Apple has cancelled my Watch's AppleCare+

[adamjackson]

Resolved. Click this link and then this link to go to the resolution. Case closed! Thanks Apple Care team and the Fairview Montreal Apple Store staff!!!


Last week, I did my normal routine. I got up and put on my watch, a Stainless Steel 42MM Space Black Watch. I was wearing the (RED) Sport Band that day and took a shower as I did since receiving the watch on May 21st, 2015.

Around lunch, I tried to interact with the watch and couldn't. The watch wouldn't react to my gestures on the top 30% of the screen. I rebooted a few times and then reinstalled the WatchOS itself. I was running the latest version of iOS9 and WatchOS 2.

I tried to set a passcode and couldn't since my passcode starts with a 2, the top 40% of my screen was not responding to taps.

I submitted a Self Service ticket with Apple and chose there was an issue with the screen. The prompt said "error, please call us at 1-800-275-2273" so I just hit the back-button and chose something arbitrary like battery / charging and wrote in the notes the screen was having issues and I wanted it looked at.

I chose "Warranty Item" not the option for "I'll pay for Apple Care+ since this incident was caused by accidental damage". I didn't think I needed to pay but I assumed they'd call me if I needed to.

I sent the watch in on Tuesday. It's Wednesday and I just received this in my Inbox:

I immediately called, a level two support engineer answered and read over the notes. In short, here are some lines he gave me

• My hands are tied
• I didn't see the watch in person and I can't override what the guys at depot decided
• You no longer have a warranty for this item
• You can't pay anything to have it repaired
• mention of modifications is very severe, we rarely see this so something must have been modified
• i.e. stickers, paint, removing the watch screen, modifying the electronics or jailbreaking (his words, not mine, I didn't know you could jailbreak a watch)
• You can try to take it to a store but you have almost no chance of having this over turned.

I only used Apple Official Watch Bands (Link, Milanese, Sport), I registered my AppleCare+ Warranty 5 minutes after receiving the watch. I've never modified it or installed WatchOS Betas. I only use the Apple Watch charger that came with the phone. There are no scratches on the watch at all. The jog wheel and button work perfectly. The screen is scratch free w/ no blemishes. The health features all worked fine before I mailed the unit to them. I've never called Apple with a watch issue before.

The only extra thing that was different from my repair notes is the day I didn't wear the watch waiting for the box from Apple to arrive, I heard a slight whining sound coming from the speaker if you put the watch to your ear and tapped the screen. I assumed this was just a fallout from the droplet of water that got in the phone and a small black spot had appeared on the screen behind the sapphire crystal outer layer that I couldn't get rid of.

-----

I am beyond upset. I worked at a store and was respectful with the guy on the phone. I did ask him if I had any other options and he said no. I jokingly said "well I guess I'll be a millennial and post a video to YouTube showing the device isn't modified in any way in hopes someone higher up sees it". His response was, "are you threatening apple?"

am I threatening apple? What does he even mean by that? Is that just an easy way for them to be able to hang up w/o any recourse?

I'm without an Apple Watch and basically spent $1100 + $150 in bands and $99 in AppleCare for 14 months. I never abused the watch, put stickers on it or defaced it.

I don't even really know what to do but this is my only outlet so here we are. Apple really let me down. Like severely just a punch in the stomach. I spend 5 grand a year on Apple Hardware and Services since 2000 when I got my first iBook. Every phone, Watch, iPad, iPod and accessory. I even bought one of those Apple Hi-Fi systems. I just feel completely sucker punched by someone @ Depot who was just having a bad-day.

 

[warburg]

Did you say that you showered with the watch on?

 

[Phil A.]

That sounds pretty shady from Apple TBH - if that happened to me, I'd definitely be taking it further:
I live in the UK and I'd head straight to the small claims court and settle it that way with as much publicity as I could muster

 

[Julien]

Did you say that you showered with the watch on?

So, I have 500+ times. OLD news flash the Watch is IPx7 water rated.

 

[adamjackson]

Just received this:

[doublepost=1473285385][/doublepost]

Did you say that you showered with the watch on?

In my note to Apple and in my initial note to the guy on the phone, no I did not. I said in my note filled out online before I mailed it in that the watch appears to have water damage.

After the guy on the phone informed me the watch was abused and modified and therefore I had no warranty, I specifically said "I'm going to be totally man to man with you and say the watch got wet but I shower with it every day w/o issue"

I then asked "what if I took it 100 feet below water, that's what AppleCare+ is for, right" and he said "yes, if there was water damage to an extreme beyond our rating, we'd charge you $69 for a standard one of your two incidents in AppleCare+"

He specifically said I modified / misused the device far beyond what Apple considers Normal. I get the watch back tomorrow and I"ll post photos of it.
[doublepost=1473285567][/doublepost]My fear and maybe I'm jinxing it is I'll get the watch back and it will have exploded in the packaging, look like a clump of lithium ion clay + metal shards and that would only mean that in transit, the watch suffered some horrific explosion and therefore Apple took one look at it and thought I had rigged it up with dynamite and that's why they denied my work

All I can say I will have huge regret in not taking a photo of the watch before I sent it to Apple. Because it was in perfect (looking) condition. It started and just made the sound with some random touch screen issues. everything about it looked completely normal. It would pass in an Apple Retail Display as gently used before I mailed it in. I even cleaned it with a microfiber towel.
[doublepost=1473285847][/doublepost]Is this one of those situations where I email Tim Cook? I've never done that before. I think I emailed Steve once as a creepy fanboy congratulating him on the iPhone launch in 2007.

I feel horribly wronged here.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Something is off. Even if you let the cat out of the bag that you took the watch outside the scope of the IPX7 rating, that's not a reason for them to cancel AC+ on you and you should still be able to pay the deductible to have it replaced.

There's more to this story that we don't know.

 

[adamjackson]

There's more to this story that we don't know.

All I can say is that I'm being as open and honest as I can here. I'm a grown-man. Nothing to hide. The rep told me even submerging it in water would be covered as an incident for $69. So unless the watch exploded in transit, I have no freaking idea why they told me "good luck and bye"

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

All I can say is that I'm being as open and honest as I can here. I'm a grown-man. Nothing to hide. The rep told me even submerging it in water would be covered as an incident for $69. So unless the watch exploded in transit, I have no freaking idea why they told me "good luck and bye"

That's why you need to investigate further. Not saying you're deliberately hiding something from us.

 

[adamjackson]

That's why you need to investigate further. Not saying you're deliberately hiding something from us.

I'm very sorry I misunderstood. Just a bit on - edge. I'm gonna go make some dinner and try to not worry about this until FedEx comes tomorrow. sigh, many will say "it's just a watch" but Apple has had the best customer service of any tech company I have known. I love Apple and this is a punch in the stomach from them.

thanks for the support.

 

[warburg]

So, I have 500+ times. OLD news flash the Watch is IPx7 water rated.

Yes, I know, and some people swim with the watch. Sometimes this does no harm, and sometimes it's disastrous.

 

[masotime]

I'm definitely leery of sending anything in for repair. In person, you can immediately dispute any claims of intentional misuse.

It's possible here that they mixed up your phone with someone else's, but either way it's going to be hard to know until you get it back.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Yes, I know, and some people swim with the watch. Sometimes this does no harm, and sometimes it's disastrous.

The latter is called manufacturing defects, and Apple most certainly doesn't void warranty or AC+ over manufacturing defects.

The worse that should happen if the OP let the cat out of the bag that he took it beyond the scope of the IPX7 rating is he pays the deductible.

I'm definitely leery of sending anything in for repair. In person, you can immediately dispute any claims of intentional misuse.

It's possible here that they mixed up your phone with someone else's, but either way it's going to be hard to know until you get it back.

That can still happen if you take it to the Apple Store, because they'll send it off to the depot where it can potentially still get mixed up.

 

[masotime]

That can still happen if you take it to the Apple Store, because they'll send it off to the depot where it can potentially still get mixed up.

Hmmm... that is not my experience. When I had a crack in my Apple Watch, they replaced it on the spot - there was no "sending it off to the depot".

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Hmmm... that is not my experience. When I had a crack in my Apple Watch, they replaced it on the spot - there was no "sending it off to the depot".

How long ago was this? The vast majority of AW repairs involved sending them off to the depot as Apple didn't stock white box replacements for most models. I've heard of a few on-the-spot replacements for the Sport model though.

 

[masotime]

How long ago was this? The vast majority of AW repairs involved sending them off to the depot as Apple didn't stock white box replacement for most models. I've heard of a few on-the-spot replacements for the Sport model though.

Mine is the 42 mm stainless steel watch - a few months after I got it. But yes, I guess I was lucky that the shop I brought it to had the white box replacement.

 

[sean000]

Shouldn't someone be able to tell you what the signs of misuse or modification are? The tech who sent it back would have logged what the issues were, and they may have taken photos. Maybe these details will be included in the package when you get your watch back. I think you have a right to know, in detail, why your claim is being denied.

And yes... it's always good to take some photos just before shipping items that could get lost or damaged in transit. I also take a photo of the item in the box before I tape it up. I've had to file a damage claim with UPS before, and being able to send them time/date stamped photos really helped.

 

[warburg]

It's important to remember that there's no such thing as "the" Apple Watch; there
is only "an" Apple Watch. I bought my 42 mm SS watch in August 20i5 and have never had the slightest problem with it. My wife has had six watches since she bought her first SS 38mm in July of that year. She is much more careful with her watches than I am and neither one of us has ever had our watches near water. The backs came off four of my wife's watches for undetermined reasons. We both use the same charger. With her fifth watch, the security code suddenly stopped working and the watch froze. Each time Apple has replaced her watches without question.

 

[Lightsaber]

I'm very sorry I misunderstood. Just a bit on - edge. I'm gonna go make some dinner and try to not worry about this until FedEx comes tomorrow. sigh, many will say "it's just a watch" but Apple has had the best customer service of any tech company I have known. I love Apple and this is a punch in the stomach from them.

thanks for the support.

Take them to small claims court. They most likely will not show up, in which case the judge will tend to immediately rule against them. If they do show up explain how they are refusing to honor the extended applecare+ warranty you purchased from them, this will be seen as them acting in bad faith.

 

[Rok73]

I am really interested in how this story ends. Please report back.

@adamjackson

 

[adamjackson]

Apple Watch will be held at FedEx and I'll pick it up at lunch (EST). Going to take photos. I'm taking a motorcycle trip up to Montreal on Saturday and will go to the Apple Store there and hopefully get all of this resolved.

Sorry for the silence.

 

[noobinator]

I've sent in products for repairs a few times to other companies and I always feel like I'm playing the lottery the second it leaves my hands. Good luck and let us know what happened.

 

[ssls6]

Unfortunately, both iPhones and watches now need to be mailed in for repair. I blame it on all the people who abused the system (imaginary screen blemishes, fishing for a TSMC chip, microscope defects in the aluminum case, ...). I was shocked when I learned both phones/watches are mail in repairs now.

 

[GeekyGrannie]

Persistence is the key. I had a problem awhile ago where I ordered a replacement for a defective watch band online and Apple sent me an empty box, then proceeded to charge me for it. I was left with a defective band for which I had paid full price and an empty box for which I was charged another full price. It took a month's time, 2 online chats, 19 emails, and 11 phone calls before it finally got straightened out.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Unfortunately, both iPhones and watches now need to be mailed in for repair. I blame it on all the people who abused the system (imaginary screen blemishes, fishing for a TSMC chip, microscope defects in the aluminum case, ...). I was shocked when I learned both phones/watches are mail in repairs now.

Apple hasn't offered on-the-spot white box replacements for the AW (at least across the board) since the beginning, but when did they stop doing it with the iPhone? That's news to me.

 

[ssls6]

Apple hasn't offered on-the-spot white box replacements for the AW (at least across the board) since the beginning, but when did they stop doing it with the iPhone? That's news to me.

My SS 42mm watch quit working 2 months ago. I went to the store and was told "both phones and watches are now shipped for repairs". Not quite believing it, I went online and talked to another rep, was told the same thing. I have not tested the theory on my iphone as it still works fine.