What happens when you try to get a broken Apple Watch repaired? Not much of anything!
I know this because my Apple Watch broke last week and I have a repair order pending.
Luckily, the watch is covered by Apple’s AppleCare+ extended warranty, which covers accidental damage. It also offers two-day express replacement. No downtime without your new precious.
This would be great, but Apple doesn’t have any watches to replace it with. Apple’s watches are in such short supply, it might be Christmas before a replacement is available.
Last week our photographer borrowed my brand new Apple Watch to snap a quick pic.
Even though I’ve had the Watch only a short time, it’s already become a treasured family heirloom and I was reluctant to take it off my wrist.
No sooner had I done so than the clumsy oaf dropped it on the floor and shattered the screen.
“I broke your watch,” he said.
“Ha ha,” I replied. “That’s hilarious.”
“I broke your watch,” he said.
“Ha ha,” I replied. “That’s hilarious.”
But he had. It dropped only about 18 inches onto a concrete floor. The watch landed square on its corner and shattered the screen. The screen still works, but it’s shedding tiny shards of glass everywhere and can’t be used.
AppleCare+ offers two years of service (rather than the standard year for defects and workmanship) and covers two incidents of accidental damage.
If I didn’t have AppleCare+, the repair would have been “out of warranty” (because it was my fault), which costs $229 for the Sport model, almost the price of a brand new watch. The steel Watch repair costs $329; and the gold Edition watch is $2,800. (You can find more details about Apple Watch repair here.)
I wouldn’t normally buy AppleCare+ because, after years of buying Apple products, I’ve never used it.
The watch though — sheesh, I had a feeling I’d need it.
AppleCare+ for the Watch costs $49, plus a one-time fee of $69 for any accidental damage, adding up to a total of $118 to fix the bolloxed screen. That’s still pricey, but at least I’ve got one more accident up my sleeve!
I called up Apple’s service center. Usually it’s a great experience: You have the option to chat online or have a service tech call you. I opted for the call and in a couple of minutes had it all squared away. Or so I thought.
Unfortunately, after that, I had a string of headaches and cancellations that I think were atypical — just bad luck. The first repair order didn’t go through at all, and the second just sat there stalled because the system didn’t register my credit card. (You need a credit card to cover the cost of the replacement in case the original doesn’t get sent back.)
Since then I’ve been expecting an express shipping box in the mail. It would have been quicker to drop the watch at a local Genius Bar, but the prospect of driving across San Francisco filled me with dread.
Instead of repairing damaged watches, Apple appears to be replacing them with new units — a practice known as whole-unit exchanges.
Express Replacement Service is included with AppleCare+ (the express service is also available for regular warranty repairs, but costs $30 extra), and Apple says the process takes only “two or three days.”
Sounds great, and perhaps in a year or two it will work as advertised. But right now, watches are in such short supply, the replacement is on hold. Apple’s support website says: “Product replacement pending.” There’s no indication if or when that will change.
Colleagues in the office are still waiting for their watches to arrive that were ordered back in April. New watch orders are scheduled to ship in July — six weeks away!
Luckily I preordered a second Apple Watch — also a Sport — which is keeping my wrist warm as I type. And the photographer? He’s taking pictures from across the room with a zoom lens.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander is an expert on:
Apple and Apple history
Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Tim Cook and Apple leadership
Apple community
iPhone and iOS
iPad and iPadOS
Mac and macOS
Apple Watch and watchOS
Apple TV and tvOS
AirPods
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
27 responses to “Headaches await if you break your Apple Watch”
Ouch! Next time you should borrow his camera.
Best comment evar!
I’m going through the same exact thing! My card didn’t go through the first time, it tried charging $600 5 times and my bank thought fraud. My watch is in carpe facto with apple care, so only the senior advisor can address this (which is a nightmare, he never calls me on our SCHEDULED times), now i placed my order MONDAY and still nothing. They should have sent my ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ now and i send my defective one (taptic engine issues). Nothing. So I was overpromised heavily and let down… This is a nightmare. Sorry for your watch btw. It sucks to have that happen!
“after years of buying apple products Ive never used it”.
As a big Apple user, I am outright calling this bullshit. Every single Apple Ive owned (14) since 2005 has had hardware issues, and working in tech I see a similar issue. Most of them arent game ending, but still. Yes, they have a 35% lower problem rate than PC’s, but they still have them.
I’m sure you’ll consider this BS, too, but I’ve been buying Apple products since 1979 and have never had a claim under AppleCare. I had a machine die after my AppleCare coverage expired once, but never got a return on my AppleCare costs— though I, too, covered my Apple Watch just in case.
OK, so some have great luck, some not. I have been buying Apple products since 1984 (First Mac) And a couple times I have had to use my AppleCare, most times not. So I don’t think anyone here is full of anything.
I had a first generation Retina MacBook Pro that was constantly having problems. Instead of repairing it yet again, after 2 ½ years Apple replaced it with a brand new, current generation, top-of-the-line (BTO) model. I was even able to purchase AppleCare for it for another three years of support. I never buy anything Apple without getting Applecare.
I buy a bunch of Apple stuff. I don’t leave the store or close out the order without Apple Care. I have been next to so many people at the Genius Bar when the bad news and big bill comes. Apple Care for me has paid for itself for me over and over again.
I have been buying Apple products since 1990 for home and my office staff and I would say about 90% of them never had a hardware problem. Only one have I considered to be a dud – a late 2008 macbook air – that I bought used. I usually buy Apple refurbished products from Apple – same warranty as new – but with a cheaper price. Even the times I had problems with hardware, Apple replaced or repaired them quickly. Apple products last a long time too. I have a friend however that has had a number of problems with his macs but he and his family abuse their computers. But he and his family continue to buy Macs.
You don’t need to purchase Apple Care to have defective hardware replaced. I have owned 6 generations of iPhone, 4 iPads, 4 Apple TVs, An Airport extreme, a Time Capsule, an Airport Express, an iMac, a MacBook Air, and an Apple Watch Sport and I have never purchased Apple Care. I have had 3 defective iPhones (all iPhone 5 – don’t even get me started on that) and 1 defective iPad replaced for free within the standard one year warranty. I’ve never had a hardware issue after the standard warranty expired. I’ve only broken one device (an iPad Mini) and paid the $229 out of warranty for a replacement. If I had paid for Apple Care for all those devices I would’ve spent much more than $229.
That’s tough to endure with supply issues messing everything up. Also makes me glad that I opted for the sapphire screen.
Curious, you mentioned Christmas as a time in the future to receive your replacement, which I’m sure was a little tongue in cheek. Did they give you any indication of a timeframe?
Sapphire is more brittle and Reflects more than Gorilla Glass
That is why they used Gorilla glass on sport for damage and sunlight/overall reflection
I have Sapphire on my Rolex and I expect the Sapphire on the Apple Watch is of similar quality. I’m sure I would have busted the Ion-X strengthened glass (not Gorilla glass) of the Apple Watch Sport way before now… I would imagine a whole smartphone screen would be a different story. I feel confident in assuming that Apple chose Sapphire because it is a stronger choice for a watch face – as all the high end watch makers use it.
I don’t have a comparison of the reflectiveness between the two, other than what I’ve read on the web, which is best taken with a salt-shaker. As for my personal experience, reflectiveness isn’t a problem even in direct sunlight.
Zander, where do you get your information from? Do you have or are you waiting on a version of the Apple Watch? Just asking because I don’t seem to be agreeing with any of your points.
Well, he’s partially right. It’s not Gorilla Glass, but the Ion-X hardened glass is less prone to shattering than the sapphire cover glass used on the normal model.
Unless I am misunderstanding you, Apple did not use Gorilla Glass on the sport model of the Apple Watch. it is another material, It is called Ion X. I have not found any description that really defines what it is. I have seen it described as a chemically harden glass but no where is it called “Gorilla Glass.” If it were Gorilla Glass, Corning would be the first to be mentioning it as a use of their product.
Actually, Ion X Glass is just gorilla glass with a special coating around it.
“…but the prospect of driving across San Francisco filled me with dread.”
Really? #lame
As far as I can tell Apple is not accepting purchases of Applecare for Watch on their Store website. I am unable to add it to my cart to purchase.
Call the 800 number and add it….I did.
You seem to be confusing AppleCare and AppleCare+. AppleCare (non-accidental) which Apple provides for their computers can be purchased any-time within the first year of the standard warranty. As AppleCare+ covers accidental damage, Apple requires proof of functionality or condition just as any insurance company would. Thus on the Apple Store website for AppleCare+ for the Apple Watch it states in the “Important notes” section the terms for AppleCare+ being that you can only purchase it online with the device, post-purchase at an Apple Store with visual inspection, or post-purchase over the phone with diagnostic and proof of purchase. You can never buy AppleCare+ for any supported device (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Apple Watch) online post-purchase and it has to be purchased in-store or via-phone within 60 days of the device purchase date.
Kahney’s Korner. It has enough kontent to keep you kontent.
My replacement Stainless steel (Taptic stopped working after 2 weeks.) arrived 36 hours after I called them. Not a single issue w/ the return process.
Nancy Reagan said it best…..”JUST SAY NO!”
What a sensationalist title and story. “Headaches
await if you break your Apple Watch”, does that mean
that all people that have to get their Apple Watch replaced will have a
horrible situation, even a few weeks, months or years from now? Probably not, given that the article states
the cancellations were merely “…just bad luck” and especially considering the
author mentions new watch orders would ship “six weeks away!” [exclamation point is the author’s emphasis].
However the author also states, “perhaps in a year or two it will work as
advertised.” Honestly, have you ever owned
any prior Apple products as an early-adopter and had to get them service or replaced? It may take days or weeks to refine new
procedures, but the author has gone off the deep end of insanity on this
one. Did the author have the journalistic
conscience to think that people may come across this article after the
early-adopters all have their watches in 1-3 months? “…the
prospect of driving across San Francisco filled me with dread.” Well from the rest of the tone of the article
the author is a rather nervous person, but are they coming from LA? There are three Apple Stores in San Fran alone
and countless others in a 10-20 mile radius around the bay area. Apple Stores will sometimes hold new units
(yes even of just announced products) for replacement purposes and even if
damaged, they can sometimes exchange those completely free of charge without
using up any replacements on AppleCare+ (besides a verbal warning) under the
EFFA (Early Field Failure Analysis) program.
I’m sorry not everything went smoothly, but that’s the risk you take as an
early adopter so grow up. While I think
your experience should be shared to explain the process to others, as a “journalist”
you should at least attempt to hold a little perspective; this isn’t Fox News
unless the author reads these comments and relishes the attention. Lastly, the author may very well receive the replacement
within just 2-3 days, yet this is written speculating “if” the replacement’s
status will ever change as if you would never get a replacement and insinuating
it might not arrive until Christmas. Maybe
Tim Cook will send you a Christmas Card with your replacement watch next year for
your troubles. Deplorable writing.
As a huge Apple fan, I can’t believe what pieces of crap these watches are. I know they are an unbelievable work of technology but that takes a backseat to being able to actually USE the watch in real life.
1 or 2 years? What a tool dude. This will all smooth out once it’s available in-store and they have swapper units in stock. Try like 1-2 months.
And the moral of the story? Never trust a photographer.