# Drop your Apple Watch from 2 feet and the screen smashes



## stmcgill (Mar 18, 2014)

As you may know I have owned a lot of watches and one thing that they have all had in common is the ability to survive life. Whether they have been £10 or £1,000 I have never had a watch crystal break from a fall, and I have accidentally dropped a few of them.

My wife, however, made the mistake of dropping her series 4 Apple Watch from 2 feet onto the bathroom floor, onto the little rug around the toilet, and look what happened-









It appears to have landed on its edge and cracked the entire screen from end to end which I would argue is ridiculous. Just look at how the screen is attached to an Apple Watch and you can see where the problem is-









The screen is raised way above the case which makes it prone to damage from a variety of incidences, large and small, and in my opinion is an impractical design which is open to damage.

Add to this the fact that the Apple Watch is not heavy and that Apple touts the screen toughness, I cannot understand how it could break so easily.

Anyway, I started a chat with Apple and-

_Alejandro_
_Thanks for contacting Apple Support. My name is Alejandro. Please give me a moment to look over your information._

_Alejandro_
_Hi Shaun! I hope you are enjoying your day so far. I see that you need help with your Apple Watch?_

_Shaun McGill_
_Yes, it's my wife's Apple Watch series 4. She dropped it on the floor from about 2 feet and the screen smashed. How much is a repair for an incident like this?_

_Alejandro_
_Let me go ahead and help you with that_

_Alejandro_
_May I know in which country are you located?_

_Shaun McGill_
_UK_

_Alejandro_
_The out of warranty service fee for your Watch model it's £286.44_

_Alejandro_
_You can double check this here: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/watch/repair/service/pricing_

_Shaun McGill_
_wow. Didn't realise it would be so much and that it can break so easily from a 2 foot drop. OK, thanks for the information_

_Alejandro_
_It has been a pleasure Shaun! I really hope you are satisfied with my service and the information provided_

_Shaun McGill_
_Not really_

£286.44!


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## javylsu (Sep 24, 2011)

My wife did the exact same thing to hers - although the break in the screen wasn’t as dramatic as yours is. Like you, I discovered that the cost of repairing is practically the same as replacing. Apple needs to start considering this when they’re bragging about how much they “consider the environment” while introducing new products...


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## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

Dropped my stainless first-gen flat on its back in the bathroom (from maybe 4 feet) and cracked its ceramic back. It didn't shatter, but it was cracked enough to feel it with your fingernail, and although everything still worked, I didn't trust that it was still water resistant.

Chatted up Apple support and planned to exercise my $49 repair fee thanks to the AppleCare Plus plan that I also bought. Turned out I was one day out of the two-year AC Plus plan.

Still, they said they'd let me do it for the reduced fee, so I took it in to the Apple Store the next day, and they sent it out to the repair center.

Two weeks* goes by and they call me up. "We're sorry this is taking so long, because we've sent it to the repair center twice and they turned it away. We promised you a working watch, so we're going to give you a free upgrade to a new Series 1 since it's the nearest equivalent."

"Ok, that's cool," I said, and I got in the car to go to the store.

During the drive, they called again and said, "Your watch was a stainless model, right? Instead of giving you an aluminum Series 1, we'll upgrade you to a steel Series 2 instead, no extra charge. You paid for the nicer version anyway, and two weeks* is a long time to wait without a watch."

"Even better," I said, "See you soon." Twenty minutes later, I had a factory-fresh Series 2 in my hands and was syncing it up with the most recent backup of my old AW.

I then asked about adding another AppleCare Plus plan to the new watch. "Oh, we've already added it for you. Don't worry about it."

YMMV. 

* "Two weeks" was enough for _them_ to get upset and bend over backwards to help me, and I wasn't even badgering them about it. How many weeks does it take to repair the average Swiss mechanical again?


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## mharris660 (Jan 1, 2015)

And yet people still pay for them and their overpriced, over-hyped marketing. Status symbols can be addictive.


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## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

stmcgill said:


> £286.44!


The screen for the GPS-only S4 is going for US$269, so that's not far off for a repair job that you don't have to do yourself.

https://www.ifixit.com/Search?query=apple+watch+series+4
https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Parts/...s-4-GPS-OLED-Screen-and-Digitizer/IF409-001-1

Sucks about the unlucky drop. Besides the fall that I described above, I had dropped mine a couple other times without noticeable damage. Broke my Garmin 410 in the bathroom, too (and got a reduced-cost replacement). Haven't dropped my mechanicals yet, but I don't think they'd fare too well on the same flooring.


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## ronalddheld (May 5, 2005)

mharris660 said:


> And yet people still pay for them and their overpriced, over-hyped marketing. Status symbols can be addictive.
> 
> View attachment 13651211


Those are Sheepies?


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## mharris660 (Jan 1, 2015)

ronalddheld said:


> Those are Sheepies?


in line for a watch, they'll wait for days outside Best Buy


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## stmcgill (Mar 18, 2014)

_"* "Two weeks" was enough for them to get upset and bend over backwards to help me, and I wasn't even badgering them about it. How many weeks does it take to repair the average Swiss mechanical again?"_

My experience has always been excellent with Apple when I have needed them, but I have to call them out when things go badly.


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## stmcgill (Mar 18, 2014)

_"And yet people still pay for them and their overpriced, over-hyped marketing. Status symbols can be addictive."_

You have just described almost any watch by any brand. I don't see the Apple Watch or iPhone as status symbols. My iPhones have lasted 4 years minimum and my Mac is 10 years old and running perfectly. You shouldn't judge millions of people the same way.


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## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

stmcgill said:


> You have just described almost any watch by any brand. *I don't see the Apple Watch or iPhone as status symbols.* My iPhones have lasted 4!years minimum and my Mac is 10 years old and running perfectly. You shouldn't judge millions of people the same way.


+1.

And I don't understand the derogatory "they're just status symbols" retort when SO MANY people have them. There's no exclusivity.


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## utzelu (Aug 17, 2015)

My experience with Apple support was great so far, so I can’t complain. I dropped one brand new AW3 on the concrete and cracked the screen, but not having Apple Care meant It was a total loss. My iPhone 6 is 4 years old and with a new battery (changed for $35 at Apple service) runs like new. No need to upgrade for another couple of years.


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## gward10 (Sep 30, 2013)

Is there a screen protector you can buy? Maybe one that’s to the iPhone screen protector? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## robmellor (Feb 16, 2006)

Was this the sports mode, I am wondering if the sapphire screen on the stainless models would survive better ?.


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## jalquiza (Jan 4, 2014)

mharris660 said:


> And yet people still pay for them and their overpriced, over-hyped marketing. Status symbols can be addictive.
> 
> View attachment 13651211


We are on a site where people routinely use the phrase "good value" referring to multi-thousand dollar mechanical watches.


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## WIS_Chronomaster (Sep 17, 2007)

It wasn't an Apple Watch but ive dropped an Orient Mako from about that distance and nothing happened.


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