Apple offers free repair for Apple Watch Series 5 and SE with charge issues

Watchos 6 Series 5 Power Reserve
Watchos 6 Series 5 Power Reserve (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Apple has released a support document for Apple Watch Series 5 and SE customers with charging issues.
  • Customers whose watch will not charge after going into Power Reserve can get a free repair.
  • Apple has released watchOS 7.3.1 to fix the issue as well.

Today, Apple released watchOS 7.3.1, a small update but one that fixed a pretty critical charging issue affecting some customers with an Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch SE.

Apple has released watchOS 7.3.1, a minor update to the Apple Watch operating system. This update, aimed primarily at the Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch SE, fixes a charging bug that had appeared for those two models.

A new support document explains that the customers who are affected by the bug may find that they are unable to charge their Apple Watch once it goes into Power Reserve mode.

A very small number of customers with Apple Watch Series 5 or Apple Watch SE models running watchOS 7.2 or 7.3 have experienced an issue with their watch not charging after it enters Power Reserve.

Apple Watch Series 5

Apple Watch Series 5 (Image credit: iMore)

For customers who are still experiencing the problem after updating their Apple Watch Series 5 or Apple Watch SE to watchOS 7.3.1, Apple is offering to repair them for no cost.

To check if your Apple Watch is affected by this issue, place your watch on the charger that you normally use, then wait at least 30 minutes.If your Apple Watch still won't charge, contact Apple Support to set up a mail-in repair free of charge. Your watch will be examined before service to verify that it's eligible for free repair.

If you are still having the issue, reach out to Apple Support to get your free repair.

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.