My warranty experience for Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 GPS

TL;DR: My Mobvoi warranty experience was pleasant and speedier than I would have imagined!

In late June, I wore my 6-month-old Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 GPS into a shallow pool for 10-15 minutes. I was eager to compare with another swimmer with their Apple Watch

Later that evening, I got a notification with the expected vibration -- but the vibration never stopped. It just kept buzzing non-stop. It was getting warm, too. I finally managed to reboot it. I took it off and set it on an air conditioner vent to cool/dry and then later charged it. It was still acting laggy and constantly locking the screen, so I did a factory reset.

After the reset, it was laggy for half a day, but as things got re-optimized, it was almost normal. But the screen kept re-locking and the pule and O2 meter didn't work. On-body calibration failed every time. I did some Google'ing and found many other users complaining of the same symptoms after a swim.

I resigned to invoking the warranty. I dread doing so because I always fear a long and arduous battle. Pm Thu, Jun 24, I called Mobvoi before noon only to find they were closed until noon (9:00am PST). The automated attendant suggested I Text a number, but when I tried, I got back "Service access denied". I called again at 12:06pm. I was talking to a human in under a minute who was polite and understanding and informed me she would be sending me the warranty procedure right away.

An hour later, I had submitted the online warranty form with my original order ID, e-mail address and serial number. I included a photograph and video (not sure if either were required). I was automatically assigned a ticket number.

10 hours later, I received an e-mail with triage steps, including rebooting it, factory resetting it and using "ship mode" (that was new to me). I tried these all the next day (Fri Jun 25). None of these worked, and I replied as much.

The weekend was quiet, but on Monday, Jun 28, I received an e-mail informing me that my warranty claim had been approved and that I would be receiving a separate e-mail with a shipping label. That other e-mail was already in my inbox (although I overlooked the attachment the first time).

I packed my ailing watch back in it's original packaging (I'm now justified in keeping all boxes!) and put that in another box and affixed the label. I arranged to have USPS pick it up, which they did at 6pm on Wed, Jun 30. The next day, the tracking number suggested it would arrive at its destination on Fri, Jul 6. I was keen to know that, because I thought I understood that Mobvoi would ship my replacement after they received my original.

Unexpectedly, on Fr, Jul 2, I received an e-mail form Mobvoi saying I would receive a package on Fri, Jul 6. I was surprised because the USPS tracking number for my original said it was still on its way. Maybe I misunderstood!

Again unexpectedly, on Mon, Jul 5, I received a package. This was my replacement, a day early (and my original package is still in transit)!

I've set up the replacement and it's working great!