Apple barred from repairing out of warranty Apple Watches during U.S. ITC ban

The Blood Oxygen sensor on the back crystal of Apple Watch
Apple will be barred from fixing broken Apple Watch models that are out of warranty, a potential headache for consumers, due to the U.S. ITC’s sales ban of the device in the U.S.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
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Apple’s customer service teams were informed in a memo this week that the company will no longer replace out-of-warranty models going back to Apple Watch Series 6. That means if a customer has a broken screen, for instance, they won’t be able to get the issue fixed by Apple. The company will still offer help that can be done via software, such as reinstalling the operating system.
Company representatives were told to inform affected customers that they will be contacted when hardware replacements are allowed again. Generally before the ban, Apple was unable to fix most of the hardware issues with the smartwatch and, instead, replaced those units.
The replacement issue is part of a ban imposed by the US International Trade Commission that ruled Apple violated two health-technology patents related to blood oxygen sensing held by Irvine, California-based Masimo Corp.
The decision affects most new Apple Watches sold since 2020, including the Series 6, 7, 8 and Ultra, in addition to the current 9 and Ultra 2. All of those models include the blood oxygen feature the commission ruled were covered by the patents.

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MacDailyNews Take: The saga continues.
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