They were referring to having to pair it again, didn’t post all of the conversation as it had some private info in there.
My point is, talk to them before initiating a replacement and have them confirm.
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Another interesting Apple support conversation regarding Apple watch 7 battery replacement
- Thread starter geepondy
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My point is, talk to them before initiating a replacement and have them confirm.
This is exactly why I searched for old stock of the Ultra 2 (found it on Costco in November 2024), to ensure I would have my sensor activated until the patent ban was figured out. My Ultra 1 has AC+, but I’m not 100% sure I would receive a replacement with the sensor enabled. Having a friend who had her S6 replaced under AC+ with the sensor disabled, didn’t help me feel any confident the replacement would have it enabled.
Thank you, JZ for your report — and Night Spring for his cautionary note.
Definitely endorse the idea of recording or taking screenshots of Apple Support's judgment of this and saving them as evidence. And, somehow, putting them on notice one's expectation is for the oxygen sensor to be enabled on the replacement Watch.
Wonder what recourse we'd have, though, if they promise it in a chat or phone call, and then the replacement doesn't have it. At a minimum, they should refund any AC+ renewal fees.
In one thread (on Reddit, perhaps), several users brought up the fine print in Apple's licenses that permits removal of features at their discretion. That’s chilling, dismaying, or boilerplate, but could give them a defense or justification for disable the oxygen feature.
Given that Apple is probably *importing* the replacements for coverage under AC+, the court-ordered import ban would apply and likely mean that the oxygen sensors on those would have to be turned off.
Given the uncertainty around all this, I'm leaning to not renewing AC+ unless I see an official Apple declaration that replacements under AC+ will have the oxygen sensor enabled or I come across a bunch of reports of Watch replacements that have it enabled!
Definitely endorse the idea of recording or taking screenshots of Apple Support's judgment of this and saving them as evidence. And, somehow, putting them on notice one's expectation is for the oxygen sensor to be enabled on the replacement Watch.
Wonder what recourse we'd have, though, if they promise it in a chat or phone call, and then the replacement doesn't have it. At a minimum, they should refund any AC+ renewal fees.
In one thread (on Reddit, perhaps), several users brought up the fine print in Apple's licenses that permits removal of features at their discretion. That’s chilling, dismaying, or boilerplate, but could give them a defense or justification for disable the oxygen feature.
Given that Apple is probably *importing* the replacements for coverage under AC+, the court-ordered import ban would apply and likely mean that the oxygen sensors on those would have to be turned off.
Given the uncertainty around all this, I'm leaning to not renewing AC+ unless I see an official Apple declaration that replacements under AC+ will have the oxygen sensor enabled or I come across a bunch of reports of Watch replacements that have it enabled!
recourse I would take is small claims court.
re renewing AC+, that is of course entirely up to you. My S7 (Ti edition) expired a month or so ago and I did extend it, battery health sits at 81% so some time to go. it's my backup watch, only use it for sleep tracking every other night but SpO2 during sleep is important to me. I also have AC+ on my Ultra 2 (Sep '23 so with SpO2) cause I bang my watch all the time so AC+ is important for me from that perspective.
And I seem to remember some article where Apple was cited that the ban does not impact watches under warranty, just can't find it right now
Very strange, I had my s6 replaced last month under AC+ and I had SPo2 enabled. Before I gave my AW in store, I asked the rep if I was going to have oxygen sensor enabled. I was looking at Ultra 2 with sensor enabled in Costco but decided to get S6 replaced. Hopefully Ultra 3 will have the sensor enabled.
Until I see it in writing from Apple, I’ll believe the replacement will have the sensor enabled. My Ultra 2 is 2 months old, so I’m good for the next 4 years before I upgrade and by the time the patent will have expired. I knew there was the possibility of the Ultra 3 being released this year or next year, but I still upgraded my Ultra 1.
Had my S7 replaced in Germany not even two months ago. My sensor is still enabled. These guys need to be on MacRumors more often or informed better it seems, sheesh
EDIT: I know that the sensor remains enabled outside the US!
I was referring to what OP said, what was told to him by an Apple employee.
Thanks for all the heads ups but I am not the one that didn’t get the memo.
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The patent ban is only in the US. Everywhere else is going to have the sensor enabled whether they have AC+ or not.
Or, you could order an Apple Watch from eBay from a seller who doesn’t have any natural titanium Apple Watch Ultra or other Apple Watches. ⌚️ I ended up getting an older series 6 brand new because of my Apple Watch Series 1 screen got separated after seven years. I’m not sure how it’ll work out if a refurbished Apple Watch from a non-Apple seller has the blood oxygen feature, unless it’s directly from Apple if the Genius at the Apple Store was right. Did you guys run into this issue when you had an Apple Watch with AppleCare and bought it before the January ban last year?
Or we MacRumors denizens ought to do some self-reflecting on why we're better versed on this kind of minutiae than the people who are paid to be... 😆
I know… that was in reference to the Apple Store employee that said it’s disabled world wide.
Wow, I was under the impression that the sensor was only disabled on the S9, S10, and Ultras. I had no idea they were disabling them on older models.
Yes. The lights on the back of the watch. The green lights are for pulse, and the red lights are for blood oxygen
But those lights are visible only when the sensor is active, right? Can you see the sensors when they aren't active?
Switch to the Garmin side where they have Blood Oxygen and a much better battery that you won't need to replace! Plus, you also dont have Apple. Apple pretends that competition doesnt exist, well Garmin is the competition and they are constantly innovating!
I won’t follow on this, man. I like the blood oxygen feature and will stay on wearing an Apple Watch. ⌚️
You can see the the LED on the back of the watch. That’s the sensor. It only lights up when it’s taking a measurement
The sensor is the actual thing you’re seeing on the back of your watch. There’s 4 sensors. You can see them just by looking. When they’re lighted up they’re active.
See that ring? That’s the sensor. It’s active when it’s taking a reading, so there’s lights. When it’s not reading it’s just that ring in the center.
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So do those rings look the same on older watches that didn't have the O2 sensors, or are there more rings on the newer watches? Like, ones with O2 sensors have 8 rings, and ones without have, like 4?
On the older Apple Watch there were 4 sensors in a circle. For Apple Watches with o2 sensors there’s 2 that shine green light, which is for pulse, and two that shine red light. You can see them when you wear your watch in the dark.