Back of Watch fell off

Well, I am waiting for my third replacement watch. My No.3 Apple Watch's back fell off this week as I removed it from the charger (very gently). But this time the Genius response was different. They have discovered a fault in some watches and a modification has been applied and so the replacement will be fine. When I said that I had been very careful removing it from the charger he said that you shouldn't need to. It should just pop off. Again, my annoyance with the fault was alleviated by the charming and immediate helpfulness of the Apple staff. I will be on my fourth Apple watch just over a year! I still love it, sorry, them.

SteveGI Your earlier post starting "I am furious..." caught my attention. You have good reason. My third watch had its back fall off in April, shortly before the warranty expired. The previous two had the same fault. Each time the back came of on removal from the charger. It was immediately replaced with no questions asked and the Genius said that the watches were modified to correct a problem. For No2 back falling off I was politely quizzed on what I had done with it. In April I said that I had been careful to slide the charger off the watch and the Genius said that I shouldn't have to do this. The watch should just pop off the charger. You have a solid claim for it to be replaced.

PS I still slide if off: three times unlucky.

Update: I received an email today that my watch was ready for pick up. No mention whether it would be free, need to pay Apple Care co-pay, new watch, refurbished or repaired my old watch, etc. Well, guess what? Apple came thru and gave me a new watch! Also, they charged no fee and I did not need to pay $79 Apple Care co-pay. They said it is a rare problem but they have seen it before. I'm sorry I could not get any more information than that to help explain whether it was the charger, the watch, a bad batch, glue weakness, etc. However, I am so pleased that I have a new watch only 72 hours after I dropped it off. Thank you Apple for your professional customer service!

It has happened to me TWICE now. I never get my watch wet and take excellent care of it. However, when it was approx. 4 months old. the back fell off as I separated the watch from the charger. Apple allowed me to ship it back for free, and apple replaced it for free. I had my new watch in about a week. Yet 9 months later, the back has fallen off again, as I was separating the watch from the charger. Crappy design. I can only hope apple will continue to replace the defective watch until they come up with a design that works.

I cannot update my previous post so let me repost here with a disappointing revision:

It has happened to me TWICE now. I never get my watch wet and take excellent care of it. However, when it was approx. 4 months old. the back fell off as I separated the watch from the charger. Apple allowed me to ship it back for free, and apple replaced it for free. I had my new watch in about a week. Yet 9 months later, the back has fallen off again, as I was separating the watch from the charger. Crappy design.

Apple tech support has told me that this $650 watch is outside of warranty, even though this is clearly a design flaw, and if I want it repaired, I must pay $329. Note that is more than half the value of the watch just to repair a flaw that is apple's fault. This is obviously bigger than just one person getting a bad watch.

And although I loved my apple watch, I guess I am going back to a fitbit or pebble or some such device that is more reliable.

I was also asked to pay $329 but I refused. I cannot imagine that anyone on this earth would find it reasonable to pay such a hefty amount to fix an obvious product flaw after owning the product for only one year. And if these are indeed very rare incidents, then why aren’t they replacing them or repairing them as a sign of goodwill? I ended up bringing my watch to a watchmaker and he charged me $10 for reattaching the internal connector and re-sealing the watch with silicone adhesive. Now why wouldn't Apple offer that to its customers? I am an admitted Apple fanboy but this entire experience was such a turn off for me, I have decided to try out Android when I have to replace my iphone later this year.

dfswatch wrote:

I am now on my 4th replacement watch because of the same issue. .. I was told that I should not use the lotions/sunscreens/etc., especially behind my watch since this might be contributing to the problem. I was somewhat surprised to hear this response. .. I just thought this response was somewhat surprising.

Hi

This is explained in Apple's published guidelines. Failure to comply with these can render the watch ineligible for service under warranty and under AppleCare+.

"Keep Apple Watch clean and dry. .. Clean Apple Watch if it comes in contact with .. lotions, sunscreen .."

• Apple Watch User Guide > Important handling information > Cleaning and care
• https://help.apple.com/watch/#/apd707b42a5e

"Keeping your Apple Watch and bands—as well as your skin—clean and dry will maximize comfort and prevent long-term damage to the watch. This is especially important after workouts or exposure to liquids such as .. sunscreen, and lotions"

• Cleaning and wearing Apple Watch - Apple Support

One Year Limited Warranty: "This Warranty does not apply: .. to damage caused by operating the Apple Product outside Apple’s published guidelines"

AppleCare+: "The Plan does not apply to damage caused by .. operating the Covered Equipment outside the permitted or intended uses described by the manufacturer"

I am on my fourth Apple Watch. Each time the back has fallen off as described in this thread, after one to five months. Twice, I have taken it to the store and they have sent it in for repair. Once, they replaced it immediately in the store. That was the time I walked in swinging the watch pieces in a transparent plastic bag. Each time I hear "wow, we have never seen it do that before!". This is getting old.

As of this week, I have a new problem. Apparently the back has separated once again and allowed water into the watch. I can't wait to see what happens when I return it this time.

Same thing.....on my fourth watch and the back just fell off again....it gets replaced each time (which is good), but from my experience this is a glueing issue due to sun cream and overnight heating from the charger (which is bad). Just hope they have improved this with the changes in Series 2 to make it waterproof....

Apple does not participate here in the forum. This is a user to user support forum. If you wish Apple to do something about it, you need to either let Apple know about your issue with the feedback link here, http://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html or contact Apple Support to have the look at the watch. They will make a determination on what to do after looking at the device.

nevsf wrote:

My store also had watches in stock, but not "service replacement" watches, so they had to send it in for replacement or repair. It took about 5 days, and the couldn't mail the unit directly to me - it had to go the the store which meant I had to make another trip. They ended up sending a replacement unit.

Overall I find Apple to have the best customer support, but the watch repair experience was only satisfactory.

Good luck to you!

Despite its flaws, I did miss not having the watch, so perhaps that speaks well of it. IMHO not Apple's best product, but also not its worst.

Thank you for your measured, rational follow up.

Same thing happened to my watch. Attached the charger, removed to adjust, and the back came off. Guy in the Genius Bar most surprised. Still works fine, wiring remains connected and thin snake of waterproofing (presumably) falls off. It is off being replaced or repaired. Back seems to be glued or clipped in place only.

Well, I just collected my second replacement watch after the second one had its back fall off too (in October) while attached to the charger. Excellent response from the Apple people, all expressing astonishment that such a thing could happen. Other people have reported two failures like me, so the charger being over enthusiastic in its magnetism must be the suspect. Apple also replaced my charger. From now on I won't risk using the Night Stand setup, and I slide it off the charger always.

The same thing happened to me today. Apple Watch 42mm stainless steel with original Apple Magnetic Dock. i switched from fairly expensive Ssiss watches (Rolex and Jaeger Le Coultre) to the AW and actually thought that Apple is beating them in version 1.0. This is a major setback in quality and trust of craftsmanship. Making a case that works well under the constant stress of daily wearing (heat, movement, moisture) is a challenge and choosing a glued solution vs. screws and/or other mechanical fixtures a major fail in the design of this case. I am surprised that this story did not make it into wider news. Not even the usual Apple Davy tech blogs have referred to it. Feels like a time bomb (no pun intended) if the backs come off one after the other not even a year after launch. Requesting a replacement with Apple customer service. Let's see. In the meantime back to my reliable Rolex Explorer II.

Well....my watch back fell of this evening. I spent a week trying to "fix" the fact that none of the apps that needed wrist detection were working. Then the back just came off, with part of the "glue" clearly not adhering any longer.

Appointments at the 2 Apple stores in San Francisco are hard to come by (7 days out). Since I have Apple Care, they are sending me a new one, and as long as I return the damaged one, there is no cost to me.

About a year old, normal wear & tear. No contact with water other than kinda sweating on the elliptical during my workouts.

Second time Apple Care has come thru for me - last time was with an iPhone whose home button just quit.