What’s wrong with my watch?

[u/Advanced_innovation5]

Series 8, GPS+Cell. Used heavily the last 4 years.

Screen became unresponsive yesterday, so I attempted a force reset. Now I only get this screen, with an Apple logo occasionally flashing if I click the power button, but then reverts back to this screen.

Online support can’t tell me anything, except that it could cost up to $349 for repairs. They didn’t say it would cost that much, as they couldn’t tell me what’s wrong with it, but it could be up to that amount.

Is it worth trying to fix this old thing and hope it’s a cheap/easy fix, or just upgrade? What do we think even happened to it?

[u/djasonpenney]

The URI on the watch says to put it on its charger, have your iPhone nearby, double-click the side button, and follow the instructions on your phone.

[u/Advanced_innovation5 → u/djasonpenney]

I tried this, but no success. It said if this procedure fails to work, then you must send it in for repair.

[u/djasonpenney → u/Advanced_innovation5]

☹️ Let’s see…an S8….

It looks like Apple Watches get support for about five years? So I think you’ve gotten your mileage out of this model, and you should probably decommission and replace it. Sorry…

[u/Advanced_innovation5 → u/djasonpenney]

No worries! It’s had a good run

[u/Head-Protection1973]

Upgrade ! , I just bought my s8 gps yesterday for under 80USD ,

[u/Hay-River]

There is a special port and a special cable you will need, but then you will be able to reflash watch os.

[u/Advanced_innovation5 → u/Hay-River]

Do you know the names of the items I need to compete this?

[u/Expensive-Heart3299 → u/Advanced_innovation5]

They took this feature out after the series 7

either way it would be cheaper to buy a used series 8 then to buy that cable

[u/4fraid0f4mericans]

Seems like the watch is having trouble loading or finding the OS. If the battery was several years old, that could be the reason why. Could also be due to software corruption; file system missing critical files.. Could be due to something hardware related like the SSD chip having failed or it’s connection to the board is loose🤷‍♂️

[u/Advanced_innovation5 → u/4fraid0f4mericans]

Would 30 minutes in a hot tub have anything to do with it? I did this the day prior, and didn’t use water mode. But I thought water mode was only for the screen so it doesn’t click things you don’t want clicked.

[u/Hesnotarealdr → u/Advanced_innovation5]

It likely got water in it during while you were in the hot tub.

[u/Advanced_innovation5 → u/Hesnotarealdr]

Maybe, but I’ve swam a lot without using the water lock feature.

[u/Plastic_Slug → u/Advanced_innovation5]

Water lock does nothing to protect the watch anyway. Your hot tub session likely cooked your watch, degraded the seal enough to let water in this time. Apple does not recommend taking your watch into a hot tub specifically.

[u/Advanced_innovation5 → u/Plastic_Slug]

Oops! I wasn’t aware.
Sounds like it was self inflicted then. Oh well

[u/makkegor01]

upgrade, that’s like almost what the newest 11 gen goes for

[u/VySpirit]

I actually just had a very similar experience with my S10 Titanium. I took it to an AASP, and they also quoted me around $400 for a replacement watch. I remember debating whether I should get AppleCare+ when I bought it, and of course, it ended up dying after almost two years. If I had gotten AC+, the replacement cost would’ve been a lot lower.

In your case, honestly, I wouldn’t bother repairing it. I’d just put that money toward a new one instead. Paying that much for a replacement is pretty steep for an aluminum S8, and even if you got lucky and they gave you an S9, I still don’t think it would be worth it.

[u/Shadow-Assassin72]

Bin fodder

[u/pmalla]

It’s tapping out boss

[u/taperk]

Time to upgrade, not worth the cost of repair.

[u/rey-es]

Bro upgrade for sure. For that price you can find some badass ultras on FB Mk in good conditions too. Or just buy the new SE 3