Google won’t repair cracked Pixel Watch screens

If you crack the display screen on the Pixel Watch, getting it formally repaired by Google isn’t within the playing cards.

Several Pixel Watch house owners have vented their frustrations in regards to the lack of ability to interchange cracked screens, each on Reddit and in Google help boards. The Verge has additionally reviewed an official Google help chat from a reader who broke their Pixel Watch show after dropping the wearable. In it, a help consultant states that Google “doesn’t have any repair centers or service centers” for the system.

“At this moment, we don’t have any repair option for the Google Pixel Watch. If your watch is damaged, you can contact the Google Pixel Watch Customer Support Team to check your replacement options,” Google spokesperson Bridget Starkey confirmed to The Verge.

This Limited Warranty doesn’t apply to break brought on by: (1) regular put on and tear; (2) accidents; (3) misuse (together with failure to observe product documentation); (4) neglect; (5) disassembly; (6) alterations; (7) servicing aside from by Google-authorized technicians; and (8) exterior causes corresponding to, however not restricted to: liquid injury, publicity to sharp objects, publicity to extreme drive, anomalies within the electrical present equipped to the Google product, and excessive thermal or environmental circumstances.

That guarantee leaves house owners on their very own to take care of injury brought on by drops or unintended strikes, and in line with Google’s Store, there isn’t any choice for an prolonged guarantee to go together with a Pixel Watch. If your Pixel Watch is by chance broken, that’s it.

This is even if a repair would technically be attainable. iFixit notes in its Pixel Watch teardown that whereas the display screen isn’t simply accessible, the watch itself holds promise for future repairability. The web site additionally has an in depth how-to for changing a cracked, damaged, or lifeless display screen. However, it’s unclear the place the common particular person would supply a alternative half, particularly as Google doesn’t supply repair choices for the system. One commenter on the iFixit information suggests shopping for an intact Pixel Watch off eBay, however that solely appears mildly cheaper (and maybe extra wasteful) than shopping for a used or new Pixel Watch alternative.

This is troubling, contemplating the Pixel Watch incorporates a round domed glass show. While it’s a gorgeous design, it may be simply cracked when you’re not cautious. During our assessment interval final 12 months, my colleague Chris Welch cracked his inside a number of days — regardless that he hadn’t achieved something out of the unusual or banged the system towards arduous surfaces. I’ve not skilled a crack regardless of dropping mine a number of instances, however our differing experiences are extra probably as a result of luck than the rest.

Google will not be the one one responsible of creating smartwatch repairs troublesome. Repairing an Apple Watch has traditionally been an costly and troublesome endeavor. For instance, with out AppleCare Plus, Apple cites a flat $299 estimate for a Series 8 and $499 for an Apple Watch Ultra. With AppleCare Plus, that value drops to $69 for the Series 8 and $79 for the Ultra, not together with the price of AppleCare itself. That mentioned, not less than you can ship in an Apple Watch for repair, even when shopping for a brand new one could be less expensive in the long term.

This isn’t nice, contemplating that Google is predicted to launch a brand new Pixel Watch 2 in October with what seems to be an almost an identical design. The excellent news is that Google might not have a lot selection about this apply going ahead. Earlier this week, California handed a right-to-repair invoice that requires firms to make alternative elements for electronics obtainable for 3 years in the event that they price $50 and up, and 7 years for units costing $100 or extra.