After several Pebble Time 2 owners reported issues with broken screens, Core Devices—the new startup led by Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky—has announced this week it will offer free smartwatch replacements to affected customers. While Core Devices is working on multiple new wearables, including a round smartwatch and an AI-enabled ring, these hardware issues are the first visible speed bump the company has faced since reviving the Pebble brand back in 2025.
On the Pebble subreddit, multiple Pebble Time 2 owners have reported the smartwatch’s screen cracking under what appears to be normal use. One person spotted a crack after only eight weeks wearing their watch, while another discovered their watch was cracked after putting their hand in their pocket. Even stranger, a third person’s Pebble Time 2 cracked under normal use with a screen protector applied.
It’s not clear how many watches this issue could affect, though in its blog post explaining how it’s addressing hardware issues, Core Devices notes it received only 51 reports of broken screens so far out of more than 19,000 Pebble Time 2s in the wild. The Pebble Time 2 passed multiple durability tests without issues before going into mass production, “including drop testing, tumble testing, button press, strap stretch and bend, thermal cycling, and many other tests,” the company writes, but that doesn’t help anyone dealing with a cracked screen now. That’s why it’s currently replacing cracked Pebble Time 2s for free.
The company is asking anyone with a cracked Pebble Time 2 screen to attach a video of the screen to a bug report in the Pebble app to start the process of receiving a replacement. Core Devices says it aims to offer free replacements for as long as it can, but at some point in the future it will shift to selling “heavily discounted replacements.” The company may also source extra Pebble Time 2 components so that watch owners that want to repair their own watch have that option.
Cracked screens aren’t the only problem Core Devices is tracking on the Pebble Time 2. The company writes that some watches have trouble with high power consumption, along with issues with the touch panel and buttons. The touch panel issues could be fixed with a future software update, but the company encouraged customers with poor battery life or faulty buttons to reach out for a replacement.
Sending out potentially broken smartwatches is far from ideal, but Core Devices is doing the right thing by offering free replacements. It’s also consistent with how the company has pitched its revived Pebble smartwatches from the start—as labors of love, with some rough edges.
