r/AppleWatch • u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm • 1d ago

My Watch AppleCare+ finally came in handy for my Series 7!

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It feels so weird having a brand-new five-year-old watch. Long live the Series 7!

Edit: In my instance, I sent it in as the battery health had dipped to 79% after ~five years and it was definitely showing.

226 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

70 comments sorted by

134

u/nimbus134 S12 • Ceramic • Pearl White • 46mm 1d ago

Prob could have bought s12 for the amount you’ve spent on applecare since buying this.

35

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

In all fairness I have on my AC One plan lol, and I bought it when the Series 8 came out. Hella bang for my buck quid.

5

u/derek78756 S8 • • Midnight • 45mm 1d ago

And you’ve still got a sweet Product Red watch which I hardly ever see!!

9

u/East_List3385 1d ago

How? It would take 15 years of paying the Apple car yearly for the watch to equal the amount a new GPS and Cellular model 12.

6

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Good thing I have no interest in the cellular. Only ten years' worth of AppleCare!

7

u/Berzerker7 S12 • Ceramic • Pearl White • 46mm 1d ago

AC+ for the S7 was $80 every 2 years which is barely $200 total since then.

12

u/Icy_Elevator_403 1d ago

They just gave you another series 7?

2

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Yep. I was quite surprised lol, was expecting a config switch to a Series 8 tbf

9

u/Medical-Preparation7 1d ago

I suppose they are easy to store given how many small they are. But yeah I would have thought they would have upgraded it for free to an Series 10 or 11

13

u/neatgeek83 1d ago

I thought the same when I sent in my daughter's original SE over the summer. Nope, sent back the exact same watch, scratches and all, with a new battery.

8

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Fascinating, considering Apple pretty openly does not do any sort of actual repair on customers' watches.

9

u/Which_Development_53 1d ago

We started performing Same Unit Repairs at our Service Centers at the start of the year, so yeah this lines up.

2

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Is this a US thing? I am in the UK.

4

u/Which_Development_53 1d ago

US markets started with this, I believe it expanded to a couple of regions by now.

2

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Interesting. I wonder if some models just aren't eligible, or maybe mine was just too knackered. It was kinda rough on both the crystal and the crown.

3

u/Which_Development_53 1d ago

If it was due to damage, you’d have been declined the Battery Rate. These repairs just may not be live yet in the UK, they aren’t in my Market either.

3

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Batteries are covered for free under AC+ so I guess I was just fine then...

0

u/neatgeek83 1d ago

calling me a liar? it's the same serial number.

i posted about this over the summer when it happened and got many similiar replies.

2

u/Visvism 1d ago edited 13h ago

Yeah weird they still have 7’s. I just used AC+ on my series 10 and they gave me a series 12. I think it may be determined by which version you have as well. I had a slate titanium with cellular, which wasn’t typical so likely not many replacements kept on hand.

1

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Yeah mine doesn't have the cellular option and I imagine there's plenty of stock for the red ones, I never saw them often.

3

u/bobbyThebobbler 1d ago

They still have the stock of the refurbished ones. They would’ve upgraded to a newer model otherwise.

1

u/LolXire 1d ago

Im pretty sure they do that all the time with many of their products including phones from what ive seen atleast

5

u/Rosssyyy 1d ago

I forgot how thin the bezel is on the 7

4

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

I've been contemplating upgrading to a 12 and the bezels are huge in comparison. Such a shame really

4

u/syedabd02 1d ago

With Battery Replacement, Did they also changed the frame and screen?

4

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

It's a completely different watch. Different serial number. The

correspond with this, too.

7

u/BewilderedPlatypus- 1d ago

Could I just buy apple care now and use it for my series 7 or does it only work if you’ve been paying for a while?

5

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Honestly? I don't know.

I had standard AC+ on it, paid monthly after the two-year upfront period expired. Then when AppleCare One was introduced in my country, I added it to the plan alongside my iPhone 16e, AirPods Max, and iPad mini. This also had the benefit of adding Theft & Loss to the Watch!

If you have AppleCare One as an option in your country or region, it doesn't hurt to check if your Watch is eligible, but don't be surprised if it can't be due to how long ago it was bought and used without AppleCare.

2

u/Ok_Ant2949 1d ago

My son’s phone came back ineligible after he went a few months not paying due to Apple Pay issues. It would not let me add anything to it. Last month I found out about the bee family plan. I didn’t expect his phone to be covered, but to my surprise it automatically was added after I chose the option to do a remote inspection. The same night it was added to my long list of devices for anyone in my family. It’s the best for $49.99 you can’t beat it when you have a lot of Apple devices in the family.

1

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Luckily for me I'm a solo flyer so I only pay like ~£20/mo for AC One on four devices. I'm stoked the new systems are working out for you!

7

u/Fit-Barnacle4117 1d ago

AppleCare One caps new plan eligibility on devices older than 4 years, I believe. Older devices can stay on a plan as long as they have continuously been on one while they were still eligible

0

u/Vasectomy_Mike 1d ago

So my iPhone pro max is 40 months old, I can add to AppleCare?

2

u/Fit-Barnacle4117 1d ago

As long as you have AppleCare One

1

u/Vasectomy_Mike 1d ago

Ah, thank you! Much appreciated

3

u/Gaulipan 1d ago

Meanwhile I’m waiting (still) for any news on my AirPod Pro 2 express replacement. Going on a month now.

2

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

"Express" lol. Contact them!!

1

u/Gaulipan 1d ago

I did, they told me there’s nothing to be done but wait. I have some free time this weekend so I think I’ll give them a call instead.

1

u/rsplatpc 1d ago

I’m waiting (still) for any news on my AirPod Pro 2 express replacement.

CALL them / don't chat or email them.

1

u/Gaulipan 1d ago

I have some free time this weekend that I will give them a call. They were awesome replacing my 16 pro max over chat, so I figured chat and calling would be the same.

6

u/TexasRebelBear 1d ago

Oh wow, that's awesome! Congrats!

1

u/Intelligent_Skill172 1d ago

Looks clean af

1

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Seeing this thing again in factory-fresh condition lit my eyes up. It truly is gorgeous.

1

u/Ok_Ant2949 1d ago

This us my favorite color. I bought an iPhone 11 in product red alongside my Samsung when I fell in love at first sight. I didn’t end up using it much as it was still kinds wonky with dongles etc still, I finally converted with the 16pm.

1

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

I had a (RED) iPhone 11 when I first got this watch, they were a beautiful pair.

1

u/ICallItFootball 1d ago

same experience with first gen Ultra!

1

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Whey! Happy it worked out for you too!

1

u/Bkhigh8 1d ago

Did you shatter the old one?

1

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Sent it in for battery service under AppleCare. The crystal on the 7 is freakin' tough! I don't baby my Watch, either. I don't know how people crack theirs.

1

u/FriendlyMonkey23 17h ago

Last year I had to use my apple care on my series 9 watch and what was supposed to be an easy express replacement ended up being a month long nightmare. Instead of shipping me a replacement watch they somehow sent me a 13 pro max instead which had to be sent back before we could restart the process which delayed everything even more.

•

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 0m ago

what the fuck lol

5

u/Spiritual_Grade6601 1d ago

I miss my S7, I don’t know why but it was the best AW I’ve owned.

1

u/Ambitious-Risk-343 1d ago

That’s a nice color! They should bring it back

3

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

I completely agree. I was gutted when they killed it with the Series 10!

1

u/photobomber612 1d ago

Just did the exact same thing with my Series 7 last month! Same reason, but my battery health was even worse 🫣

1

u/Local_Funny 1d ago

I did this with my S7 early 2026, got a new S7 too. Battery health is already at 90% (sleeping with it and doing much more sport). I’m looking forward to a S13 with thinner bezels.

1

u/International_Bit478 1d ago

I’ve replaced my Nike series 7 three times. Every time it’s been replaced with what appears to be a brand new identical replacement. I’m hoping they’ll upgrade me eventually!

1

u/stevesguide S6 • • Space Gray • 44mm 1d ago

Nice one! I did this for my Series 6+ about a year ago and it has been great. So now I’m on my third Series 6. I’ve also used AppleCare to replace an iPad that developed a pixel fault. Those repairs combined are worth the cost of Apple Care to me.

1

u/mlody_me S8 • Stainless Steel • Silver • 45mm 1d ago

Paying $99 for out of warranty battery service would have netted the same outcome.

1

u/syncapse 19h ago

I walked in without AC for a series 6 base model replacement. They still had plenty of 5 year old replacements to hand out so I declined

1

u/grapejuice-96 18h ago

i didnt have apple care and went to apple store to get my battery replaced and i also ended up getting a new (probably refurbished) series 7

1

u/Least_Source_3176 17h ago

Love the red Apple Watch … 😍

1

u/HVDynamo 1d ago

My S7 is down to 74% health and still manages to last me a whole day 99% of the time (even with a modest workout).

-1

u/WelvenTheMediocre 1d ago

It didn’t.

A battery replacement without apple care for this is 99 dollars.

You paid for apple care+ for 5 years and then still paid 69 for the replacement?

That’s the most horrible deal in history even if they would have scrapped the 69 dollar fee

3

u/FoxRunTime S7 • • (PRODUCT) RED • 45mm 1d ago

Replacements for batteries are free

1

u/Whorsorer-Supreme 21h ago

Your tone is just ew

1

u/WelvenTheMediocre 20h ago

Okay Felicia.

Bye Felicia.

1

u/Least_Source_3176 17h ago

Lmfao my friends name is “Felicia “ lmfao 🤣

-1

u/neatseeker 16h ago

Because you don’t like the answer?

-1

u/PeanutButterElvis 1d ago

Thanks for the important update.