I received my stainless steel series 4 back from Apple. It looks completely new. I don't think thats a bad value for 79$ considering how much a new one costs. I can get another year or two out of the watch and hold onto it until Apple makes a completely new design.
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Apple Watch Battery Replacement for $79 Story
- Thread starter rillrill
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Excellent deal. I just checked my S4 SS and I am now at 81%, but few days ago I was still at 84%. I am guessing within the next few months, my watch will drop under 80%. I will most likley wait till S8 comes out to figure out what to do. My daugther is still using my S2 SS, so I might just suprise her and buy myself S8 SS and get battery replaced on S4 and give her the new replacement. If Apple gives us S5 as replacement - even better deal, but I am not counting on for that.
I have an old-school S2 stainless, which I upgraded with a nice Nomad stainless band, and which still looks new. I can’t check battery health because OS 6.3 is the last available update. Oh well, works great and I have never done optimized charging, always going to 100%, still the battery easily lasts a full day.
This is a refurbished replacement of a watch I purchased NYE Dec. 2016, and which was replaced free of charge by Apple Genius in Nov. 2018, so it’s four years old this fall. ?
This is a refurbished replacement of a watch I purchased NYE Dec. 2016, and which was replaced free of charge by Apple Genius in Nov. 2018, so it’s four years old this fall. ?
I also serviced mine, but it took me over 2 weeks because someone at FedEx decided to steal the first package. I had to open up a case with FedEx and Apple and then have Apple investigate with FedEx. Overall I was not very pleased with the whole process. It took a lot of effort and energy to get my watch. I dont understand why Apple could not simply send me a new replacement right away while sorting things wth FedEx, instead, they put things on hold for me while they dealt with FedEx. At the end, I got my replacement, same watch, but suprisingly, now my watch has full 1 year warranty and allows me to buy Apple Care+. Is that normal that the replacement have full year of warranty or have they perhaps compensated me in some way for the mess with the stolen package?
Apple claims that batteries should be replaced at condition of 80%. they also say that the batteries used in the phones watches and tablets have on average about 500 charges on them before they should be roughly at 80%.
if you think that an apple watch at best might last 1.5 days on average on a charge then you're looking at using that charge life up in a fraction over 2 years or if you charge daily which probably corresponds to a more normal use case then you're looking at about 1 year and 4 months.
if you think that an apple watch at best might last 1.5 days on average on a charge then you're looking at using that charge life up in a fraction over 2 years or if you charge daily which probably corresponds to a more normal use case then you're looking at about 1 year and 4 months.
Yeah if you search on the Apple website it mentions the expected battery life and cycles for each product, and when they consider something replaceable.
With the watch, unlike laptops, they can't just change the battery so they have to give you a new piece of hardware to replace they battery.
Weird story, my AW Series 1 started chewing through battery on a daily basis, and after a trip to the Genius bar, there was a sensor that was malfunctioning. So it was causing the watch to search for it constantly and was eating up battery life. For a while it seemed like a software issue but eventually I'd get like 10 hours out of it, max. So sometimes you think it's the battery, but it's something else. I upgraded anyway for water resistance. I'm not sure what the Apple policy would be on the battery even when it got to 80% given it had an identified defect.
On the subject of battery life, I then bought a used AW3 from eBay and still have 96% battery life after 2.6 years, I have it set to maximize battery life and it's still going strong. I can almost get 2 days out of it without charging it. I just bought another used AW6 LTE being curious about some of the other features like O2 measurement and altimeter readings, and the battery is already at 91%. I figure it's at max about 1.5 years old. I had it checked at the Genius bar and everything was fine, but with the LTE and Bluetooth, etc. being used, it can take a toll on the battery. 91% didn't sound unreasonable for life per the Genius for this generation.
If it's just a pure battery thing, I'd say go for it at $79 if your watch has all the features you want/need. The only thing I see for potential future changes is a better battery life. Honestly too, I was happy with the 42mm watch size. Just big enough, but the right size for my wrist. If it gets any bigger I'm more than happy to keep my old watches.
With the watch, unlike laptops, they can't just change the battery so they have to give you a new piece of hardware to replace they battery.
Weird story, my AW Series 1 started chewing through battery on a daily basis, and after a trip to the Genius bar, there was a sensor that was malfunctioning. So it was causing the watch to search for it constantly and was eating up battery life. For a while it seemed like a software issue but eventually I'd get like 10 hours out of it, max. So sometimes you think it's the battery, but it's something else. I upgraded anyway for water resistance. I'm not sure what the Apple policy would be on the battery even when it got to 80% given it had an identified defect.
On the subject of battery life, I then bought a used AW3 from eBay and still have 96% battery life after 2.6 years, I have it set to maximize battery life and it's still going strong. I can almost get 2 days out of it without charging it. I just bought another used AW6 LTE being curious about some of the other features like O2 measurement and altimeter readings, and the battery is already at 91%. I figure it's at max about 1.5 years old. I had it checked at the Genius bar and everything was fine, but with the LTE and Bluetooth, etc. being used, it can take a toll on the battery. 91% didn't sound unreasonable for life per the Genius for this generation.
If it's just a pure battery thing, I'd say go for it at $79 if your watch has all the features you want/need. The only thing I see for potential future changes is a better battery life. Honestly too, I was happy with the 42mm watch size. Just big enough, but the right size for my wrist. If it gets any bigger I'm more than happy to keep my old watches.
Batteries - Service and Recycling
Learn about battery service and recycling for Apple devices. All rechargeable batteries need to be serviced eventually.
www.apple.com
From the above link
Apple Watch Owners
Your battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 1000 complete charge cycles. The one-year warranty (for Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport) and two-year warranty (for Apple Watch Edition) include service coverage for a defective battery. If it is out of warranty, Apple offers a battery service. Prices and terms may vary.I find that very optimistic. My watch was about 2 years and 4 months when the battery health went down to 78%. and as you correctly assumed, i would charge my watch every other day or day and half initially, so my cycle count could at best be 500, perhaps 600 after 2 years and 4 months. That is far from the designated 1000 cycles. If my watch was let's say 900, I would be fine with that but seeing how my watch barely hit the half of the designated cycle count and the battery crapped out, I am not super pleased with that.
When they run diagnostics you can see the actual cycle count. I'd push the defective battery aspect of this if the cycles and capacity aren't in sync, sometimes Apple will work with you.Batteries - Service and Recycling
Learn about battery service and recycling for Apple devices. All rechargeable batteries need to be serviced eventually.www.apple.com
From the above link
Apple Watch Owners
Your battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 1000 complete charge cycles. The one-year warranty (for Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport) and two-year warranty (for Apple Watch Edition) include service coverage for a defective battery. If it is out of warranty, Apple offers a battery service. Prices and terms may vary.
I find that very optimistic. My watch was about 2 years and 4 months when the battery health went down to 78%. and as you correctly assumed, i would charge my watch every other day or day and half initially, so my cycle count could at best be 500, perhaps 600 after 2 years and 4 months. That is far from the designated 1000 cycles. If my watch was let's say 900, I would be fine with that but seeing how my watch barely hit the half of the designated cycle count and the battery crapped out, I am not super pleased with that.
This is actually a very good advise and possible chance to save 79$ for out of warranty battery service. I didnt think of that when I sent my watch for the repair and paid that. my replacmeent watch was stolen, so it took me about 2 additional weeks to follow Apple's ridiculous process, but at the end i got my replacemnt. Apple did make up for it and gave me 1 full year warranty for my S4 SS with ability to even purchase apple care+ so in the end, i am satisfied.
I suspect this is what happened with my Series 5. I bought it used at 95%. Then it eventually got low and was at 80% for a looooong time. Just a couple days ago it wouldn’t hold a charge for crap. Was at 79%. I’ve already sent it in.
So yeah, I think they’re programmed to stay at 80% for a long time so you have to wait to get it replaced.
Interesting how 80% was fairly decent and 79% wouldn’t last but a few hours.
So it has been 13 months since I received my S4 SS replacement. My current health shows 94%. I hope for 2 more years before it drops under 80% and then, I will decide if I want to get another battery service or perhaps upgrade to something newer.
Mine just recently dipped to 79% , and it gives me an "important battery message" essentially indicating that the battery capacity is significantly reduced. $79 seems like a bargain, since I don't see any value in any of the small enhancements they have offered in the 6, 7 or 8 series models. Except for charging, I wear it 24/7. Looks like I may be off to one of the Apple stores near me soon.
@tenordrum , totally agree! It's a bargain to get basically a new watch and battery for $79. I hope when it comes time for me to replace my Ultra's battery that all I need is a battery replacement and that nothing else is wrong with it. The cost to have Apple change the battery for the Ultra is $99 which is a total bargain for that watch.
Same here. My S4 watch got a new battery almost a year ago for my wife to use -- and I couldn't distinguish it from a new watch (it was in good shape). The only sad thing is my S7 watch from Jan 2022 is already at 84%. At this rate I'll get a replacement under AppleCare....
Sounds weird but what is the best way to wear the battery % down... by not using the watch perhaps? I want mine to dip under 80% so I can get the battery replaced.
My S5 has been stuck at 87% for the longest time, but the battery life has definitely gotten worse. Usually going to bed at 100% and waking up at around 90%, but now it's closer to 80%. Is there a way to force a battery recalibration?
I thought about upgrading, however the AW5 does what I need it to do, and the newer models don't offer me any significant enhancements. Based on what MR reports have indicated, the series 9 doesn't appear to offer any huge leaps either. So getting a few more years out of the 5 works for me. About the only thing that the newer models offer that is of interest is the larger screen area, yet that is not worth several hundred dollars to me at this point.
Just to close my part of this thread. It took 8 days after drop off at the store for the refurb watch to arrive at the store. I left immediately after getting the email note and picked it up. I could not pair it right away as it needed an update, so that process was completed at home. Battery health is 100%, and no scratches on it at all (unlike the watch that I dropped off!)
FWIW I chose the advance-replacement option, SBTi S6 still under Applecare.
They charged my Apple Card, shipped me a pristine replacement, I sent mine back, they reversed the charge to my Apple Card.
Since I never carry a balance there was no interest expense, and I didn't have to go without my watch for any period of time.
They charged my Apple Card, shipped me a pristine replacement, I sent mine back, they reversed the charge to my Apple Card.
Since I never carry a balance there was no interest expense, and I didn't have to go without my watch for any period of time.
I made an appointment, unpaired my watch, schlepped to the Apple Store, then after waiting for a genius for 30 mins was told that the watch had to be paired for them to check the battery health. Seriously? They can’t just plug it in and check? Pissed me off and I left. Switched to mostly wearing Casio and just using the Apple Watch for fitness tracker.