What is the fastest way to get a battery replacement for an Apple Watch?

August 17, 2023 1:58 PM

A relative's Apple Watch Series 5 40mm/GPS+Cellular has been draining faster than it used to, and it's important for health reasons for relative not to lose access to it even for one night so they can call for help as needed. I have been researching how to get the battery replaced at the 79 battery replacement rate, but it seems like the standard battery replacement options might all require giving up the watch for more than a day. Are there faster options I am missing?

Specific questions about the options I already know about:

• I know that Apple allows you to make appointments at the Apple Store for a "battery replacement", but my understanding from reading online is that unlike for iPhones, Apple Watches can't have their batteries changed except by replacing them with a new refurb, and that they may not have refurbs in stock for replacements, so they might have to ship off the watch and then have a replacement sent days later. How universal is this? Is there ever a way for Apple Stores to provide same-day battery replacements for Apple Watches?
• I also know that Apple offers Express Replacement via mail for Apple Watches if you have AppleCare+, where they will ship you the replacement refurb watch before you have to send back the old one, but I don't believe relative does have AC+ and it's much too late to add it (watch was bought in late 2019). For iPhones you can pay $29 plus repair cost for Express Replacement even without AC+ but I don't see that option for Apple Watch - is there any way to request an Express Replacement for Apple Watch without AC+? We'd be willing to pay a bit more on top of the $79 to get a replacement faster.

The battery is currently at 81% battery health. I also don't know if it will make a difference to what options Apple will give us if we wait until it drops to 79% or replace now?

Of course getting an entirely new (or newly refurbed/lightly used) watch would be one way to handle this, but I think would probably be significantly more expensive for a Series 5/6/7/8 with a fresh or lightly-used battery? Relative is used to the always-on display so an SE or pre-5 model would not be ideal. The cellular plan is not turned on, though, so a GPS/WiFi-only model might work. If we do go this route, is there a way to trade-in the old Apple Watch for a refurb bought from the Apple Refurbished Store without giving up the old watch until after receiving the new one? (Does it help if the refurbished watch is shipped to the Apple Store for pick-up?)

Thanks so much for any insights and experiences!

posted by beryllium to Technology (4 answers total)

It sounds like this is life/safety critical.

In that case, I'd want a 2nd unit always on hand in the event that the main one becomes damaged, lost, broken, or otherwise stops working.

As a backup unit, I'm sure they can live without the always on display or newer features for a few days while the main unit is replaced or repaired. That said, the only thing in the Apple refurb store is series 7 or newer, with GPS only series 8's the low cost option at ~$350. Amazon has "renewed" Series 5's for ~$150 (The SE cost more). More than the $80 battery replacement, but it covers a few other scenarios that may tip the risk vs cost analysis.

The other option is to purchase a new one and relegate the old one to the backup role after having it's battery replaced. Then in a few years, do it again: Buy new, old one becomes the backup.
posted by SegFaultCoreDump at 2:17 PM on August 17, 2023 [4 favorites]

Woot sells a lot of older model Apple Watches and I agree, you need a backup if this is so critical. When I used the Apple program to upgrade my phone, I had a window of like a week or two after the new one arrived where I had to pack up my old one and ship it to them.
posted by soelo at 3:44 PM on August 17, 2023

Response by poster: Their usual backup is Amazon Echo speakers, but recently their voice has not been consistently loud enough to activate them due to acute illness. They use contact complications on the watch face to call relatives and I'm not sure if changing the way the watch works would make things more challenging for them - otherwise I'd just suggest turning off always-on-display.

I can suggest a backup watch if they would be open to that - just trying to get a sense of all the options and what we can do if we need to replace quickly. Thanks very much for the suggestions!
posted by beryllium at 4:38 AM on August 18, 2023

If it were me, I would buy a new watch to use temporarily and then return it within Apple’s 14-day return window, assuming the replacement would arrive by then.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 7:55 PM on August 18, 2023