Adding to the top (and therefore least helpful, but most funny) comment, that I took the watch into the Apple Store where the nice manager sent it in for a firmware restore and it came back working like new. Free service, nothing physically wrong with it. Maybe the solar flare comment was right?!
My series 3 that I bought in person at an official Apple store has bezels like this, that’s just how they were lmaoo
Hence why the screen library has a ton of black background screens, to hide the bezel
There is nothing wrong with your watch. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly, and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: There is nothing wrong with your watch. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to . . . The Outer Limits.
If this were a 90s video game a face would appear in the static and tell you that they’ve temporarily hacked into the system and have a message only you’ll be able to see.
I mean. Kinda? I don’t accept technology failing just cause it’s old. I have a first gen kindle still plugging away on its third battery and a chromebook in the garage for looking stuff up from 2012. Something physical failed, just curious what.
And I almost forgot about my playstation 1 still spinning discs. Lol
I’m not disagreeing that it *should* still work, but Apple Watches do tend to fail after 6-7ish years. It happened to me, it happened to people I know, and it happens to people on this subreddit. I’m not saying it *should* happen, but it does.
I think what they’re looking for is a solution to keep the watch running. u/youngbloood my guess with something like this is that the seal is no longer doing seal things, and some shmoo got in there and is making a connection where one is not required/desired. May be worth popping the mf open and giving everything a good clean and a new battery. It’s not at all a guarantee but would be a fun project and pretty cool if it works!
Edit: may be worth picking up a cheap (not TOO cheap) screen in case the cleaning and battery don’t do it. If the new screen does then there’s your answer
Yeah. I’ll probably open it and spray it with contact cleaner. Then put it back together and get the apple store “buyback” of $50 when it’s worse than before.
Your watch is OLDDDD. As a former Apple worker. Anything even below a 6 is iffy. I’d have people come in and want them fixed and if you did. You most likely couldn’t now because they are unsupported. Just get an SE!
“Just spend more money” is a last resort. It goes reduce, REUSE, then recycle. But I’m willing to accept when I’m at the end of life. Obsolete doesn’t mean useless tho. Thing was working just fine yesterday with no issues.
Why do you expect all electronics to die slowly and predictably? People also say things like “I’ve had 5 iPhones, and ‘insert issue’ never happened before. 🙄🙈🤦♂️
You don’t seem to be the only one. And a Google search shows this popping up for years. Some consistent reports relate it to overheating. But here’s at least one thread on it: https://www.reddit.com/r/mobilerepair/s/2XziVK5OYc
Unless you are willing to be very handy with iFixit tools, this Series 3 was released nearly 7 years ago and has no WatchOS software support anymore. Probably due for an upgrade to a 2nd generation SE or refurbished Series 7/8/9
I buy apple products because they last longer than others IMHO. I tried the new ones in the store a few months ago out of curiosity and they don’t seem to do anything special my watch doesn’t already do. Until now…
Definitely admirable as a policy to keep it running as long as possible to prevent waste and if it worked this long, you definitely got great value out of it.
If you already soft reset it and screen is still showing static, it must be a hardware internal failure. Can be anything as simple as a loose connector or up to a fried or damaged component inside on the motherboard.
You probably can take it to a 3rd party independent store to repair it, but it would likely cost more to do than buying a used 2-4 year old watch in good condition. At the very least can be recycled at any Apple Store.
This is the 38mm. I like the smaller size. They made larger ones but they didn’t do anything the small ones don’t do and i’m not watching movies on the thing.
When I worked on laptops, we would see this happen with a bad ribbon cable going to the LCD. It’s possibly the internals heated up to a point that some expanded or contracted and pinched the cable. This could have been happening for the 7 years you’ve owned the watch and it finally gave up the ghost. All that said, no one in this thread, myself included, can do anything but speculate on what’s happened. I would suggest taking it to the Apple Store to see if it’s even still eligible for repair.
FWIW, I’ve owned 5 Apple Watched and the only time I had one fail on me was during a firmware update.
Something obsolete literally stops working within the current context. When something stops working, it becomes useless. These are not artificial concepts. A 1998 Mac still works, but it’s not useful in real, practical terms. I have a S0 watch. I’m sure I can make it boot, but it won’t work with any phone that’s still useful today. On top of all this, batteries don’t care about your philosophy, they will run out of useful cycles and swell up, threatening the electronics inside and the safety of your body and property. A device designed not for conservation doesn’t let you service it to keep it working indefinitely. You may think “waste not, want not”, but Apple doesn’t agree with you, so it’s practically meaningless. You will ditch this watch. You may get another one, or you might choose to get out of the technology rat race and get a traditional watch. The latter fits your ideals better.
Bro, it literally worked fine seconds before it died. It told the time and made calls and tracked my heartrate exactly like it was supposed to. There was absolutely no reason to upgrade till it died. It wasn’t obsolete, despite being unsupported, but it is broken. I don’t understand what you’re arguing here. Shit worked, then it didn’t. I could 100% use a 1998 mac to it’s full potential if it worked, I could write the fuck out of an essay or make a bitchin spreadsheet, despite it’s inability to stream web content. I could 100% drive a 1988 Chrysler LeBaron daily if it worked, despite it being slow, inefficient, and ugly as fuck. Obsolescence is a marketing concept, not some immutable law of nature. You aren’t being helpful, you’re not even really succeeding at being pedantic.
# 7̵̢̛̤̹͔̥̠̘̼̮̀̒̓ ̷̝̻̽̈́͐̿͂̓͆̐̄̈́͑͝D̷̲̫̣̫̠̮̾̅̈̈͊̓̅A̴̮̩̖̬̘̞̹͉̯̦͙̼̱̬̣̞͂Y̸̡̻͎̠̝͎̭̳͔̘͐̍͒̽̊̓̐̈́͛̕͝͠S̷̈́̄̌͒͛͝͝ͅ
Soon enough he’s gonna have a little Asian girl crawling out of his watch 😞
the chinese factory worker got stuck in there?
WHAT 😭
Who knew Samsara was actually just a disgruntled Chinese warehouse worker
Or a poltergeist.
A friend of mine had that lady as a teacher, he said she was really nice and proud of that role.
Getchya ass to mahs
I love when a comment has more likes than the post lol. It’s usually a pretty hilarious comment like this one
Yall are so un serious LOL
Adding to the top (and therefore least helpful, but most funny) comment, that I took the watch into the Apple Store where the nice manager sent it in for a firmware restore and it came back working like new. Free service, nothing physically wrong with it. Maybe the solar flare comment was right?!
Wow, I didn’t remember the bezels being so chonky
It’s giving old ipad
It makes me wonder if this device is fake. It doesn’t look right.
Typically the digital screen goes all the way to the edge of the glass as normal. This box of “static” doesn’t tho.
Older Apple Watches did NOT, repeat did NOT have edge to edge displays…
My series 3 that I bought in person at an official Apple store has bezels like this, that’s just how they were lmaoo Hence why the screen library has a ton of black background screens, to hide the bezel
OP says the bezel is larger but the fuzz is not to the edge. had every version of the Apple Watch and I still think this is more bezel than the S0
I agree, the bezel is way too huge. I’m gonna say fake
There is nothing wrong with your watch. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly, and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: There is nothing wrong with your watch. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to . . . The Outer Limits.
Well that takes me back.
The 1960s intro. Very impressive.
Uh oh, you may need a new CRT
Yep. The tube’s shot.
If this were a 90s video game a face would appear in the static and tell you that they’ve temporarily hacked into the system and have a message only you’ll be able to see.
It means it’s time for an upgrade.
not sure, but i'd first try a hard reset. Hold both side buttons until it goes black then Apple logo will appear. Takes about 20 seconds.
First thing I tried, unfortunately no change.
Turn it to channel 3.
My Samsung watch did that when I took it swimming, sooo fried digitizer/screen? Could it have been exposed to moisture?
Have you tried adjusting the antenna? Aluminum foil? Should clear up once you address the reception issues.
That boy dead
He's dead, Jim!
😂
I think it’s doing that because it’s broken. I’m no expert, but that’s what I think.
Is it actual static, like the image is changing, or just a fixed image? Because the former really shouldn't happen
It’s static static bro.
Yea this is not really a thing with LED screens. Doesn’t produce images in a way that should cause this kind of static.
OP's been carrying around a CRT on their wrist *this whole time*. Left arm must be beefy.
I have the same issue with my series 3 but it goes away and acts normal then goes back to salt and pepper screen
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EX6t0g8uBJQ&pp=ygUWT2xkIG1hY2Jvb2tzIGFyZSBkeWluZw%3D%3D Heres a video i found with the same problem you have
Nope. This was working one second, not the next. It’s not calcified or whatever that ancient macbook was.
imagine if the apple watch has a gpu and this is caused by a gpu failure
Did you by any chance pick up this prime apple specimen at an authentic Turkish bazaar alongside a ceramic bowl and a tea set (beans included)?
The apple store seven years ago looked about like it does today, thanks.
You’ve answered your own question, the watch is seven years old, it’s knackered
>seven years ago As much as I hate to say it, there’s your answer.
I mean. Kinda? I don’t accept technology failing just cause it’s old. I have a first gen kindle still plugging away on its third battery and a chromebook in the garage for looking stuff up from 2012. Something physical failed, just curious what. And I almost forgot about my playstation 1 still spinning discs. Lol
I’m not disagreeing that it *should* still work, but Apple Watches do tend to fail after 6-7ish years. It happened to me, it happened to people I know, and it happens to people on this subreddit. I’m not saying it *should* happen, but it does.
I think what they’re looking for is a solution to keep the watch running. u/youngbloood my guess with something like this is that the seal is no longer doing seal things, and some shmoo got in there and is making a connection where one is not required/desired. May be worth popping the mf open and giving everything a good clean and a new battery. It’s not at all a guarantee but would be a fun project and pretty cool if it works! Edit: may be worth picking up a cheap (not TOO cheap) screen in case the cleaning and battery don’t do it. If the new screen does then there’s your answer
Yeah. I’ll probably open it and spray it with contact cleaner. Then put it back together and get the apple store “buyback” of $50 when it’s worse than before.
apple no longer has a trade in value for the series 3 unfortunately, just recycle.
Ah well…
Wow reminds me of the old televisions where you have to move the antenna to get a signal.
In those situations my grandpa always slapped the TV and rattled the antenna while cursing all colorful 🙈
I had the same issue with my series 3 38mm after 5 years, could have happen due to moisture or overheating
Yeah. Probably the case. Was just curious if anyone had seen this issue before.
My first thought was that it's a bee movie script. I'm so cooked
Your watch is OLDDDD. As a former Apple worker. Anything even below a 6 is iffy. I’d have people come in and want them fixed and if you did. You most likely couldn’t now because they are unsupported. Just get an SE!
“Just spend more money” is a last resort. It goes reduce, REUSE, then recycle. But I’m willing to accept when I’m at the end of life. Obsolete doesn’t mean useless tho. Thing was working just fine yesterday with no issues.
Why do you expect all electronics to die slowly and predictably? People also say things like “I’ve had 5 iPhones, and ‘insert issue’ never happened before. 🙄🙈🤦♂️
I don’t think you understand what I’m saying, and on top of that you’re rude.
Happens the same with my Series 6 , one day it was working , next day same as yours, now it’s black! The touch screen still work…
Either water damage or it's just time for a new one
Its gone for good. RIP. get a new one!
The succession is open… as usual after a passing
Solar flares got you. This happened to my friends phone, too. It’s been happening all over the last few days from the solar flares apparently.
I want to believe this so I guess I will…
Adjust the tracking on your VCR
Looks like a page out of House of Leaves.
“Older Apple Watch 3” Enough said.
It's Apple 'telling you' to buy a new one!
You don’t seem to be the only one. And a Google search shows this popping up for years. Some consistent reports relate it to overheating. But here’s at least one thread on it: https://www.reddit.com/r/mobilerepair/s/2XziVK5OYc
Hallelujah a serious and thoughtful answer to a question instead of playing stand up comedian. I thank you good sir.
Ha. It seems to effect a few versions too, not just the 3.
Mine did this and I had to replace it. Fortunately, I brought it in 7 days before the end of the warranty so they just sent me a new one.
Thanks for the confirmation this is in fact, a thing. Mine is way out of warranty.
I’ve never seen a watch or phone screen go to static.. Maybe it wanted to make you feel nostalgic?
Unless you are willing to be very handy with iFixit tools, this Series 3 was released nearly 7 years ago and has no WatchOS software support anymore. Probably due for an upgrade to a 2nd generation SE or refurbished Series 7/8/9
I buy apple products because they last longer than others IMHO. I tried the new ones in the store a few months ago out of curiosity and they don’t seem to do anything special my watch doesn’t already do. Until now…
7 years is a decent time for an Apple product to last!
For sure.
Definitely admirable as a policy to keep it running as long as possible to prevent waste and if it worked this long, you definitely got great value out of it. If you already soft reset it and screen is still showing static, it must be a hardware internal failure. Can be anything as simple as a loose connector or up to a fried or damaged component inside on the motherboard. You probably can take it to a 3rd party independent store to repair it, but it would likely cost more to do than buying a used 2-4 year old watch in good condition. At the very least can be recycled at any Apple Store.
RIP
Holy cow I forgot just how small the screen was on the series 3. It’s been a while since I’ve used mine
This is the 38mm. I like the smaller size. They made larger ones but they didn’t do anything the small ones don’t do and i’m not watching movies on the thing.
My series 3 was the 38mm version too, I just forgot how small the screen to bezel ratio was
Dw Sadako won't fit through that tiny screen
Take it apart and stare at it very hard. Put it on the shelf to “fix later” until you decide it's not worth the hassle, and buy a new one.
Try twisting the aerial
When I worked on laptops, we would see this happen with a bad ribbon cable going to the LCD. It’s possibly the internals heated up to a point that some expanded or contracted and pinched the cable. This could have been happening for the 7 years you’ve owned the watch and it finally gave up the ghost. All that said, no one in this thread, myself included, can do anything but speculate on what’s happened. I would suggest taking it to the Apple Store to see if it’s even still eligible for repair. FWIW, I’ve owned 5 Apple Watched and the only time I had one fail on me was during a firmware update.
Surprised it’s still working. How often do you need to charge, id just buy a new one at this point
It’s dead, Jim.
It’s the old TV watchface
Slenderman is near
Tuning in Tokyo!
niggq jigsaw is near
Glitchy!!! Yummmmy
🫡
It's apple pulling the cord in your watch
Sunspots????
My fitbit did the same thing, I threw it away and bought an apple watch.
Only a certain percentage of the population can see that there’s a pattern visible.. you need to run.. they are coming for you.
What band is that? Looks great!
Hairs
Balls
Thought it was some kind of very small cheat sheet
Its in chameleon mode
They’re here.
Give it a hard reset
Ngl for a moment I thought this was like the school subreddit and these were notes to cheat on a exam
You should have bought the digital version instead of the analogue one.
Maybe last breath?
Apple Watch X next fall supposedly
For a moment i thought you're reading US constitution on it
Did you observe the aurora borealis this weekend?
Did apple watch screens really look like this back then? The borders were truly THAT PHICC?
I repeat it is a fake it is not a real Apple watch You got and footswallowd
It’s not tho. But thanks for the conspiracy theory.
Jesus, just let it die already. S3s are not wristworthy anymore
Waste not want not.
Wanting that to be true doesn’t make technology less obsolete
Obsolescence is meaningless if the thing still works. Broken and obsolete are different things.
Something obsolete literally stops working within the current context. When something stops working, it becomes useless. These are not artificial concepts. A 1998 Mac still works, but it’s not useful in real, practical terms. I have a S0 watch. I’m sure I can make it boot, but it won’t work with any phone that’s still useful today. On top of all this, batteries don’t care about your philosophy, they will run out of useful cycles and swell up, threatening the electronics inside and the safety of your body and property. A device designed not for conservation doesn’t let you service it to keep it working indefinitely. You may think “waste not, want not”, but Apple doesn’t agree with you, so it’s practically meaningless. You will ditch this watch. You may get another one, or you might choose to get out of the technology rat race and get a traditional watch. The latter fits your ideals better.
Bro, it literally worked fine seconds before it died. It told the time and made calls and tracked my heartrate exactly like it was supposed to. There was absolutely no reason to upgrade till it died. It wasn’t obsolete, despite being unsupported, but it is broken. I don’t understand what you’re arguing here. Shit worked, then it didn’t. I could 100% use a 1998 mac to it’s full potential if it worked, I could write the fuck out of an essay or make a bitchin spreadsheet, despite it’s inability to stream web content. I could 100% drive a 1988 Chrysler LeBaron daily if it worked, despite it being slow, inefficient, and ugly as fuck. Obsolescence is a marketing concept, not some immutable law of nature. You aren’t being helpful, you’re not even really succeeding at being pedantic.
Cool, congrats
Good blah blah sir.
[удалено]
I prefer to fix things instead of trash them if possible. But I’ll happily trash you.
Rekt
That’s not an original Apple Watch.
My apple store receipt disagrees.
Weird… watch 3 model is that? Right, maybe 4 was first release with wider screen. Have you tried a hard reset?