yup I’d rather not have to get a replacement but that’s probably inevitable due to the lack of a physical port to kick the watch out of a bootloop
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There is a physical port, it's under the strap connector (forget which side, but it's there). My guess is they'll flash the ones they get sent for repair with the new firmware/software then mail people back the same watch (apart from people who go for express replacement, of course).
 
caligurl said:
so again i ask... where are they getting the replacements at this point in time since they are still out to the end of november for orders....
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A thing I’ve always understood from reading around on the forums is Apple makes more devices than what is actually available for the public for purchase. The extra devices are made for replacements and solely for that. That quantity available can vary of course, which could explain how some have been able to walk in with their watch swapped out on the spot and the temperament of the staff on site while others have to simply mail theirs in.
 
Bazooka-joe said:
Two to three weeks for a factory replacement for mine. Apple did say that I could try my local store and it would be at the store managers discretion as to whether they would replace it as it’s over 14 days old. I opted for a factory order as at least it will cone with 5.1 preinstalled.
The annoying thing is that the beta testing should iron out any issues like this
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Indeed. I’m thoroughly amazed that something like this made it to release. This didn’t turn up in beta? Wow!

I lucked out that my local Apple Store had one in stock and was able to exchange mine. I just opened it today after waiting 3 weeks for it to ship. The logistics of replacing all of these units that can’t be swapped in store and keeping up with shipping all the orders still outstanding boggles the mind.
 
It did turned out in beta, in june were reported several cases and the beta seed was removed.
This definitely cured my itch to buy new iPhone and iPad.
 
I posted on the other thread as well, but may be useful:


To help determine what may have happened, here was my scenario (mine was fine)

S4 Nike + LTE 44mm 5.1 beta 4
iPhone 8+ 12.1 beta 4

I removed both the watch and the phone beta profiles and rebooted.

Updated watch first to production 5.1 - very fast, about 10 mins.

However, observations:
Watch updated initially in 3 mins and on phone said fine, but Apple logo with no white marks for about 3 mins. Phone said update completed. then I got the passcode on watch and as usual unlocked and then the white marks started. The circle was filled in about 2 mins and passcode again. Watch fine. However, the phone showed then installing and was hung. As watch was ok, i exited from watch app and then re-opened and checked for updates, said was up to date 5.1

I then updated the phone from the beta and although it said installing 12.0, on a reboot it was 12.1

I have submitted this through the dev portal to Apple as a ticket - although all went well, it may help them determine why some were ok and others weren't. In software, although it seems luck played a part, there is normally a reason :)

Feel for you guys that have a brick now :(
 
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adamgbiggs said:
Oh I see so even though people have said to Apple they have AC+ it won’t show up as you have used it as it’s a warranty repair?

Thanks,
Adam.
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Correct. You are not using a “damage replacement”, of which you are allowed 2 during the extent of the AC plan. The first year is basically standard Apple warranty with the 2nd year is AC warranty replacement.

I’ve had both a series 1 & 2 watch replaced under warranty for various issues. I believe both after one year and I purchased AC. Zero $$ in charges for white box replacements.
[doublepost=1540977150][/doublepost]These are the builds.
 

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nasa25 said:
How are you guys getting an express replacement? I have AC+ and they never even mentioned that to me. Rep just scheduled a status update call for tomorrow.
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I would rather wait for a fresh factory order than one in stock even if a replacement has WatchOS5.1 already installed. Just because some people upgraded successfully yesterday, doesn't mean that there aren't underlying issues in the current version of WatchOS5.1.
With a factory order, Apple should have resolved the issues with the OS by the time its built.
Apple will release 5.1.1 within the next week or so to fix the issues. It will require a brave person to be the first to risk their S4 upgrading to 5.1.1. when it arrives lol
 
Bazooka-joe said:
I would rather wait for a fresh factory order than one in stock even if a replacement has WatchOS5.1 already installed. Just because some people upgraded successfully yesterday, doesn't mean that there aren't underlying issues in the current version of WatchOS5.1.
With a factory order, Apple should have resolved the issues with the OS by the time its built.
Apple will release 5.1.1 within the next week or so to fix the issues. It will require a brave person to be the first to risk their S4 upgrading to 5.1.1. when it arrives lol
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Lol exactly...I'm scared to even reboot my S4 on 5.1 now :)
 
Mine works well so far. Update was pretty fast (about 10 minutes)
- Apple Watch Series 4 (no cellular), aluminum, 44mm (never had any beta on the watch)
- iPhone Xs Max running the latest iOS12.1 beta
 
My S4 Cellular SBSS bricked. Went into Apple this morning and they offered me a swap but did not have my model in stock and are not expecting it for around 3-4 weeks.

As a solution, they offered me a full refund to a gift card which I then used to buy a S4 Cellular SS and they are going to notify me when the SBSS is back in stock so I can return my interim watch and swap (even if after their usual 14 day period for returns).

Annoying situation but a much better result than being without a watch for 3-4 weeks.
 
ipaine said:
My S4 Cellular SBSS bricked. Went into Apple this morning and they offered me a swap but did not have my model in stock and are not expecting it for around 3-4 weeks.

As a solution, they offered me a full refund to a gift card which I then used to buy a S4 Cellular SS and they are going to notify me when the SBSS is back in stock so I can return my interim watch and swap (even if after their usual 14 day period for returns).

Annoying situation but a much better result than being without a watch for 3-4 weeks.
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Which Apple Store was this?
 
Apple Watch S4 SS Silver here bricked, just arranged an express replacement in the UK. My Advisor tried to get me a brand new one but just a bit too far over the 30 days sadly.
 
alFR said:
There is a physical port, it's under the strap connector (forget which side, but it's there). My guess is they'll flash the ones they get sent for repair with the new firmware/software then mail people back the same watch (apart from people who go for express replacement, of course).
Click to expand...

Yes but my point was that there’s no way for the end user (us) to do this. It will have to be sent in for repair.
 
ipaine said:
My S4 Cellular SBSS bricked. Went into Apple this morning and they offered me a swap but did not have my model in stock and are not expecting it for around 3-4 weeks.

As a solution, they offered me a full refund to a gift card which I then used to buy a S4 Cellular SS and they are going to notify me when the SBSS is back in stock so I can return my interim watch and swap (even if after their usual 14 day period for returns).

Annoying situation but a much better result than being without a watch for 3-4 weeks.
Click to expand...
Wow. Never get that kind of service at my store
 
nasa25 said:
Yes but my point was that there’s no way for the end user (us) to do this. It will have to be sent in for repair.
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Yep - this is something I never really thought of and it's a bit concerning from the standpoint of "What if 5.1 bricked a Series 2 or 3 that's out of warranty?" Repair costs for someone to most likely re-flash your Watch...
 
Bazooka-joe said:
I would rather wait for a fresh factory order than one in stock even if a replacement has WatchOS5.1 already installed. Just because some people upgraded successfully yesterday, doesn't mean that there aren't underlying issues in the current version of WatchOS5.1.
With a factory order, Apple should have resolved the issues with the OS by the time its built.
Apple will release 5.1.1 within the next week or so to fix the issues. It will require a brave person to be the first to risk their S4 upgrading to 5.1.1. when it arrives lol
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I hope you are correct, but it's entirely possible a replacement will have 5.0 or 5.0.1 installed if it was manufactured last week.
 
ecschwarz said:
Yep - this is something I never really thought of and it's a bit concerning from the standpoint of "What if 5.1 bricked a Series 2 or 3 that's out of warranty?" Repair costs for someone to most likely re-flash your Watch...
Click to expand...

Apple would have to sort it whatever, as it's their fault the watch is bricked.
 
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