Dead Series 1 - Suggestions?

[TiggrToo]

Yesterday I was given a pretty dead series 1 to do with as I will. Tried charging it up for about 3 hours using my Series 3 charger but got nothing out of it. Hard resets are equally as fruitless.

No one knows who's watch it was and it was found in between the cushions of a couch at work several weeks ago and, since then, the original owner has not come forward. As a result I ended up claiming it before the trash bin did.

So, given all that (no history of the device and liklehood that even if it was was operable when lost then the battery is long since drained) has above any suggestions as to what to do with it?

From what I can gather Apple will replace a dead battery for $70 odd but I have no idea if that's the only thing wrong with this - for all I know there may be some extremely fundamental issues beyond a dead battery. Any one know if I'd still be on the hook for the $70 if a battery replacement still elicits no life? (I'm guessing so, but then sometimes one gets surprised at Apple).

If there is a way forward for less than $100 then it might be a cheaper way to get me a spare watch, but I'm also not willing to risk money on something that I have no other knowledge on.

Thoughts, suggestions anyone?

 

[44267547]

The reality is you have to choose what you want to do. There's no way of knowing if it's a battery issue or if it strictly hardware related why it won't power on. To me, $70 is Steep to pay for something with no guarantee.

However, if I had to guess, somebody obviously was wearing that watch, left it behind or lost it inside the couch somehow, and the battery is defective. So my thoughts are that it's likely a battery that might be in need of replacing.

 

[Otflyer]

If watch is paired to previous owners phone the watch is probably useless to you even if a new battery brings it back to life. I would trash it.

 

[TiggrToo]

If watch is paired to previous owners phone the watch is probably useless to you even if a new battery brings it back to life. I would trash it.

Fron what I've read, a hard reset wipes everything, including a pairing. Unlike other iDevices, the watch apparently has little to stop this from happening.

 

[Federer2017]

Fron what I've read, a hard reset wipes everything, including a pairing. Unlike other iDevices, the watch apparently has little to stop this from happening.

This was the case with WatchOS 1. Since WatchOS 2 the activation lock is the same as on every other iOS Device and it is not possible to remove it.