Sending in an Apple Watch Stainless Steel Cellular for repair that isn't sold in Irel

loughrey

Has anyone sent in an Apple device that is sold in the UK but not in this market? The Apple guy said it wouldn't be an issue but I'm thinking if the repair centre is based in Ireland they obviously won't have a replacement unit to send me as they only sell regular aluminum models here. Anyone been in this situation?

Rulmeq

For what it's worth, I sent an iPhone for a replacement battery, and it went to The Netherlands for repair. I doubt they have any repair centres here for the watches.

whippet

loughrey wrote: »

Has anyone sent in an Apple device that is sold in the UK but not in this market? The Apple guy said it wouldn't be an issue but I'm thinking if the repair centre is based in Ireland they obviously won't have a replacement unit to send me as they only sell regular aluminum models here. Anyone been in this situation?

i'm not sure what is it like now - but a couple of years ago I know a lad that had a celluar watch he bought in the UK (isn't available in ireland) and had real problems getting a repair done under applecare in ireland.

There was a lot of back and forth and eventually he just booked an appointment in the belfast apple store to get it sorted

loughrey

whippet wrote: »

i'm not sure what is it like now - but a couple of years ago I know a lad that had a celluar watch he bought in the UK (isn't available in ireland) and had real problems getting a repair done under applecare in ireland.

There was a lot of back and forth and eventually he just booked an appointment in the belfast apple store to get it sorted

That's what I was afraid of. The Apple guy I spoke with on the phone said it won't be an issue but he has a British accent so they obviously cater to both Irish and British customers so probably don't know much about what happens in Ireland. He didn't know where the repair centre is based but my guess is that since Brexit, they probably no longer use a UK repair centre and if it's Netherlands, they're like Ireland, they don't do stainless steel cellular models. I don't know where Spanish or German cellular watches go for replacement but likely it's not Netherlands.

My concern is that I'll send it off and they'll send me back an aluminium one as their website states that you'll get back the same model or 'equivalent specification', with them possibly fobbing me off that an Aluminium GPS one is equivalent to the more premium stainless steel that costs 800 pounds.

The issue I have is that the side button has become a little loose and I said I'd avail of the warranty while I still have 7 months left on it just in case it gets worse after the warranty is out. So I may just not send it back and if it gets worse in the next 6 months I'll go up to Belfast before the warranty runs out where they'll hopefully be able to do a swap for me on the spot.

whippet

They won’t swap it out if it isn’t available for warranty replacement in the region - they will just send it back to you and you’ll have issued with open case numbers against the serial number when trying elsewhere.

If I were you - I’d just bite the bullet and make an appointment in the Belfast store - get the train up - drop the watch in and go enjoy a few pints and you might be able to collect the replacement on the same day or you may have to make a second trip

loughrey

whippet wrote: »

They won’t swap it out if it isn’t available for warranty replacement in the region - they will just send it back to you and you’ll have issued with open case numbers against the serial number when trying elsewhere.

If I were you - I’d just bite the bullet and make an appointment in the Belfast store - get the train up - drop the watch in and go enjoy a few pints and you might be able to collect the replacement on the same day or you may have to make a second trip

I think that's what I'll do. Can only imagine running into issues if I sent it off to them. I'll make it one once of the weeks this Summer. Have never been to the site in Belfast so it'll be interesting. I'm going to contact support now and ask them to cancel the repair service

arch_stanton

loughrey wrote: »

I think that's what I'll do. Can only imagine running into issues if I sent it off to them. I'll make it one once of the weeks this Summer. Have never been to the site in Belfast so it'll be interesting. I'm going to contact support now and ask them to cancel the repair service

I had a problem last year with a Spanish bought cellular watch. I bought it thinking it couldn’t take long foe it to be supported in Ireland. Silly me

I spoke to all sorts of supervisors in apple support and also compub but it was impossible to do anything. Only options were Belfast or post it back to Spain myself and have a friend organise a fix.

listermint

800 pounds on an stainless steel casing .... :O premium?

Big window! Same watch with different casing .

loughrey

arch_stanton wrote: »

I had a problem last year with a Spanish bought cellular watch. I bought it thinking it couldn’t take long foe it to be supported in Ireland. Silly me

I spoke to all sorts of supervisors in apple support and also compub but it was impossible to do anything. Only options were Belfast or post it back to Spain myself and have a friend organise a fix.

That really sucks. You'd expect them to send it to a central Repair centre that caters to all the European repairs, such as Germany and Spain. Netherlands don't sell Cellular models in their market so that might be why. I'd be curious to know where the German and Spanish watches are sent to in Europe. Netherlands is a pretty random country to opt for.

I got my Cellular not expecting it to ever be avail in Ireland for cellular but I wanted the stainless steel casing, I just can't stand the aluminium, I found them a little cheap looking and don't look great for formal occasions. I don't use mice for sports, it's more for the notifications etc. but with a premium, traditional look. It looks like Northern Ireland is the place I'll have to go to. It's only about 30€ on the train for me so not too bad, even if it was two trips. But it is a real downside when things go wrong. We always get the short end of the stick here.

Apple dropped me off a box today addressed to Netherlands but I won't chance it.

loughrey

listermint wrote: »

800 pounds on an stainless steel casing .... :O premium?

Big window! Same watch with different casing .

Yeah, you're paying the premium for the stainless steel and sapphire glass. I just can't stand the aluminium casing so I went for it

arch_stanton

Apple dropped me off a box today addressed to Netherlands but I won't chance it.

That was my argument. They all go to some central repair centre. Anyway, I’d cracked the screen so it was an out of warranty repair it would have cost almost the price of a new watch so I put up with the broken screen until September and just bought the new model

loughrey

arch_stanton wrote: »

That was my argument. They all go to some central repair centre. Anyway, I’d cracked the screen so it was an out of warranty repair it would have cost almost the price of a new watch so I put up with the broken screen until September and just bought the new model

Amazon have kindly agreed to take it back with 4 months left on the Apple warranty and give me a refund. I'll do a second spin off the dice and buy it again, this time getting Applecare for it and use Belfast if I have to. It's a lot of hassle, they should let you ship it to wherever the UK Apple Watch goes to be repaired, it's hardly much of a cost difference for them.

whippet

They don’t repair watches - if they are faulty they send a replacement.

So there is probably some logistics issue to shipping devices to countries where the device was never sold / available for shipping

PaulT21

whippet wrote: »

They don’t repair watches - if they are faulty they send a replacement.

So there is probably some logistics issue to shipping devices to countries where the device was never sold / available for shipping

Just a a matter of interest, I just purchased an Apple Watch Series 6 cellular today which was sold to me by Argos in the ROI.:D. Love it, as it has replaced a Series 4.

I hope I never need it but would think I should be given a Cellular replacement should I ever need it. Torn on the €99 for the Apple Care though

loughrey

PaulT21 wrote: »

Just a a matter of interest, I just purchased an Apple Watch Series 6 cellular today which was sold to me by Argos in the ROI.:D. Love it, as it has replaced a Series 4.

I hope I never need it but would think I should be given a Cellular replacement should I ever need it. Torn on the €99 for the Apple Care though

Interesting, I didn't know Argos in Ireland sold them. Well, I'm getting a new Cellular and will get the Applecare but the only downside is that we'll have to go to Belfast to use the Applecare, unless an Apple Authorised service provider can do the repair. Harvey Norman claim they are an authorised service provider officially authorised by Apple to do repairs and can open the Apple Watch to replace the battery so it doesn't have to be sent away, so if I need to get a battery replacement i'll likely use them to do it. They may do repairs too but I'm not sure. But get Applecare with the expectation that you;ll have to take a trip to Belfast. I think it's still worth it because there's a good chance you'll never have to use Applecare so it won't be a concern for you in the two years, but just expect that this will be the Applecare limit. I'm hoping that with Applecare, the Belfast store may be able to do a straight replacement swap the same day so you'd only have to travel once.

But hopefully now that Argos, an official Apple reseller, is selling the cellular that Apple may better support them in the future.

PaulT21

loughrey wrote: »

Interesting, I didn't know Argos in Ireland sold them. Well, I'm getting a new Cellular and will get the Applecare but the only downside is that we'll have to go to Belfast to use the Applecare, unless an Apple Authorised service provider can do the repair. Harvey Norman claim they are an authorised service provider officially authorised by Apple to do repairs and can open the Apple Watch to replace the battery so it doesn't have to be sent away, so if I need to get a battery replacement i'll likely use them to do it. They may do repairs too but I'm not sure. But get Applecare with the expectation that you;ll have to take a trip to Belfast. I think it's still worth it because there's a good chance you'll never have to use Applecare so it won't be a concern for you in the two years, but just expect that this will be the Applecare limit. I'm hoping that with Applecare, the Belfast store may be able to do a straight replacement swap the same day so you'd only have to travel once.

But hopefully now that Argos, an official Apple reseller, is selling the cellular that Apple may better support them in the future.

Just a pity now that no Service Providers are issuing the e-sim required for the cellular service.:mad:

loughrey

PaulT21 wrote: »

Just a pity now that no Service Providers are issuing the e-sim required for the cellular service.:mad:

Yeah, Ireland is really behind, would nice to be able to pay extra to get an Apple Watch cellular upgrade. Irish networks have been selling e-sim capable phones from Apple and Samsung for years but with no support for the service. Tourists find it very annoying coming here and find they have to go looking for a physical sim card. These things really undermine our position as an advanced economy

Gregor Samsa

loughrey wrote: »

Tourists find it very annoying coming here and find they have to go looking for a physical sim card. These things really undermine our position as an advanced economy

Is this correct? EE in the UK are telling their customers that esims will work anywhere on roaming:

https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/Roaming/Will-I-be-able-to-roam-in-any-European-country-if-I-am-using-an/td-p/780354

Also, there are people here successfully using "international" esims on irish networks:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=113978870&postcount=23

If these are true, then the issue isn't that the networks don't physically support esims, it's that the providers have decided not to issue domestic plans based on them.

PaulT21

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

If these are true, then the issue isn't that the networks don't physically support esims, it's that the providers have decided not to issue domestic plans based on them.

Just more neglect by the established network's here in Ireland imo :mad:

No Visual Voicemail.
No E Sim Support .
Limited WiFi Calling on certain networks.
High Price Plans for data & minutes etc ( accepted that Virtual Operators make going mobile much less expensive these days ):D

Sorry if the original thread has been somewhat diluted!