WARNING: Apple Watch Needs Replaceable Battery!

Question

WARNING: Apple Watch Needs Replaceable Battery!

Hi Folks,

Apologies but I feel the need to vent frustration at Apple. Specifically, the Apple Watch needs to have a replaceable battery. Let me preface this by saying that my Apple Watch Series 4 (stainless steel, cellular) has probably been my favourite device I've bought from Apple over the years. I use mine a lot for recording workouts and upload the results to services like Strava for analysis. My Watch worked brilliantly for this for about 4-years, after which the battery life started dropping significantly, getting low battery warnings before the end of the day and dying completely during workouts. When I'm using my Watch to record my progress and also for music, having it die during the workout is REALLY annoying. But I get that rechargeable batteries don't last for ever - I've known this from laptops, iPhones and iPads. So when I recognised that my Watch needed a new battery, I took it to my local Authorised Service Provider expecting to be able to get the battery in it replaced. To my surprise, I was advised that battery replacements required sending my Watch back to Apple and they would send me a reconditioned one in reply. The cost of this was something like £95, so much less than a new one but not an insignificant amount of money. I figured that for another 4-years of use, or in the region of, this was OK and went ahead with it.

The reconditioned Watch arrived with a 3-month guarantee. I've never been happy with the click of the digital crown on it but not enough that I seriously thought of returning it. Battery life was back to being good again, so I was generally happy with things. But over the past few months, the battery life has been getting worse and worse. Even without having done a workout, I can be getting low battery warnings in the evening, so nowhere near "all day". Today, I went for a run in the late afternoon with 45% battery and it died after about 15-minutes of recording and music playback. To say I was not happy would be an understatement. There is no way that the battery in the reconditioned Watch I was sent was a new one, which what I thought I was buying. This is less than 1-year of use, with problems starting a 9-months. I asked my Authorised Service Provider about it and was told that there wasn't anything they could do because it was beyond the 3-month warranty.

Basically, I think the battery replacement service that Apple provides is a scam. If I buy a battery replacement, I expect to receive a new battery. I do not expect to receive a used battery with unknown quality. This makes me seriously consider whether I will buy another Watch. I love the device but they are not cheap, particularly if I want another "high-end" version that looks better than the regular aluminium one. As far as I am aware, battery replacements of the device you own is possible with other Apple products, so I don't understand why this is not possible on the Watch. Surely this is expected?

Anyway, very frustrated and I hope Apple sorts this out (perhaps it has already been sorted on new models?), but I caution anyone to use the battery replacement service - you may be flushing your money down the toilet.

Apple Watch Series 4

Posted on Feb 26, 2024 11:43 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

KaeBFly

Level 6

8,617 points

Feb 26, 2024 12:40 PM in response to Marcus Peaston

Technically battery replacements on your own are not authorized for any Apple product although some devices have parts that you can purchase from the Apple Self Service Repair program (watches are not included. Also, only certain parts and certain device models. While individuals can try their luck at it the option is intended for individuals with appropriate skill level so if you are a novice it’s still taking a risk. If you mess up Apple won’t repair the device for you). That’s something to keep in mind. You have to remember that it’s not as simple as taking an easily removable back off and swapping the battery so honestly it leaves room for people trying to do it and making things worse…and then they will likely complain that they can’t get Apple to repair what they messed up.

Also in your case with a watch that was released more than 5 years ago (series 4 launched in September 2018) a new battery while needed wasn’t likely to gain you anywhere near 4 years of use. With each new watchOS update the older chip in the series 4 would need to work a little harder meaning more battery use. That’s just one factor that could play a part in things. Another thing to keep in mind and is a clear indicator that expecting similar results for a similar timeframe as you previously had is more than ambitious….the warranty period. At just 3 months it tells you that reasonable expectations for no issues is within that 3 month period. This is also true for new products. The manufacturer gives 12 months warranty because they are aware that while the hope is that things work flawlessly for far longer after the 12 month mark it is not unlikely that issues will begin to occur from that point on. Side note…self service repair parts only have a 60 day warranty on the part so even if one was able to get the battery for the watch through that program you could have been in the same position.

I don’t say any of this to imply that one should or shouldn’t get their battery replaced through the program. I personally would have probably went with investing in a newer model if I still had a series 4 solely because of series age and knowing that I wouldn’t likely get more than a year or so out of it at best and that’s assuming nothing else failed. Plus I know it’s likely near the end of its watchOS update life so I may be forced to upgrade if that occurred and it wasn’t compatible with my iPhone. That doesn’t mean it’s the “right” way to go about it but it’s what would work best for my needs. No matter what getting a repair on an older model comes with the risk of possibly “flushing your money down the toilet” and is true for anything.

Ultimately though…you can submit feedback to Apple about it but it honestly may never be an authorized self repair option the battery for Apple Watch. Just might not be the easiest option with the way the watch is assembled and the battery has to be accessed and might explain why the watch is just replaced even when it’s done through Apple.

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Answer 2

Feb 27, 2024 11:30 AM in response to KaeBFly

Apologies if I made it sound otherwise, but I'm not advocating for a user-replaceable battery. It would be nice if we could have that and still have a device of the same proportions as we have got. But I doubt you can have both. What I do want, however, is that a trained engineer (Apple or 3rd party) can replace the battery in my Watch with a brand new one. I don't expect to be given a completely different device (in this case, one that was not as good as the one I already had) with, what I believe to be, a used battery that gave out in 9-months. Certainly, had it been made clear at the time that the replacement may not last very long, I would have given more thought to a total device replacement.

I do accept that newer versions of the OS may make the Watch work harder and getting another 4-years probably not realistic. But I cannot think that a "battery replacement" that only delivers 9-months is acceptable. Other replacement batteries that I have bought for other devices performed like new ones. I'm pretty sure what I was sold was a used battery. Sadly, I cannot prove it.

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Answer 3

Feb 27, 2024 12:13 PM in response to Marcus Peaston

Marcus Peaston wrote:

So, what you are saying is that if I obtained a brand new Series 4 Watch, updated it the current OS, I should expect its battery to start failing after 9-months? I do not believe it.

Yes, it could happen. Parts fail in the first year. Not as often later but it still happens.

If I am being charitable, perhaps the new battery that the reconditioned Watch came with was simply defective and, had it been in a new Watch, would have failed within the first year of ownership so that it could have been replaced under warranty. As a consumer, I feel as though I did not get what I paid for and that does make me angry.

And, if it had failed under warranty, the device would have been replaced and the warranty would have been the remainder of the original warranty or 90 days, whichever was longer.

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Answer 4

Feb 27, 2024 11:35 AM in response to Marcus Peaston

Marcus Peaston wrote:

Basically, I think the battery replacement service that Apple provides is a scam. If I buy a battery replacement, I expect to receive a new battery.

You did get a new battery. The Watch was refurbished but that means a new battery (among other new parts).

I do not expect to receive a used battery with unknown quality.

That would have been awful it that is what had happened. But, it's not.

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Answer 5

Feb 27, 2024 11:56 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

So, what you are saying is that if I obtained a brand new Series 4 Watch, updated it the current OS, I should expect its battery to start failing after 9-months? I do not believe it. If I am being charitable, perhaps the new battery that the reconditioned Watch came with was simply defective and, had it been in a new Watch, would have failed within the first year of ownership so that it could have been replaced under warranty. As a consumer, I feel as though I did not get what I paid for and that does make me angry.

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WARNING: Apple Watch Needs Replaceable Battery!

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