Apple Watch S10 Digital Crown not responding to presses frequently

Since getting mine replaced with a brand new device, it hasn't re-occurred, so in my case I think it must've been a hardware issue. I waited through 3 WatchOS updates to see if it would be fixed in software but for me it wasn't. Restarting the watch (or after an update) seemed to fix it for a while, which is why I initially suspected it to be a software issue, but within hours it would return.

If you can reproduce the issue reliably to demonstrate it to an AppleStore technician I would suggest making an appointment at your nearest AppleStore. Apple telephone support were next to useless - just went through the standard troubleshooting things I'd already tried multiple times, and didn't give me the option of mailing it in to Apple for service - I had to visit an AppleStore - as inconvenient, time-wasting and costly for me that was.

After another software update failed to fix it I took mine into my nearest Apple Store and they saw the problem first hand and took it in for repair. A few days later I received a new one back which didn’t exhibit the problem and it’s been ok ever since.

watchOS 11.0.1 appears to have fixed the issue for me. At least it hasn't done it again in the 5 minutes since I installed it with dozens of test presses - so fingers-crossed...

Thanks for replying. Yes, your experience is pretty much identical to mine. Exiting apps seems to work every time. I notice it most when swiping down to view notifications and then using the Digital Crown button to return to the watch face, and also when going from the watch face to the app view.

I agree that it's most likely a software issue. If it was hardware the button wouldn't work everywhere - not just in a couple of places. However, I don't know why this issue isn't affecting more people if it is software. A friend bought the same watch as me last week and doesn't have the issue. I also didn't have the issue on my Series 6 also running WatchOS 11.0.

I've now turned off the Siri on push and hold and will see how that affects things.

Force restarting the watch (by holding the side button and Digital Crown in for 10 seconds) fixes the issue for a while, but it returns, so the restart after installing WatchOS 11.0.1 is what appeared to fix it, not the actual update.

This morning the problem seems to have returned. Last night I couldn't get it to do it at all - now when swiping down to view notifications I frequently have to press the Digital Crown at least 2 times to dismiss them (I know I can swipe up to dismiss, it's just what I'm used to and a good test).

I'm still having this issue regularly. Sometimes I have to press the Digital Crown 10, 20 times for it to respond. Other times it will work perfectly. I even updated to the public beta of the forthcoming WatchOS to see if that would help. Initially it did work better for 12+ hours but then came back as bad as before.

Anyone else having this issue, and managed to get it fixed, or am I going to have to visit and AppleStore to get it replaced?