Back of Watch fell off

Guys, a quick update. Just received a 1:1 watch-only replacement. Only took 4 working days.

It comes in a smaller white box. Kudos to Apple!

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.

Contact Apple Support and they will deal with the issue.

Hello all,

I decided to look online to see if other people had experienced this issue because all of the Apple representatives have told me that they haven't heard of this issue before. I have already had my watch replaced once due to the back plate coming off and it was shortly after I had purchased my watch and then yesterday to my horror it happened again! I have had good customer service from Apple, but I am astounded that after spending a substantial sum of money that this is still an issue. I am of course inconvenienced having to go to the store, and from what I have read not everyone has that opportunity, so I am fortunate there. I wonder though it being a one year warranty what will they do when this continues to be a problem??? I bought Apple care to make sure I protected my investment, but still I would think that Apple will have to stand by this product beyond one year.

I did call Apple Customer Service and as I did not have the Apple Care Plus the only option was to send it in for “repair or replacement” as they told me. I was reluctant to accept this, as I wanted a direct replacement, which they did not allow to happen. As I was on vacation I did two things:

1. I bought a new Apple Watch (with the new Storm Grey leather loop - very nice). This is a bit crazy I know, but I did not want to go a day without the AW. Shows the power the device and Apple has ;-) The plan is to then sell the repaired or replaced original watch.

2. After my return from the break I did contact Apple and within a day they did send me a UPS package (I am in Germany) to send back the defect AW. Two days ! later I received a new replacement watch through UPS. So this one is brand new.

In terms of customer service that is a super quick turn around. The fact that they did not bother with putting the defective heart rate monitor disc back in shows either that it is easier for them to just send a new one or that there was a bigger issue with the early build of the AW. I think it is the latter, as I noticed that the new AW I bought has a considerably less strong magnet than my original one. The original watch clicked very hard and strongly into the Apple Magnetic Charging dock. I think they changed the magnets later in the production to put less strain on the glued disk when being connected to the charging cable or dock. I can not prove it and it would require some experts to measure the magnetic strength from day 1 watches vs. current shipments.

If any one has the same issue, I expect Apple will also replace it with a new watch and I assume with one with a refined magnet that avoids this going forward.

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.

My stainless steel watch (with milanese loop band) did the exact same thing last Thursday - I did the support chat with Apple - my watch was 3 days out of warranty but they sent me a fed ex box to return it for repair. Today (Wed.) I received a new replacement watch new serial #.

The back plate of my wife’s Apple watch came off on the weekend. I read through the suggestions here and took it to the Genius bar. I am now 26 days out of warranty and because of that, I was asked to pay ~$320 for the repair/replacement.

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.

I am surprised someone actually saw my original post instead of the ultra-short version posted above. The moderators of this forum removed the original one within minutes of me posting it because it “contained rants or complaints that weren’t constructive”. So here I am trying to be really constructive… I agree with you that I should have a solid claim for the watch to be replaced or fixed but Apple’s position seems to be that warranty is warranty and that 12 months and 26 days is more than 12 month. I understand the limitation of warranties, but who buys a product with the reasonable expectation that its useful life ends when its warranty expires (try to tell this to the IRS). At the end of the day, this is a business decision for Apple to make. In my particular case, I am not going to pay an extra $320 for a product that I’ve purchased just a year ago, but this experience has certainly cost Apple my loyalty as a customer.

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.

The same thing happened to me ! I wear my watch every day, it is the sports version with leather strap, less than a year 😟

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!

Were you still in the 12 month window after you originally bought the watch?