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What does this symbol indicate?

Hello!

Just the other day, my Apple watch ran out of battery. So as one does I went to put it on charge. When I awoke the next morning, I find that the watch will not switch on, but instead this image (shown below) shows on the screen. The watch will not turn on or show any other function other than the image pictured. When disconnected from a power source the little lightning bolt goes red and obviously when connected to a power source it glows green (as seen).

User uploaded file

I have absolutely no clue what this symbol means or what it is indicating really. I thought it was just asking me to charge it, however the watch has been on charge all night and most of today.


I have contacted apple support but the only suggestion was to try and force restart the watch (which did not work). I was not told what the image meant even though It was described. I was just wondering if anyone would know what it means and have any suggestions to what to do? An appointment was made with the apple genius for next week, but it would be good to know if this is something fixable ect.


many thanks 🙂

Posted on Dec 14, 2015 10:45 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Dec 15, 2015 1:31 AM

You may have a faulty charging cable, adapter and/or watch. Before your Genius Bar appointment, check that:


  • All plastic wrapping has been removed from both ends and both sides of the charging cable (check closely on the head of the charger).
  • The back of your watch and the concave head of the charging cable are clean and dry (clean them with a lint-free cloth and retry).
  • The charging head is directly aligned with the back of the watch and touching it fully (some stands might hinder this).
  • You are using only the genuine Apple Magnetic Charging Cable.
  • If plugging into mains power, you are using a genuine Apple USB Power Adapter. Besides the adapter that is supplied with the watch, the cable can also be used with the Apple 5W (iPhone) or 12W (iPad) USB Power Adapter (or with Apple certified third-party equivalents) - test with these if you have them.
  • If charging via USB, ensure that you use a USB 2.0 or 3.0 port, the computer remains on and awake and the cable is plugged directly into the computer (not into, for example, an external keyboard).
  • If your battery is very low, you may need to wait for a few minutes before the green charging icon appears.


More information: Check your battery and charge your Apple Watch - Apple Support


Also try restarting - or, if that doesn't help, force restarting - your watch

- Restart : press and hold the side button until you see the Power Off slider, drag it to turn off, then press and hold the side button until you see the logo.

- Force restart: press and hold both the side button and Digital Crown for at least 10 seconds, until you see the logo.


Otherwise, ensure that, when attending your Genius Bar appointment, you take along both your watch and all of the power accessories that you use with it.

2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Dec 15, 2015 1:31 AM in response to SteffJGale

You may have a faulty charging cable, adapter and/or watch. Before your Genius Bar appointment, check that:


  • All plastic wrapping has been removed from both ends and both sides of the charging cable (check closely on the head of the charger).
  • The back of your watch and the concave head of the charging cable are clean and dry (clean them with a lint-free cloth and retry).
  • The charging head is directly aligned with the back of the watch and touching it fully (some stands might hinder this).
  • You are using only the genuine Apple Magnetic Charging Cable.
  • If plugging into mains power, you are using a genuine Apple USB Power Adapter. Besides the adapter that is supplied with the watch, the cable can also be used with the Apple 5W (iPhone) or 12W (iPad) USB Power Adapter (or with Apple certified third-party equivalents) - test with these if you have them.
  • If charging via USB, ensure that you use a USB 2.0 or 3.0 port, the computer remains on and awake and the cable is plugged directly into the computer (not into, for example, an external keyboard).
  • If your battery is very low, you may need to wait for a few minutes before the green charging icon appears.


More information: Check your battery and charge your Apple Watch - Apple Support


Also try restarting - or, if that doesn't help, force restarting - your watch

- Restart : press and hold the side button until you see the Power Off slider, drag it to turn off, then press and hold the side button until you see the logo.

- Force restart: press and hold both the side button and Digital Crown for at least 10 seconds, until you see the logo.


Otherwise, ensure that, when attending your Genius Bar appointment, you take along both your watch and all of the power accessories that you use with it.

Dec 15, 2015 1:53 AM in response to Jonathan UK

Thank you Jonathan.


I have only ever used the charing cable and socket that came with the watch rather than any of the Ebay replicas.


Whilst on the phone with the apple support team we tried the forced restart, however it didn't work. The watch won't even switch on even when connected to the power source.


I have tried cleaning the back charging contact on the back of the watch, as well as the magnet on the charging cable, this has not helped either.


Does this symbol indicate a charging problem? Was that what you were implying?


The watch itself will not switch on. I am unable to even try and do anything through the app from the paired handset, as it cannot connect to the watch.


I am still a bit bewildered as to what this symbol actually means.

What does this symbol indicate?

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