The band isn't covered under AC+? (Yes, it's covered)

[chuckappleguy]

Band is covered under the standard 1 year Limited Warranty or 2 year AppleCare+ from any defects in the craftsmanship of the band, watch and any accessories included in the box as per warranty agreement and from Mobile Genius which is an application that the Genius Bar uses for repairs.

When typing in a serial number in Mobile Genius, the watch that anyone buys does NOT actually show which band was included, instead in the Parts list it shows ALL bands available for part order for bands. When you go into the Genius Bar, as long as your Watch has warranty then the band that is included on that watch will be under warranty as well!

Watch Bands will never be in stock in the store as it'll have to be a Service (Non-Repair) Part Order and the team will contact you to let you know your part has arrived.

So as an example, let's say you buy the Apple Watch with BSB and AC+ and decide to buy a Link Bracelet in the near future. If you visit the Genius Bar because the clasp is not working on the Link Bracelet and you show them the Apple Watch with Link Bracelet, it's covered so long as you have Warranty on your Apple Watch. The same goes for if you have a spare lightning cable that is not working and bring the non working cable to the Genius Bar with your in warranty iPhone.

 

[Feek]

I'm deliberately bumping this old thread because it's one of the first things I found while searching to answer this question.

I have an Apple Watch Series 7 Stainless Steel with a Sport Loop that I bought in November last year. I have Applecare+. An area on the sport loop has become discoloured. It's not dirty, it's not worn, it's not been exposed to direct sunlight and faded, it's just somehow discoloured.

I didn't know if it would be covered so I spoke to Apple and after asking me a few questions they said they'll replace it but there's a catch. Because the watch and the band were sold as a bundle, they have to replace everything in the bundle. They're doing me an "express replacement" under Applecare+.

It's utterly bonkers that they're replacing the entire bundle rather than just sending me a new strap but I'm not complaining. I don't know if I'll get be a refurb or a brand new one but I'm sure that it'll have fewer than the 213 charge cycles my current watch has.