Apple Watches are sturdy just not invincible, and they have been (occasionally) getting broken almost since the wear offset launched. But cheer up: if your Apple tree Lookout man has got scratched, cracked, smashed or water-damaged, there'southward hope for getting it repaired or replaced. In this commodity nosotros aid you through that process.

Screen damage is probably the most mutual problem; other owners find the back plate comes off or mutter about poor battery life. And for problems with unresponsive rather than physically damaged Apple tree Watches, you should read How to fix an Apple Watch that's non working.

If you somewhen requite up on getting a gratis repair and decide to but buy a replacement, make sure you lot starting time read our Apple Watch ownership guide and our roundup of the best Apple Watch deals.

Apple Watch screen damage

The Apple Scout's screen shouldn't interruption easily because the glass is strengthened. Cheaper models (any with an aluminium example) have a sentry face up made of Ion-10 glass, while the stainless steel models (plus any of the old Apple Lookout Edition models made of gold or ceramic) feature a sapphire crystal front, which is supposed to be the hardest drinking glass known to man.

Sure enough, the sapphire models seem to exist coping ameliorate with the habiliment and tear of daily life every bit a high-end habiliment, with slight scratching nearly the worst we've seen among normal usage scenarios. (That doesn't mean your Apple Watch Edition won't shatter tomorrow, of course, just the chances seem to be in your favour.) The Ion-X models, on the other manus, have been documented in quite a few cases equally sustaining more visible damage: smashed glass and the similar.

Nosotros mentioned normal usage scenarios merely then, and you might be wondering what abnormal usage might look similar. Well, how nigh the drop-tests run by TechRax on YouTube? They establish that the Apple Watch "will smash if you lot throw it face up-downwardly at the floor". Which answers that question if yous were wondering.

Should you lot smash your Apple Watch screen, whether or not you lot were hurling it at the floor at the time, it seems in principle to be fairly easy to replace the screen - very shortly later on the launch iFixIt took the watch apart and found that the screen was easy to remove and replace. See beneath for more than data about iFixIt's tests.

Mind you, it'south possible that it may not be as hands scratched as some reports accept suggested. In a video (embedded below) Consumer Reports was only able to scratch the Apple Picket Sport screen afterwards some pretty extreme efforts, and the site claimed they couldn't scratch the sapphire screen on the stainless steel Apple Picket at all.

Interested in the best equipment for repairs? Read Best tools for repairing & upgrading Macs & iPhones.

If your lookout man has got damaged, you may wish to jump alee to our section How to become Apple tree to supercede a broken Apple tree Watch.

Strap damage

As well equally damage to the all-important lookout man face, the stainless steel Milanese loop strap has been cited as a possible weak link: you'll observe that it appears slightly scuffed upward in the picture below.

This isn't all that surprising, because stainless steel can scratch quite easily. And at least the Apple Lookout'due south straps are easily replaceable. (See our roundup of the all-time Apple Watch straps for communication on that front.)

How to get a broken Apple Watch repaired or replaced: Strap damage

In any case, this YouTube video suggests that you tin can fix any scratches on the Milanese loop strap using a stainless steel polish yous tin pick up in a hardware store.

Is it possible to repair it yourself?

iFixit apace took the Apple Watch apart to see how easy it would be to set if annihilation went wrong with information technology, and the news was mixed. While the screen is unproblematic to remove and supercede, repairs to other component parts may be distinctly problematic.

iFixit said: "Despite rumours (and hopes) of an upgradable product, the difficulty of removing the S1 alone casts serious doubt on the idea of simply swapping out the internals."

As for whether the Apple tree Watch will be upgradable in the hereafter, iFixit says: "Stripping out the internals will be difficult and time-consuming - non the sort of thing your local Genius is equipped to handle, but we suppose Apple tree could provide a mail-order selection."

Overall, iFixit gives the Apple Watch a repairability score of 5 out of 10, noting that at least the watch band is easily removed and swapped for a replacement; the screen tin can be removed (which is skillful news for anyone who has already smashed theirs) and the battery tin likewise exist removed quite hands.

Nevertheless, iFixit notes that removing components is "substantially incommunicable" as they are soldered onto the back of the S1 and this "fully encased S1 system" makes board-level repairs impossible.

If your watch has got damaged and you don't experience able to repair it, yous may wish to jump ahead to our section How to get Apple to supersede a broken Apple Spotter.

Water impairment

Every bit we discuss in our article Is the Apple tree Watch waterproof?, the water-resistance of your device depends on which model yous've got.

The Series 2, 3 and four accept a water resistance rating of "50 metres under ISO standard 22810:2010". It'due south fine to article of clothing them in the bath or shower, and for shallow-h2o swimming. The visitor does warn, however, that these models "should not be used for scuba diving, waterskiing or other activities involving high-velocity h2o or submersion beneath shallow depth."

The first-gen Apple Watch and the Series 1 are a less clear-cut example. While Apple doesn't recommend submerging these devices in water, many owners accept discovered that they are water-resistant to a certain extent. (The original Apple Spotter actually has an IPX7 rating, which means information technology can withstand upward to 30 minutes of submersion in upward to a metre of water.)

How to get a broken Apple Watch repaired or replaced: Water damage

What to do if your Apple Watch gets water-damaged

If you have bug with a water-damaged Apple Watch, the best thing to do would be to follow our tips for drying out a h2o-damaged iPhone.

In our tests with the iPhone we got the phone very wet and and so used various methods to dry it out, from the famous Rice Trick to a slightly more scientific utilize of gel sachets. The uncooked rice should absorb the moisture effectively merely may get dust or detritus into exposed ports, whereas silica gel packets - the kind that come with some electronic components, particularly if they've been shipped from a country with a humid climate, or with handbags - do a fine job over a number of hours.

Give your watch a few days in its pile of rice or gel sachets for a few days and so encounter how information technology fares.

If these tricks don't succeed, you may wish to jump ahead to next section How to go Apple tree to replace a broken Apple Watch.

Getting information technology repaired or replaced

If at that place is a genuine mistake with your Apple Watch - possibly the battery doesn't accuse properly, or the screen glitches - this will be covered by the warranty and Apple will supersede the watch, as long as you can prove yous oasis't tampered with information technology. Your watch will be covered by a warranty for one year. Contact Apple and they'll encounter you right.

Note that Apple tree may non supervene upon your damaged Apple Spotter with the same model - and this is actually good news. The company appear, for example, that in some cases and some countries, its staff would supplant first-gen Apple Watches with Series 1 models, a newer and more than advanced device with a faster processor. We've non heard of the offer being repeated for newer models - a busted Series ii existence replaced by a Series iii, for case - but you never know your luck.

Fifty-fifty if the warranty has expired you may notwithstanding be able to get Apple to help for free. If the dorsum plate has separated from the body of a first-gen Apple Sentry, for example - this appears to exist a known potential issue with that model - so the company will repair the device free of accuse upward to three years afterwards the initial purchase.

You don't get annihilation for zippo, though, so normally we wouldn't expect Apple to replace a damaged Apple Watch that y'all've dropped - just as nobody should expect Apple to replace their iPhone if they pause the screen through their own carelessness. Read How to go a broken iPhone repaired for more than communication.

Legal rights & precedents

What if a scratch or cleft appears and you're sure you didn't drop the spotter or do anything reckless? Will Apple tree believe y'all?

A court case offers some hope here. Mr Gareth Cross, a British human being from Aberystwyth, took Apple to the small claims court after the visitor wouldn't replace or refund his cracked Apple Watch. (They said the damage wasn't covered nether warranty.) The court found in his favour and required Apple to pay Mr Cross the toll of the watch plus court fees.

Whether you want to go through the same legal procedure is debatable: as Mr Cantankerous himself acknowledged, the instance became "a little stressful" and lasted 6 months. Merely it's possible that the precedent this sets will make Apple more than inclined to offer refunds and repairs in futurity. We shall see.

AppleCare

In whatsoever example, if you lot're specially clumsy, you can buy insurance from Apple that will cover your Apple Watch if it does go damaged. Nosotros discuss AppleCare in this article: Is AppleCare worth it? To run across what yous legal rights are, read Is Apple tree mis-selling AppleCare to UK?

AppleCare+ comprehend for the Apple Picket starts at £59. The plan will extend the sentry warranty to two years and grant yous up to 2 accidental damage claims (although if you do damage your watch you will have to pay an excess).

In the US Apple also has three AppleCare+ plans that'll embrace both your Scout and your iPhone, presuming your phone is less than 6 months onetime. Unfortunately such plans are not available in the UK.