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watchOS 5.1 Update Bricking Some Apple Watches [Update: Apple Temporarily Pulls watchOS 5.1]

Unfortunately my s4 nike fell victim to this bug.

After researching and then contact apple they arranged a repair.

Not happy with this i spend 1 hour on the phone with support as only bought 26 days ago.

They agreed and processed replacement under consumer law. Only problem is in UK 2-3 weeks wait for delivery of new one, however local store had stock so they spoke to Manager of store who has reserved one for me to swap out.

Got there in the end but took a while!
 
This is the first time I’m ever really having issues with an Apple product where I need a repair/replacement. I’ve had a screen repaired before but that was no biggie. I’m pretty disappointed that they’re not stepping up and just sending people with bricked watches fresh ones without hassling. I’ve had it for 4 weeks and they brick it with an software update only to have them expect me to wait 3 weeks to get a functioning watch back. With no recompense, that’s absurd on its face. They expect me to pay $1,300 to upgrade my iPad Pro to the newest version when they can’t just take care of people with the trillion dollars they have? No way.
 
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I’m having a nightmare. I bought my S4 in the UK but have since moved to Portugal.
Bricked my watch about 24 hours ago. Spent a couple of hours with support online chat and then phone call.

My only option is to go to a third party authorised service partner miles away from me who will press the same two buttons as me and then send my watch away for an indeterminate amount of time and then fix or replace it after another undisclosed amount of time. There are no Apple Stores in Portugal.

This is really cr ap but it is Apple’s chaotic reaction that has really got me. They have barely admitted the problem and have been dealing with it in a completely haphazard way with no clear guidance from the top.

But maybe the worst thing is I have gone back to my Series 0 - it’s just so slooooooow. I know worse things happen on this crazy planet but I do feel a bit let down now by a company I have been loyal to for more than 30 years.

Still hoping for a magical fix!
 
Mine was bricked via the 5.1 update while covered by AppleCare. I was told express replacement was not an option after all (was initially quoted 3-5 days), and that it would actually be a 2-3 week wait for diagnostics and repairs. Was not offered a replacement. The tech that I worked with also did not mention anything about removing my band from the device, so I'll likely not get it back.

I called back today, spoke with someone else and was quickly elevated to a Senior Advisor. She expedited the return for me, so now it should actually only take 3-5 days. They offered me a free replacement band of my choosing (barring the steel link band) or AirPods for all the hassle. It's not the worst outcome, but I really don't think it should have been this difficult for them to reconcile a defect of their own making.

During the phone call we also discovered that the tech misspelled my email, so any correspondence in the past 24 hours had been sent to someone else. What an absolute mess!
 
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Isn't this a coincidence his happened abut the same time as Microsoft pulling 1803 update from Windows 10?

Since the is so common now,, i think one follows the other.. They basically HAVE to.
 
I think I downloaded right as they pulled it and now it wont verify when I try to install it, I hope I dont have issues when it finally gets released again.
 
Jack Neill said:
I think I downloaded right as they pulled it and now it wont verify when I try to install it, I hope I dont have issues when it finally gets released again.
Click to expand...

You can delete the download in the watch app. I ended up deleting it before install to avoid it installing on its own.
 
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zorinlynx said:
Can anyone explain why Apple didn't implement a DFU restore procedure for the watches? It shouldn't be possible for these devices to brick.

They should have implemented plugging the charger puck into a computer and using iTunes to restore it, just like you can an iOS device.
Click to expand...

They did. But apple don’t sell the cable. They only use it internally.

However for the S0-S3 you can use an ibus to restore it:

https://www.mfcbox.com/blog/how-to-use-ibus-tool-to-restore-an-apple-watch-on-/

Not sure if it works with S4 though.
 
lyricthejoe said:
Mine was bricked via the 5.1 update while covered by AppleCare. I was told express replacement was not an option after all (was initially quoted 3-5 days), and that it would actually be a 2-3 week wait for diagnostics and repairs. Was not offered a replacement. The tech that I worked with also did not mention anything about removing my band from the device, so I'll likely not get it back.

I called back today, spoke with someone else and was quickly elevated to a Senior Advisor. She expedited the return for me, so now it should actually only take 3-5 days. They offered me a free replacement band of my choosing (barring the steel link band) or AirPods for all the hassle. It's not the worst outcome, but I really don't think it should have been this difficult for them to reconcile a defect of their own making.

During the phone call we also discovered that the tech misspelled my email, so any correspondence in the past 24 hours had been sent to someone else. What an absolute mess!
Click to expand...

Got my replacement today - much sooner than expected.
 
Called it in Tuesday evening, got my replacement watch 30 minutes ago via Fedex. Canada, west coast. Came from Nevada. Shipped off last night, arrived today (across an international border). Pretty awesome. New watch looks new, cannot tell it's different from the old, except for the crown. The crown is a bit less stiff than the other one. Not sure if it's a refurbished one or not, but frankly, I don't give a damn. Just glad to have my watch back. :)
 
got a refurbished in the white box. NOT HAPPY. THEY fubared my brand NEW watch and send me a REFURBISHED. APPLE SUX!
 
Not sure if others have this problem, but my Apple Watch 4 since this update won’t allow me to change watch faces. Works fine before the update, now it won’t change at all.
 
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