Apple Offering Free Repairs for Apple Watch Series 5 and SE Models With Power Reserve Issue Not Fixed by watchOS 7.3.1 - MacRumors
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Apple Offering Free Repairs for Apple Watch Series 5 and SE Models With Power Reserve Issue Not Fixed by watchOS 7.3.1

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Apple today released watchOS 7.3.1 with a fix for an issue that can cause the Apple Watch Series 5 and SE not to charge after entering Power Reserve mode.

apple watch power reserve
In a support document, Apple outlines the issue, which affected "a very small number of customers." Apple says that these people saw a problem with charging after the Apple Watch went into Power Reserve mode.

While watchOS 7.3.1 will fix the issue for customers who haven't previously experienced it, those who already had the problem may need to get support from Apple. Apple says to check if an Apple Watch is affected by the bug, users should place the watch on a charger and then wait for at least 30 minutes.

If the Apple Watch won't charge after the 30 minute time period, customers should contact Apple Support to set up a mail-in repair, which will be done free of charge by Apple.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch 11, Apple Watch SE 3, watchOS 26, watchOS 27
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Don't Buy), Apple Watch SE (Neutral)
Related Forum: Apple Watch

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Top Rated Comments

ouimetnick Avatar
ouimetnick
72 months ago

Its one of the impressive parts of Apple, they really go out of their way to fix a product when there is a problem.
All things considered these units were recently released and would be covered under the regular 1 year warranty. This “offer” isn’t really anything special.. there is nothing “impressive” about covering a defect under the original 1 year warranty. The regular warranty covers defects in workmanship like we’ve seen here.

If this was a program being offered for 2-3 year old units, then we can talk.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
Mr. Dee
72 months ago
Its one of the impressive parts of Apple, they really go out of their way to fix a product when there is a problem.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PimpDaddy Avatar
PimpDaddy
72 months ago

Its one of the impressive parts of Apple, they really go out of their way to fix a product when there is a problem.
As someone who currently has a 15” Macbook Pro with a line of dead pixels down the center of the screen that are 99% due to a bad screen flex cable design I disagree somewhat. Had another Macbook Pro die on me years ago that was obviously due to a well documented issue with certain faulty logic board designs. Wasn’t covered by Apple because mine wasn’t in the serial number range they deemed was affected even though the issue was pinpointed to the exact same problem by an Apple certified repair center 🤦🏻‍♂️.

I’d say they are hit and miss when it comes to acknowledging problematic issues. It seems like whenever it points in the direction of a design flaw they go to great lengths to subdue the issue. Maybe that’s because they sell so many units that the number of repairs/swaps they would have to make would cost a lot. That‘s just a bit of a dick move for a company that prides themselves on great design AND is the richest company in the world.

All said the above update mentioned in the article might explain why I had a Series 5 watch die on my during Xmas. Happy they exchanged mine for free and can fix it via software!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
ApfelKuchen
72 months ago

All things considered these units were recently released and would be covered under the regular 1 year warranty. This “offer” isn’t really anything special.. there is nothing “impressive” about covering a defect under the original 1 year warranty. The regular warranty covers defects in workmanship like we’ve seen here.

If this was a program being offered for 2-3 year old units, then we can talk.
SE hasn't been around for a year yet, but Series 5 was introduced in September 2019, so there certainly are Series 5 that aren't covered by the one-year warranty.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
JPack
72 months ago
What a coincidence. Last week, Big Sur was killing the battery firmware of MacBooks. Now watchOS does something similar.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
mxrider88
72 months ago
Hopefully they understand that the software department is falling apart now that they get hurt in the wallet, first with the Mac now with the watch.....
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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