Passing Down Your Apple Watch - A Smart Choice for Reuse and Recycle

Key Takeaways

• Not everyone is convinced to buy a smartwatch, but they might love it if you pass on your old Apple Watch.
• The Apple Watch has great support, making older models still useful and functional.
• Gift your old model to someone who can benefit from features like Fall and Crash Detection, Apple Pay, and Workout tracking then help them set it up properly for success.

An Apple Watch may not have the sentimental or monetary value of an antique timepiece, but it can still make a great gift. Rather than selling or trading your wearable, why not pass it on?

Not Everyone Will Buy a Smart Watch

As an Apple Watch owner, you already see the value in Apple’s wearable. Maybe you’re obsessed with tracking workouts, monitoring your sleep quality , or taking phone calls on your wrist. Maybe you don’t mind dropping a few hundred dollars on a Watch, but you wanted something functional.

When I upgraded from my Apple Watch Series 4 to the Series 8, I passed my old Watch on to my dad. It’s very unlikely that he would have ever thought to buy an Apple Watch, and I wasn’t sure if he’d give it back to me because it simply wasn’t getting any use.

Tim Brookes / How-To Geek

My dad now loves his Apple Watch, but it took being convinced by some hands-on time with the wearable to see its value. Telling someone why you love your Apple Watch so much doesn’t quite compare to having them use the features for themselves. Sometimes seeing is believing, and often the small things add up.

It’s very easy to get used to having weather information on your wrist, including minimum and maximum temperatures, the UV index, and whether or not it’s going to rain. Knowing how far you’ve walked in a day with a step count is neat. Setting a timer while you wait for a pot to boil or being able to dictate a message becomes second nature. Taken alone, these aspects wouldn’t have necessarily sold me on the Watch.

Fall Detection and Apple’s heart rate monitoring can save lives . Anyone, in any kind of dire situation, can make use of the “Emergency SOS” feature accessed by pressing and holding the Side Button. The Series 8 and later has Crash Detection, which will automatically call emergency services when it detects a collision.

I’m also fully reliant on paying for items with Apple Pay and tapping my Watch to travel on public transport. I can do these things even if I leave my iPhone behind, which I often do. I never miss a phone call because my phone is in another room, even though I never answer the phone on my Watch.

Tim Brookes / How-To Geek

Sitting someone down and giving them an Apple Watch elevator pitch isn’t as compelling as handing them your old Watch, saying “try this,” and seeing how they get on. Of course, getting the Watch for free probably helps too.

The Apple Watch Has Great Support

Perhaps the biggest criticism of the Apple Watch is how little it evolves between iterations. The plus side to this is that the Apple Watch has excellent software support. watchOS 10, which will be supported until fall 2025, will work with the Series 4 (released back in 2018).

On watchOS 9, the Series 4 doesn’t even feel slow. Sure, you can tell the difference between older and newer models, but it’s striking how well the old models hold up (even if the batteries are starting to show their age).

Apple still provides a battery replacement service for models dating back to the Apple Watch Series 2, released in 2016 (for $79). You can also get a service for other damage, like a cracked screen, but at more than $200 you might as well replace the Watch outright if you’re going that route.

You can spruce up an old Apple Watch by replacing the band. Fortunately, most Apple Watch bands are compatible with most models of Apple Watch. To quote Apple: “the 41mm bands work with 38mm and 40mm cases; the 45mm bands work with 42mm, 44mm, and 49mm cases.” The exception here is the Apple Watch Ultra .

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

The Apple Watch has used the same magnetic charger design since the first model, with an official $29 Apple charger widely available if you need a replacement. You can save some money on a third-party charger, or accessorize your older watch with Apple-centric charging stands .

It Gives You an Excuse to Buy a New One

Apple has a hard time convincing Apple Watch owners to upgrade because so little changes between iterations. I recommend waiting four or five years between Watch upgrades just to make the upgrade feel worthwhile. That way you get four or five models’ worth of improvements for your money.

If you bought a Series 4 in 2018 and upgraded to a Series 9 in 2023, your upgrade would bring some massive improvements. This includes an always-on display with higher brightness and greater surface area, a digital compass, Crash Detection, a better third-generation heart sensor, blood oxygen monitoring, wrist temperature detection, faster charging, and more storage.

Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek

This is in addition to the usual (barely detectable) improvements to the system-on-chip, and better power efficiency for slightly improved battery life.

Despite this, if you’re looking for another push to spend a few hundred dollars on yourself or you want a particular feature in the latest release and feel like you can’t quite justify it, why not consider who you can benefit by gifting your older model?

Before You Give Away Your Watch

The Apple Watch depends on an iPhone, so make sure the recipient has at least an iPhone 8 or later (that’s Apple’s recommendation at the time of writing). The newer the iPhone, the better. You should also update iOS to the latest version so that watchOS can be updated on the Watch too.

You’ll also want to make sure the recipient is a good fit for the Watch. People who own 15 different timepieces and like to mix and match them depending on the day of the week might not be a good match.

If you’re feeling especially generous, you might want to get a battery replacement before you pass the Watch on. Budget around $100 for this, and be aware that you’ll need to send your Watch in for service. A replacement band might not be a bad idea either, some of them can get pretty nasty after a few years of use. Alternatively, you can let the recipient know to do this.

Jason Fitzpatrick / How-To Geek

Lastly, give your Watch a good clean. You won’t get the scratches out, but you can certainly make sure the Watch is grime-free . Your Watch should have some degree of water resistance for this, or you can use a damp cloth and isopropyl alcohol to disinfect.

It’s worth asking the receiver of your Watch if they’ll give it back if they don’t find it particularly useful. You can always gift it to someone else who will get more use out of it in that case.

Help The New Owner Set Up Their Watch

Lastly, you might want to pass some knowledge on to the new owner as they become acquainted with their new wearable. The Watch is a simple device, but some aspects can be a bit confusing.

In particular, help avoid frustration by setting up notifications properly under Watch > Notifications on their iPhone. Too many notifications on your Apple Watch can be annoying and drain the battery quickly. Make sure they know where the Control Center is, and how to enable silent mode.

Watch faces are deeply personal, but some words of wisdom about how you set up your Watch can go a long way. Talk about complications and how they can save time and provide useful information at a glance. Lastly, set up health and emergency features like Fall Detection if that’s partly why you’re gifting the watch.

Are you now shopping for a new Apple Watch? There are some good reasons to pick the Apple Watch Ultra , so make sure you read our experiences with the device . Alternatively, the standard Series 9 or later is a great choice too.

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