Sticky Digital Crown

I had the SS 42 mm with SB , for almost 4 weeks , the Digital Crown started to get a little less responsive when scrolling up and down in the last week or so,I run twice weekly and wear the Watch at all times in Florida with hot and humid weather . So I kinda of figured that oil from my skin , mixed with sweat might have something to do with this . Followed the instructions on Apple Web site, a bit hesitant to use running water on it, but, it worked . Just wondered if this is a design flaw or just normal due to the nature of the Watch construction. Hmmm😕

Seriously! Should we really accept that for $400+ watch needs to be run under the tap?! And the watch isn't even 'waterproof'!

I too am experiencing. Sometimes after exercise - really really extreme exercise like a 30min cycle ride in the UK! I am barely breaking a sweat, but poor Watch gets tired and has 'sticky crown'

Come on Apple - we need this resolved

I have my suspicion this is a software bug - after all the software can control the firmness of the crown somehow - as per using Scroll functionality

I have never washed mine - after some time - it resolves itself

not really THAT big of a deal... I sweat all over the watch during a workout so a wipe down with water on a rag afterwards is the minimum otherwise the sweat is geta all gross...

It's not "waterproof" but it's rating allows for full submersion up to 3' for some extended period of time-a quick rinse in the sink isn't a problem. I swam in a pool all last weekend with mine on and it's perfectly fine and that was deeper than 3' for most of the time.

im fairly certain it's not a software issue-software could control overall firmness but can't make it seem "sticky". Not to mention water resolves the issue.

It really is a big deal... how many sports watches need washing after a workout

Whilst its called 'sticky' - I would say mine has more resistance - which could be software controlled - and is aka what happens with Scrolling

Anyway - thanks for prompt reply

Look forward to other views

I am intrigued that many of the reports on WWW and this forum seem to stop end May ... was this a first batch issue?

So far I have now had five incidences, and each time I leave (no running under the tap) for 4-6 hours and it fixes itself.

So, maybe its naturally drying out?

What is clear to me is that there is no bit of grit or dirt that needs 'washing out under the tap' - I remain convinced that is nonsense!

Anybody experiencing the naturally phenomenon of 'self fixing sticky crown'?

Im having the same issue since the day I got my Apple Sports Watch. I didnt even do any exercise with it nor took any showers or submersed it in water. It just started getting sticky and I got quite confused.

I washed it with little warm water and it worked fine for a few days and seems like the problem is back.

Seems like a defect, i dont think our sweat has anything to do with this. More like some sort of grinding issue with digital crown and the body of the watch. This is their first product in smart watches and we are their guinea pigs i guess.

Great - Zorkor - thanks for confirming this is nothing to do with exersice/sweat

When did you get your watch - was it one of the early pre-orders?

It generally feels to me like a first batch problem - as I would expect to see 100s of complaints since launch but the generally stop in the early days

Something still tells me this is a wacky software bug

I've had my watch now for a couple of weeks, and I first experienced the "sticky" crown on the second or third day after purchase. Although Apple's "fix" has improved the crown, I have to do it daily. Unfortunately the fix doesn't return the watch to new, and it has never been as smooth as it was straight out of the box. Relatedly, every other rotation, I feel a little "tick", as though there's something in the crown, but regardless of whether or not I feel the tick, it's not a smooth rotation. I also feel like a downward motion is smoother than an upward one, but that's hard to verify with just my subjective impression.

If anyone else has another suggestion for how to return the crown's motion to new, I'd love to hear it. Otherwise, I'm considering returning this in exchange for a new one (though that may not fix the problem).

You're welcome. I am not the exercising type nor I sweat wearing my Apple Watch and this thing has been sticking from day one. Even right now I am finding the crown sticking again after washing it a few days ago which made it a little smoother.

Seems like it needs to be constantly washed with warm water to make the digital crown work smoother. I am dead sure it has nothing to do with sweat.

hmmmm.... I have never experienced a 'tick'.

The best description I have heard is that its like pushing thru butter......when it becomes sticky ... far far more resistance.....then miraculously a few hours later like nothing ever happened ... super smooth. I have never washed it

I am going to continue monitoring ..... but I am pretty close to returning .... but seems many people who swap report having it on the new one ;-(

On an unrelated note .. Uber remains my only app that is semi-useful. Today I played golf.....with an app I thought was previously good.....only to find out it will only record my score and not my partners...despite having two players on the iPhone....so I had to take phone out of pocket! Come on Version 2 ... we need it soon!!!!!

Same issue here... Digital Crown sticky after every sport I do

Apple Store sent it to repair, i'm still waiting some news (5 days without it yet, it's hard...)

My digital Crown works fine when pressing in but it doesn't zoom or scroll anymore. I have an appointment today to get it replaced. I purchased it 5 days ago and its already messing up and now after a full night of charging and putting it on my wrist at 6am it is dead by 10am. Something is going on with this and I wont accept a repair or refurbished when I just purchased it 5 days ago. If this happens again within my 14 days I will ask for a full refund. This is crazy and they better replace it with a new one. Just some advice take it back and speak to them.

The crown is a very sensitive part of the Watch, similar to the Home button of the iPhone! After a while of pressing on the crown, the crown is put for a micrometer more into the body and you experience a sticky feeling. Washing is helping for short time since it works like a oil in a machine. When it is dry, the same problem!

Solution: just pull a bit on the crown! Always press gently on the crown!

A Lot of customers experience dobleclicking feeling with the homebutton after a while an so on.

apple should go away from designing mechanical parts and concentrate more on touch technology, since it is less sensitive to mechanical problems.

I have a 42mm Sport which I bought on October 7th. Tonight I started experiencing the initial reluctance to move form of this sticky crown problem. I'm not an athlete so I can't say I've gotten my watch sweaty in the last eight weeks. I haven't tried the Apple-recommended rinse yet, either, since some of you are reporting that this problem seems to fix itself sometimes. Will monitor and see what happens over the next few days. I'd hate to have to go through the whole replacement rigamarole over something like this, but I suppose that's always a possibility.....

On the one occasion I experienced this, a rinse with warm water, per Appel's suggestion, fixed it. That was about 4-5 months ago and I haven't had a recurrence. It really only takes a minute or two