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Apple Watch Series 3 Hairline crack around two sides of screen

My watch was fine the night before but after charging it for the night, when I put it back on there was a continuous hairline crack that wrapped around 2 sides of the screen on the bevel. I'm positive that it happened when charing/ off the wrist as its very noticeable when swiping on the screen. My finger picks up the scratch when sliding my finger over it. I noticed it the second I put the watch on. Apple Store advised that it was covered under warranty as it was likely related to a swollen battery or other factory defect. They sent it for repair under warranty but the repair facility wants over $250 to fix the screen because it is cracked & considered physical damage... THIS IS WHY I SENT IT IN. Obviously it's cracked, the Apple Store saw this, verified it and advised it was covered under warranty. There are zero signs of wear and tear. No case damage, scratched, etc. Just the hairline crack on the bevel. Anyone have similar issue? Resolved?

Posted on Mar 28, 2018 6:19 PM

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Posted on Aug 4, 2018 11:34 PM

I have had a similar problem, my watch was 4 weeks old and the screen just popped forward cracked around the entire outer edge.

I took it straight to an Apple store and the staff agreed it was not impact damage and said it was a known fault, unfortunately The stores are not allowed to make this decision and Apple rejected it as an impact damage. I am finding it very frustrating as there is no one to speake to who is actually making the decision and after reading other people’s post on here and other sites it feels like Apple are desperately trying to riggle out having a potential mass problem(shame on Apple and all who make these decisions)

It has just been announced they have hit 1 trillion on the stock market. SHAME SHAME SHAME

I am not going to let it go though I will call every day if I have to and call in the store making known to everyone what Apple are doingUser uploaded fileUser uploaded fileUser uploaded file

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11 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 4, 2018 11:34 PM in response to THHV

I have had a similar problem, my watch was 4 weeks old and the screen just popped forward cracked around the entire outer edge.

I took it straight to an Apple store and the staff agreed it was not impact damage and said it was a known fault, unfortunately The stores are not allowed to make this decision and Apple rejected it as an impact damage. I am finding it very frustrating as there is no one to speake to who is actually making the decision and after reading other people’s post on here and other sites it feels like Apple are desperately trying to riggle out having a potential mass problem(shame on Apple and all who make these decisions)

It has just been announced they have hit 1 trillion on the stock market. SHAME SHAME SHAME

I am not going to let it go though I will call every day if I have to and call in the store making known to everyone what Apple are doingUser uploaded fileUser uploaded fileUser uploaded file

Mar 28, 2018 7:21 PM in response to THHV

Doesn't really matter what others have done, each one is on a case-by-case basis and we can't do polls here. The Apple repair center has the final say on diagnosing the damage not the Apple Store personnel. You should have a case number, call AppleCare and ask to be transferred to a manager and go over your situation with them.

Mar 31, 2018 11:38 AM in response to THHV

This just happened to me, too. I woke up to a crack along the right side bevel of my watch screen this morning. It was totally fine when I went to bed last night, and I've never dropped it, scraped it, etc. I got it for Christmas so it's only 3 months old. I called Apple support, thinking that they'd help me out somehow since I didn't do anything to damage it, and they quoted me $289 to repair it (hard no). I'm planning to drive two hours to the closest store next weekend and talk to someone in person, but based on everything I'm reading on these and other forums, it sounds like this might be a fairly common issue that Apple is unwilling to admit to. I am so upset right now, and I'm really curious about whether anyone has managed to convince Apple to cover the cost of this repair.

Apr 2, 2018 8:42 AM in response to THHV

I received my Apple Watch 3 on evening of 3/28/18 and by noon on Saturday, 3/31/18 my watches screen was cracked and completely unusable. My watch lasted only 2.5 days before it was ruined. I work in an Office IT environment and I have no idea how this happened. I called Apple support and they suggested take it their genius bar. I have since made an appointment with them this Friday to have it looked at. I hope it's just defective but honestly I think I'm going to push to just return it and get my money back. If Apple actually decided to release a product that is fragile to the point where there is no room for "wear and tear" before it becomes unusable then I want nothing to do with it.

Apr 20, 2018 7:40 AM in response to THHV

We have been struggle for almost a month now with the same problem. One day just suddenly a hairline crack appears on a 2 week old apple watch 3. We have really taken good care of the watch. We send the watch in, since it was clearly a crack and not a scratch as confirmed by the istore personel we booked it. Now they deny it as a crack and do not want to replace the unit. ***

[Edited by Host]

May 30, 2018 12:17 PM in response to THHV

Same problem with hairline crack all around screen on 5 month old watch when I went to use it in the morning. Guy at Genius Bar noted there was no sign of physical impact or water damage and sent it for repair under 1 year warrantee. I received a notice today that they regard it as "physical damage" and will require $287.00 plus tax for repair. I spoke to customer service and they were of no help. No point in repairing if Apple does not recognize there is a defect and replaces with same defective lens. Customer service acknowledged that if it cracks anytime after they return my "repaired watch" I am right back where I started. Really disappointed in Apple.

Jun 21, 2018 6:55 AM in response to THHV

I've had the same problem. I won a Series 3 Apple watch in a raffle on Friday, took it home, charged it, set it up, and wore it out on Saturday. No problem. Put it on the charger Saturday evening, and when I went to put it on Monday morning, found that the screen had cracked along the edge and was now separated from the body of the watch. So I took it to the Apple store, eventually talked to someone who examined it and found no impact point that would have caused the damage, ans sent it off to their repair depot in Austin. today I got an email saying that the damage isn't covered and will cost $229+tax to repair.


So good for me, I got to have an Apple Watch for three days. Conveniently - for them - Apple investigated and determined that the damage wasn't their fault and wasn't covered under warranty (the idea of their "warranty" that covers nothing is a joke), so it was up to me to pay for it. What a surprise. What a shoddy business model and a contemptible way to treat customers. Make cheap products in a factory in China (where they pay children 8 cents an hour to assemble these cheap plastic pieces of junk), sell them for outrageous prices, and then turn their backs on their customers when their crappy plastic toys break.


I'm old enough to remember when Apple really cared about both their products and their customers. Now that they're a massive international corporation, I guess those days are over for good. I've bought my last Apple product, as they clearly don't stand behind the goods that they sell.

Jul 17, 2018 5:34 PM in response to THHV

Had the exact same issue, but not sure exactly when the crack occurred (my wife spotted it). It's a thin crack running diagonally the length of the screen. Like you, I sent it to Apple and they said, even with no evidence of impact damage, that it was my problem, and it was $250 to fix. I keep hearing about more and more of these problems. Suspect it will escalate into a PR problem for them or a class action issue if it's as prevalent as it seems.

Apple Watch Series 3 Hairline crack around two sides of screen

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