To confirm: no in-store battery replacement?

[donawalt]

Hi all, I am doing some research for my daughter, who has an Apple Watch Series 4 GPS + Cellular, 40mm Silver Aluminum Case. The battery needs to be replaced. From my research on the Apple Support site, it appears that the only solution is to send the watch to Apple. Is there any option to take the watch to an Apple Store for battery replacement? Thanks!

 

[jz0309]

Hi all, I am doing some research for my daughter, who has an Apple Watch Series 4 GPS + Cellular, 40mm Silver Aluminum Case. The battery needs to be replaced. From my research on the Apple Support site, it appears that the only solution is to send the watch to Apple. Is there any option to take the watch to an Apple Store for battery replacement? Thanks!

Apple doesn't replace the battery, they give you a refurb in exchange, and only if battery health is below 80%.
I suppose you can drop it off in an Apple Store ...

 

[BugeyeSTI]

No in-store replacement of battery. As the user above stated, only device replacement and only if the battery health is below 80% using Apple's own diagnostic equipment..

 

[donawalt]

Thanks all!

 

[gigatoaster]

Just my personal experience but my battery was above 80% and I called them and they accepted to replace my Apple Watch 5 Ceramic. It looks brand new but might have been a refurbished one, though.

 

[318iphone]

Below 80% requirement is only if you want it replaced under warranty or AppleCare+. Otherwise you pay $79 even if above 80%. See https://support.apple.com/watch/repair
Pretty sure if you drop it off at a store they are just going to mail it away. So just mail it in.

 

[the future]

Below 80% requirement is only if you want it replaced under warranty or AppleCare+. Otherwise you pay $79 even if above 80%.

This is wrong. Apple will absolutely not repair/replace your Watch if your battery health is above 80%, even if you‘d pay for it.

 

[mikedis]

Yes, you can take it to the store, but they don't replace them there. They'll send your watch off to a repair facility, have it diagnosed, then if they deem there to be a valid issue, they replace the unit with an identical model. If there's no issue, they just ship it back.

Apple is contracted with UPS and FedEx in most places to get almost overnight shipping, though, so the whole process shouldn't take more than a week. (It can take a while to diagnose your device.)

This is wrong. Apple will absolutely not repair/replace your Watch if your battery health is above 80%, even if you‘d pay for it.

I've had watches with 80-87% health replaced, but those were Edition models, so that could be why. If you're really persistent, they have the power to override that requirement, and even waive the fee.

 

[the future]

If you're really persistent, they have the power to override that requirement, and even waive the fee.

Good to know 😊

 

[matrix07]

They'll send your watch off to a repair facility, have it diagnosed, then if they deem there to be a valid issue, they replace the unit with an identical model.

In my case they diagnosed it right there at the store. Saw my battery health was 78%. Took it and I got the new one in 3 days.

 

[tuanlouis]

Below 80% requirement is only if you want it replaced under warranty or AppleCare+. Otherwise you pay $79 even if above 80%. See https://support.apple.com/watch/repair
Pretty sure if you drop it off at a store they are just going to mail it away. So just mail it in.

Wrong. Apple won't accept battery service for any Apple Watch above 80% battery.

 

[mebehere]

My Series 5 battery is at 79%. I just chatted with Apple (text chat) about a battery replacement, and the woman said my two options were…

1. Apple sends me a box to mail it in. Cost is $335
2. Drop off at Apple Store or authorized place like Best Buy. Cost is $79

Here‘s the specific text…

According with my system, the total cost of this service is $335.78 USD as the system only allows me to send the whole product to be checked and not only for the battery replacement, however if you go to our Apple Store, the estimated cost for the replacement of the battery is only $79 USD, here is the website where you can also check this information https://support.apple.com/watch/repair , may I please know how would you like to proceed?

Does this sound right? I don’t have a store too close to me. it sounds absurd, but I dunno.

Anyone out there who can help me with some info? Thanks.

 

[NoBoMac]

They sent a poorly worded response, but this is pretty standard with all Apple products and battery replacement. If they find something else wrong with the product, they will "fix" the other problem(s) before doing a battery. So they are showing the max (other problems) and min (just battery) costs for repair.

Even if you go to Apple Store, they'll look it over but will tell you that it might be larger cost if something not caught by Genius is found at repair depot.