Why Has My New Vostok Randomly Stopped Working?

If you have just bought a Vostok and it has randomly stopped working that is not a good sign.

I had this happen to my own watch. I ordered an Amphibia and after 2 week of owning it I woke up to find it has stopped.

I just assumed it had ran out of power, which was strange as it’s an automatic and I had been wearing the whole previous day before going to bed.  

But I couldn’t get it to start and I will explain what I did and how I fixed it, which was basically the “Vostok Knock”, where I hit it into action.

It’s Hard To Know Exactly What Is Wrong With A Vostok

You need to be aware that there could be 100 different things that is causing your watch to stop working.

So, this means I can only tell you what I did and what might be wrong with your watch. You may find that yours does not start again, but I will go through as much as I can to get your watch back in action.

I did not drop my watch, nor do anything negative towards it to cause it to stop. It just randomly stopped, if you think you have done something to yours, then this may have caused the problem.

(You can read more about – Are Vostok Watches Worth The Money?)

Check That Your Vostok Watch Is Wound

Just because it has stopped working, doesn’t mean it’s broken. It could just be out of power.

Firstly wind it up using the crown. Usually after a couple of twists it should start running, but give it 10 or 20 twists and see what happens.

You should also pull the crown to the time setting function and move the hands around. They should hopefully be able to move freely and not be obstructed by anything.

I did this and nothing happened. My Vostok Amphibia is an automatic, so I decided to give it a shake to get the rotor spinning. Usually if you do this on any watch it will start up after about 10 shakes. You do not need to do this violently, just gently should get the rotor moving inside and you can often hear it and feel it moving. 

If this doesn’t start your watch, you are now in the same position as me. I put the watch to my ear and couldn’t hear anything. Also the crown seemed to be turning like normal and I could feel the rotor spinning. I knew the watch had power, but I had no idea why it wasn’t starting.

(You can read more about – Are Vostok Movements Good?)

Should You Open The Back Of A Vostok?

Unless you know what you are doing inside a watch, I don’t think you should remove the case back.

There is a chance you will damage it further, so I would not get involved in this. At the very least you may introduce dust into the watch and if you end up sending it back, opening it will may void the warranty.

Although, in an extreme contradiction to myself …there is an old saying that “you can’t make a broken thing more broken”, well maybe it’s not a saying, but I’ve heard people say it.

I wouldn’t do it myself, but if you want to crack open the back and see if you can spot anything obvious, go for it.

Some might just want to have a look, some might want to give the balance wheel a little blow, or a little nudge with a wooden toothpick. This can sometimes get it going again, but really it depends what the problem is.

I would only do this as my last ditch effort, for example, if I could not send it back or it was too expensive to get it fixed. I just think there are better options before doing this. 

What Is The Vostok Knock?

This method sounds strange and is certainly not something you should do for any other mechanical watch, but you will see it recommended on various forums and I have tried it and it worked. So I guess it’s legit.

Firstly try and shake the watch again, but this time a little more aggressively if that doesn’t work then you take it and knock the side of the watch (the side without the crown) into the palm of your other hand. You can do this quite hard.

Banging the watch into your hand like this can kick start it into life.

No one is really sure why, but whatever was stuck, seems to get knocked back into place and it kicks it back into life.

For me, I felt this was less intrusive than opening the back of the watch, but I had also said to myself “if this doesn’t work, I will have to send it back”

That was my next step if this technique didn’t work.  My thought process was exactly “you can’t make it any worse by doing this, so why not give it a knock, and if it fails, it’s going in the post”

Since knocking, it has run without any more problems. Other people have reported the exact same thing and it just has to be chalked off as one of those weird Vostok quirks.

It is strange that it seems to happen after about two weeks. Maybe something gets into trouble after this time, and the knock just loosens it up and removes the problem permanently. I don’t know. It’s strange, but it worked. 

Vostok Warranty

If you have tried everything, including the knock and it’s still not working you might have to send it back under warranty (This is again why I would be careful about opening the back as this can void your warranty)

Your warranty will depend where you bought it form but a new Vostok usually has a 1, often 2 year warranty, so the sensible thing to do is return It if that is an option.

However, the second I seen my watch wasn’t working I knew this would be an ordeal. The watch would need to be sent back to Russia, which is a slow process. Then after being repaired it would need to be sent back again, which is going to take even longer.

My watch cost about 37 quid watch, so is it worth all this hassle? I was also dreading emailing them to explain everything and arrange the return and then actually having to and post it.

Basically it could be more trouble than it’s worth. Although, talking to anyone who has done this and actually sent the watch back under warranty, says was easy to arrange and only cost a couple of quid to post. The only issue was that it can take around 12 weeks to send it away and get it back, which is painful.

This is exactly why I felt using the Vostok knock was a good option. One firm knock into the hand could fix it there and then, or it could be a 12 week wait to have it running. The risk was worth the reward for me and it paid off and this is something you should consider before sending your watch back. 

Repairing A Vostok Watch Locally

If you bought your watch second hand, or your warranty has expired, then you could bring it to a local watch repair shop. This will be quicker than sending it to Russia, but you need to pay. There is also a chance that your watch maker will not be able to work with a Vostok.

I would still go and speak to them and try and get a quote and a rough idea how long it might take. They might struggle with this though, since the issue is not easy to diagnose.  

You also need to remember that if they need parts to fix something, they are probably going to have to buy them from Russian and wait for them to arrive. (So if you are in warranty, it maybe it’s easier to just use that option).

If you are not in warranty, you may need to send your watch to Russia anyway. A  lot of Vostok repair centres you can find online are based there. You will of course have to pay as you are not in warranty, but this could be your last ditch option.    

(You can read more about – How To Get A Vostok Watch Repaired or Serviced)

Replacement Vostok Movements

Some people suggest just replacing the movement. Personally I feel that if a watch is new and only 2 weeks old, then this isn’t the best approach. It should be fixable somehow, but the argument is that replacing the movement is cheaper and easier than fully repairing the watch.

If you watch is old or second hand, then this approach could probably be a more viable option for dealing with whatever is wrong with it. In this instance it probably needs serviced, which again people will say it’s easier to replace the movement than service it.  

Really this will come down to you and what you feel is more sustainable, but this is an option you have. 

(You can read more information about – How To Improve The Accuracy Of A Vostok Watch)

Conclusion

Did I ever find out what was wrong with my Vostok? Nope, but it’s been great ever since.

I’m not sure if advising you to knock your watch is sensible, but I have to be honest about it, I read it online and tried it and it worked, so I can only tell you what happened.

It’s up to you to decide if you want to try it yourself and if not, there are plenty of other things you can do to resolve the issue. Vostoks are mostly really reliable and hard working watches, so it is unusual to have a problem like this, but it does happen.

If you did try knocking it and it worked, I’d love to know. It is such a strange phenomena, but hopefully now your watch runs perfectly fine.

(Even though Vostoks can be quirky, I still love them and you can read more about – Why Do People Love Vostok Watches?)