Back of Watch fell off

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.

I had this problem also with the 1st gen SS 42 mm Watch, the back stuck on to the Charging puck and the cable disconnected making the watch essentially non functional. Earliest appointment from the Apple website was at a BestBuy otherwise a week wait, BestBuy didn't tell about using the AppleCare exchange/return program, but I would be updated in 2-3 days and would be ready in 5-7 days. It then became "lost" for a few days neither BestBuy or Apple knew where it was. On day 10 BestBuy called at it was ready for pickup, their GeekSquad app showed the same screen as Day#1!! Anyway, Google shows that this watch back falling off during after charging problem is pretty widespread, sometimes the backs have come off 4+ times!!

So my plan is to use a waterproof, temp resistant metal to ceramic glue around the back(not opening it) the best I think is the Locktite Stik N'Seal Extreme Conditions Adhesive (1360784) from Amazon. Strange to have to do this with a nearly $800 watch (w/AppleCare) but eventually the warranty will expire.

Do they send you a replacement, or just glue the back, back on?

I went into a Apple Store this morning to tell them about my same problem. The back staying connected to the charger when pulling it off. She told me it would be 249 to fix it since my insurance expired on may 5th. 😑 I said it's ok, I might as well buy new for 269... as I was looking at a new watch she said she talked to her manager, that it's a known manufacturer defect and would repair it for free. It would be a week before its available for pickup. I wondered how they were going to fix it, if they were going to glue it back... or if they were going to replace it.

I suggest you make a Genius Bar appointment and take everything in with you to show them. Apple should take care of this.

nfdh wrote:

I had the same thing happen to me on Tuesday. Sport 42mm.

Good thing the watch comes with a 1 year warranty.

Take your Watch to an Apple Store and ask them, nobody here can answer your query.

Kstud7 wrote:

You are not the first and will certainly not be the last, this happened to me also, I went to pull the watch from the charger and the back stayed on the magnet revealing the inside of the watch and the strip that connects it, this will happen to everyone over time because the heat from the battery charging eventually breaks down the glue which holds the back onto the watch, I own the stainless steel version, so there is no particular version not effected, there is a video on YouTube about this problem, all apple will do is glue the back onto the watch again so in a couple of months this will happen again, this is a manufacturing defect, I mean who glues the back onto a watch anyway?

That is horrifying that the back isn't held in place by hardware. I hope that doesn't happen to me. For the $599 it cost plus Applecare, I am shocked.

Both my wife and I have purchased the apple watch 38mm and 42mm. I have the stainless steel apple watch and the sensor popped off of mine about 6 weeks ago when removing it from my charging stand. Apple was extremely speedy and cooperative in replacing the watch and I am currently satisfied except one concern that I will get to shortly.

My wife woke up this morning and removed her watch from the charging stand and I am sure you know what happened... the sensor popped off. I am sure she will have no issues getting the watch replaced but my problem is that this is not a resolution. This solution truly sounds like a band aid until I no longer have warranty.

I have a small watch collection and my expectation for durability and longevity is not the same from my apple watch as it is for a watch from my collection. I do have to say for the kind of money that was spent to purchase both of our watches and having the Apple name to back up that product my expectation is higher than how the product has served me. I really hope to see a recall and documented solution other than using glue that will have the same results.

To Aaronious - The exact thing happened to me and on the same day! Imagine my surprise this morning at 5:30 am when I pulled my watch off the charger after an overnight 6 hour charge and it completely opened because the black back cover was still stuck to the charger! A thin glue ring, like a thin rubber band was all that attached the two pieces. It's a stainless steel watch. I preordered soft pink modern buckle and received it June 2015, so it's almost 12 months old. I tried making a tech appointment but the next available date was more than 48 hours later, so I went to my local store where the wait was only 45 minutes. Apple replaced my charger and power adapter for free as I didn't want to use it again since it was connected to a surge protector which I had verified was turned on as this morning. I'm still in shock that this happened. I did nothing out of the ordinary yesterday. I did apply Neutragena spray sunscreen before a hike but I have done this many times before. I have AppleCare but still have to wait for my watch to be inspected somewhere else to determine if it will be repaired, replaced, free or require me to pay deductible. Truly seems like a defect not user error or accidental damage. Regardless, I'm seriously having withdrawals without my watch.

Interesting .... I have the same problem (avid bicyclist, so warmth of day, plus sweat, plus road vibrations?). G-bar and telephone support act like they've never heard of the problem but nonetheless keep replacing/repairing for free. Seems maybe they actually know this is a defect and are feigning ignorance?

Take it to an Apple Store, yours is the first report of this occurring that I have seen.

Just as you have quoted me saying, I'd get it repaired or replaced.

It is NOT about substandard build quality issues. It is about the fact that your watch broke. It's got a 1 year warranty. That's what warranties are for. Use it.

Apple replaced my watch in the end. Took just over a week for them to get the replacement back to my local Apple Store. I picked it up today. Fingers crossed this one lasts longer.