Apple Watch repair
Lifted or cracked screen, swollen battery and charging problems.
Apple Watch · 2017
Repairing an Apple Watch Series 3 in Barcelona: lifted screen and cracks
Two failures that look alike from outside and are very different inside live together on this watch, and mixing them up leads to binning a device that was fixable.
4,6 out of 5 · 138 reviews on GoogleDocumented design fault
An acknowledged crack and a growing battery
Apple published a screen replacement programme for aluminium-cased Apple Watch Series 2 and Series 3. The symptom it describes is very specific: a crack forming along the rounded edge of the glass, which can start on one side and continue around the display. No impact is needed for it to appear.
That programme ran for three years from the watch’s first retail sale, so no Series 3 makes it in time today. It still matters for one thing: if your watch has that crack and you never dropped it, you are not imagining it and it is not your fault.
The other typical failure is different and gets confused with the first: the battery swells and pushes the glass until it lifts off the body of the watch. You can tell because the glass rises in one piece, without breaking, and sometimes the watch keeps working. It is the most common repair on this model, and the one least worth putting off.
Where all this comes from
What we see most on this model
Glass lifted by the battery
The glass separates in one piece along one side and the watch sometimes keeps running. That is the battery pushing, and using it like that eventually tears the display flex.
A crack that starts at the edge
It appears without an impact and travels around the glass. It is exactly the symptom Apple described in its programme for aluminium cases.
It will not charge, or dies within hours
Eight years of cycles will do that. Before touching anything we check that the charger and the puck are healthy, because sometimes the problem is outside the watch.
Before you bring it in
Stop charging it if the glass is lifting
A swollen lithium cell does not improve and can get worse quickly. Take it off your wrist, leave it somewhere dry and bring it in without charging it again.
Check whether your case is aluminium
Apple’s programme covered aluminium cases only, not steel ones. In the Watch app, under General and About, you will find the exact model.
The service this belongs to
This page digs into one specific model. If you want the full picture of what we do with this family of devices, start here:
Similar models with their own page
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Frequently asked questions
Can the battery on a Series 3 be replaced?
Yes. It is fine work, because the display has to come off without damaging the flex and then be resealed, but it is the most frequent repair on this watch and it gives back the battery life it had.
Is it still water resistant afterwards?
It is resealed with new adhesive, which is the right thing to do, but no workshop can give back the original factory rating. After an opening, the sensible thing is not to swim with it.
Can I still claim under Apple’s programme?
No, because the cover ran for three years from the watch’s first sale and every Series 3 is past that. The repair is still possible outside the programme, and the initial diagnosis costs nothing.
Shall we take a look?
Tell us what’s wrong and we’ll tell you what it is, what it costs and how long it takes. No obligation, and the initial diagnosis is free.
4,6 out of 5 · 138 reviews on GoogleCarrer de Fontanella, 14, bajos · 08010 Barcelona — or drop by Fontanella 14, next to Plaça Catalunya