How do I know if my Apple Watch battery needs replacing?
To determine whether your Apple Watch's battery needs to be replaced, consider these indicators:
Declining performance: Observe changes in how long the battery lasts between charges compared to when your Apple Watch was newer; if the duration decreases significantly, especially after heavy usage, your battery might require attention.
Charge cycles: Rechargable batteries gradually lose efficiency due to chemical processes over multiple charge cycles. While actual numbers may differ based on models and usage patterns, you should notice declining capacity around several hundred charge cycles. You can view your Apple Watch's current battery condition using
Settings>Battery>Battery Health.
When you think the battery's performance has degraded enough, do the following:
Check your warranty status: Under a standard warranty, Apple does not typically replace batteries that degrade naturally through aging, unless there are defects linked to manufacture. With AppleCare+, however, Apple will replace the battery if it retains less than 80% of its original capacity ().
Evaluate the cost of replacement: Outside of warranty conditions, a battery service for an Apple Watch starts at approximately $79-$99 US dollars plus tax, possibly varying by model and location (**). Each incident under AppleCare+ requires a service fee, which may be lower than the out-of-warranty rate.
Keep in mind that diagnostics during service appointments can affect policy decisions regarding battery replacements according to capacity thresholds and factors such as physical damage. In general, however, internal resistance increases, storage capacities decrease, and the ability of the lithium-ion cells in your watch's battery to hold a charge diminishes as battery age progressively impacts the device.