Apple Watch Battery Replacement

Written By: Andrew Optimus Goldheart

Comments: 101

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

Time Required

1 - 2 hours

Introduction

Got a dead or swollen battery in your Apple Watch? Use this guide to replace it.

Note: If your battery is swollen, take appropriate precautions.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

Before starting repairs, take your watch off the charger and power it down.
If your touchscreen is broken and prevents powering off the watch, use this alternate method to power it down.

Step 2

Prepare an iOpener (or grab a hair dryer or heat gun) and heat the face of the watch until it's slightly too hot to touch.
Leave the iOpener on the watch for at least a minute to fully heat the screen and soften the adhesive holding it to the case.
You may need to reheat the iOpener, or move it around on the screen as sections cool, to heat the screen enough to pry it off.

Save yourself some time—use a hair dryer. After multiple efforts with the iOpener, I could not get the screen to pop enough to pry it up. That’s when I grabbed a hair dryer and had it off within minutes.

Patrick -

I heated it up with hair dryer for less then 2min and stick the blade in that was supplied with infix kit and popped right off.

MIke C -

Does heating the screen not run the risk of damaging it like you can with a phone?

Wade -

Step 3

Because the gap between the screen and watch body is so thin, a sharp blade is required to separate the two. Read the following warnings carefully before proceeding.
Protect your fingers by keeping them completely clear of the knife. If in doubt, protect your free hand with a heavy glove, such as a leather shop glove or gardening glove.
Be careful not to apply too much pressure, as this might cause the knife to slip and cut you, or damage the watch.
Wear eye protection. The knife or glass may break, sending pieces flying.

In my instance, the problem started with the face/screen popping off because the battery swelled. So I didn’t need to heat the face and pry it off. I did heat it a bit in order to warm the residue adhesive on the edge of the face and the case frame and found it easier to scrap it off gently with the craft blade that came with the $39.21 battery replacement kit. If this is your issue, you can skip the prying up steps.

jeb605 - 11/12/20

Same situation as jeb605 - my watch battery swelled and popped the screen off. Fortunately the force touch sensor did not debond from the watch. Thinking about just cleaning the back side of the screen and applying new adhesive. I used an alternate kit that did not come with the force touch sensor.

Tom Karches - 03/06/21

Step 4

Using a curved blade minimizes the chance of scratching the case or cracking the glass. Only pry with the curved section of the blade, and not the tip or flat section.
Place the curved section of the blade in the gap between the glass and case on the lower edge of the watch face, and press firmly straight down into the gap.
Be very careful to maintain complete control over the knife—once the gap opens, if you're pressing too hard on the knife it may slip in and cut the battery.
This should wedge the gap open and cause the glass to lift slightly up from the case.
When the glass has lifted, gently rotate the knife down, opening the gap more by pushing the glass up.

It is not possible to separate the screen from the casing? I have heated this thing numerous times and the opening is way too small to get any type of blade, knife or other tool in between. Any suggestions???

Paul - 27/06/16

Using a curved blade like the guide recommends, angle the blade straight down between the glass and the edge of the frame, mid-way along the bottom edge of the case. The metal of the case will flex *just a little bit*, allowing you to slowly rotate the blade so the cutting edge is now pointing towards the center of the watch instead of down towards your work surface. You may need to rock the blade back and forth, sort of massaging the curve into the seam between the glass and the metal before it works. And like they mention above, lots of heat. I used the heatpack they sell, put it in my toaster oven on 200. I started at 130, and went up in 20 degree increments until it worked.

Pete - 04/07/16

I've tried everything, heating it up until it's too hot to touch, pressing the knife in the gap straight down, at an angle, nothing seems to work. I've tried using all my arm strength and it still doesn't even enter the gap. Is the iFixit Jimmy not thin enough for the job?

Kenneth - 20/08/17

It’s not. The Jimmy’s a great pry tool, but not a cutting blade and not sharp enough for this particular job. You want a curved razor like the guide suggests.

Jeff Suovanen - 03/09/19

Just to emphasise after quite a struggle - the blade absolutely matters!! I tried about 5 and almost gave up before the last one lifted the glass quite easily. Obviously, you want a thin blade! No, thinner than that!

Mark Moore - 11/10/19

Plenty of heat helps this part. Also PLEASE PLEASE wear a glove. Nearly lost a finger thinking I was careful enough…

jake - 20/05/20

Apple Watch Ceramic Series 3… Unable to crack open even with curved razor. The tolerances are extremely tight. Does anyone have any tips? Being ceramic, there is no flex at all.

kurt - 21/01/21

I got hung up on this step for over an hour. The key for me was to keep the watch straps on! I initially took them off thinking it would be easier to work with the watch, but I guess just the little pressure I placed on the glass while trying to hold the watch and use the blade was enough to keep it in place. At first I thought I didn’t use enough heat and ended up reheating the iOpener a few times and applying it to the watch over the course of an hour. I put the top strap on, put it back flat on the table and held the watch secure with just the strap. I gave it another go with the blade and the screen instantly popped off. Also, be careful with the force you use on the blade… it seems with adequate heat, you don’t need to use that much (I ended up cutting through the Force Touch sensor and punctured the battery).

phchang - 02/03/21

I would never use a knife like this to remove the screen. It’s way to wide to get in between the glass and body, without potentially breaking the glass. I use the Ultra Thin iFlex Opening Tool, sold by IFIXIT. Seriously. You won’t wanna use a fat blade like that after you take the iFlex for a test drive.

Donald Fournier - 10/05/21

I used the rounded blade provided by iFixIt themselves as part of the Series 1 battery replacement kit and even that was wide enough that it scratched my case while trying to pry the screen up. Also I had to heat the iOpener like 3 or 4 times consecutively at 30s each and leave it on the screen for 5+ minutes before the screen would even budge. Heating for 30 sec and leaving on the screen for 1 minute was not even close to enough.

Happily After Ever -

The display came off nicely after heating the iOpener a couple of times and wiggling the blade a bit. Now i have replaced the battery and the force touch sensor an thought I was ready for a dry run. So I did not peel off the final layer of film so that I can still remove the display. What I see is not good, the display is full of stipes and pixles in many colors. So, did I break the display (e.g. by heat) or does it have to be completely glued to the sensor in order to work?

Jörg -

I got the answer. Unfortunately, I broke the display. A magifying glass revealed that I have scratched the cable where I inserted the blade. Replacing the display and I fixed it!

Jörg -

For anyone who’s having trouble getting the screen separated from the case, try leaving the iopener on the Watch for longer like around 4 or 5 minutes

Eli Duffer -

Hi, I bought the battery replacement kit for my Apple Watch Series 2 in steel. Not having a microwave, I used a hot air gun with a temperature set at 110 degrees celsius and tried to carry out the display opening maneuvers as per your video. The display didn't move, I tried all over the edge but nothing. What am I doing wrong?

greetings, thank you,

Maurizio S.

maurizio sabatini -

Ik heb er een brede soldeerpunt van 15mm opgezet op 200 graden, mesje erin en gaan met die banaan.

J No -

Step 5

Once you've opened the gap enough, insert the tip of an opening pick under the glass.
Slide the pick along the bottom edge to separate adhesive holding the screen to the case.
Be careful not to insert the opening pick too far. Only about 1/8" ( about 3 mm) is necessary, any deeper and you may damage cables.

Step 6

Roll the opening pick up the side of the button side of the watch, gently pushing in to separate the adhesive and widening the gap as you go.
Remember not to push the pick in too far—it's easier to avoid this by rolling the pick, rather than dragging a tip along.

Step 7

Work the pick around the top right corner, and roll it along the top edge of the screen.

Step 8

Continue working the pick around the perimeter of the screen, rolling down along the left side to cut the last of the adhesive.
Leave the pick in place to keep the adhesive from resealing the screen in place.

Step 9

While holding the first pick in place, use a second to check that all of the adhesive is separated around the entire perimeter of the screen.

Step 10

There are two cables connecting the screen to the inside of the watch, near the top left corner. Be careful when prying or you may damage these cables.
Pry slightly up on the right side of the screen, to free it from any remaining adhesive.
Pry up on the left to free it as well—but do not attempt to remove the screen as it is still held in place by two cables.

My iwatch screen came lose. There are two strips loose I don’t know how or where they connect to. The watch still powers on and screen is not cracked. Can you advise how to get it back on again?

dawnnstojkovic -

Step 11

If you can see the top layer of your Force Touch sensor among the display adhesive, it means the two layers of the sensor separated and you're going to need to replace or repair it.
iFixit screen and battery repair kits come with a replacement Force Touch sensor, so if you got one of those, don't fret.
The top layer of the sensor may be adhered to the back of the screen—if so, push it back down and separate it.

Hi, thanks for the guide, nice work. I miss a picture of the natural opening of the screen, as the mentioned “Force Touch sensor slides” gets connected from the screen to the main body of the watch by a pair of very thin wires. None of these wires are seen in any of the pictures among this guide, which may lead novices to not pay enough attention to them, broke them accidentally, or not knowing what are them for. Picture on step 13 is absolutely impossible without removing the slides / thin wires of the force touch sensor in advance.

Cheers

Javier Enrique Díaz - 20/02/20

"If you can see the top layer of your Force Touch sensor" - How are we supposed to know whether we can see this or not? If one of your images shows us this then can you please point this out. Also, an image of what it should look like, without the problem would be good.

Just discovered this article you have posted about replacing the Force Touch Sensor. After looking at the article I can now see your first image, above, is showing the separated Force Touch Sensor. Perhaps you should link to it in this article, so people can get a better idea of what it is and what it looks like:

Apple Watch Force Touch Sensor Replacement

djones - 03/11/22

Same issue as djones I think. My watch was forced apart by an expanding battery and it came apart in such a way that the force touch sensor was still intact, connected to the watch back and still glued to the face. If I had an image showing the two connectors to the force touch sensor along the same side as the cables, I would have better understood and released the force touch sensor from the face before pulling the sensor away from it's connection in the base. Would have saved $20+ on buying a replacement sensor. Thank you for the documented process.

Jeff Overbey -

Step 12

Lift the screen up and shift it to the left, minding the display data and digitizer cables.

I have 2 other small cables which are missing in your photos. Can you also explain what to do with them? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_6ngMn9...

Pavel Guzenko - 19/06/20

Looks like you forced touch sensor is still attached to the screen and not the body. I’ve got the same issues. I’m going to try to use the plastic tool and heat to gently remove it from the screen and return it down to the body. You can see it in their fix of it… Apple Watch Force Touch Sensor Replacement . Hope this helps.

Andrew Marjamaa - 02/08/20

Be VERY careful when moving the display and attached 2 cables. While they are reasonably protected it is easy to over stress these cables, resulting in tearing of the mini ribbon cable attached at the base. Move the screen the absolute minimum required to get to the battery.

Joe Smith -

Step 13

Place the watch on an elevated surface, at least 1/2" or 1 cm tall—a small box or the edge of a book will work great. This will allow the screen to hang down vertically and give better access to the battery.
Be careful not to bump the screen or strain the cables while you work.

Your iFixit shipping box is a great size for this

Joe Smith - 22/03/20

I would taped the watch to the elevated surface and rotated the surface around as I needed to

Andy Campbell - 10/09/20

I could not get the face to swing out of the way as shown for fear of tearing the tab connectors. I let it “hang” as much as it would and had to work with it partly in the way through the entire process

jeb605 - 11/12/20

Step 14

Use scissors to cut one of your opening picks to about the width of the battery. Try not to leave any sharp corners.
Insert the modified pick between the right side of the battery and the case.
Use constant, steady pressure to slowly pry the battery up, separating it from the adhesive securing it to the system board.
Be careful not to deform or puncture the battery.
On the larger (42 mm) models, it's possible to accidentally pry at the system board underneath the battery. Insert the pick only far enough to get underneath the battery, not the system board.
If needed, apply a little high concentration isopropyl alcohol (90% or greater) around and under the battery to help weaken the adhesive.
Do not attempt to remove the battery as it is still connected.

I tried removing the battery with the prying tool as instructed, but I think it may have slightly damaged the outer black plastic wrapping of the battery. Does this mean the battery is now damaged and needs to be replaced? Or is that just a cover around the battery and it doesn’t matter? I just don’t want any battery chemicals leaking out. Asking before I stick the screen back on the watch, I’ve done all the rest and it seems fine otherwise.

Danae - 16/06/18

Hi Danae, the black plastic is technically just protective, but I would highly recommend replacing the battery. It’s possible there is additional unseen damage, and that plastic helps protect against swelling and normal wear of the battery inside the device.

Sam Goldheart - 18/06/18

I had to use the pry tool instead of the pick as the pick was not moving it. Was careful not to damage the battery but found it much easier to get movement and know exactly where I was prying with the pry tool.

Joey Totherow - 12/02/20

Great tutorial but I’ve run into a problem changing the battery on my 42mm Original Series watch .

Getting the battery off with the pick has proven impossible and I’m about to try using the isopropyl alcohol.

• Can you provide any tips on how best to apply it, how long to give it to take effect, how often to apply etc. ?

• Given how narrow the gap is, also how to ensure nothing gets damaged by the alcohol?

• Is there any inherent risk in using the pry tool as Joey ended up doing?

Thanks for any advice

Allan Davidson -

Hey so I’m about to do a repair on one and noticed that it’s drains of battery making it pretty much safe to work with but do I really need to remove the battery? Like can’t I just remove the screen right there and now?

Christopher Renteria -

Step 15

Rotate the battery counterclockwise to expose its connector.

So, wenn man dann die Watch richtig erwärmt hat und das Glas sich löst geht der Rest ziemlich schnell.

Danke

Andy

eddash -

Step 16

Hold the battery up and out of the way, to expose the battery cable connector.
Use a plastic opening tool, prying against the bottom of the case to separate the battery cable connector from the watch's battery cable.
Remove the battery from the watch.
If the battery is visibly dented or deformed, it should be replaced. For best results, replace with a new battery whenever it is removed.

Why should you remove the battery if you only need to replace the screen?...?

Douglas Richey - 17/07/17

Douglas - this iFixit is for Apple Watch Battery Replacement - looks like you need to remove the screen to replace the battery...

jimvaughn6 - 16/08/17

You will find that it is a good precautionary measure to disconnect the battery anytime you are repairing or replacing a screen as a short can occur when reconnecting the screen rendering it useless even if you have the unit turned off.

Bryan Solo - 15/12/17

Great repair guide! You iFixit guys are awesome. Took me about 2 hours but then I am very careful and I replaced the touch sensor at the same time since I had it open anyway. Make sure you have at least 2, and better 3 adhesive gaskets. You need 2 and, well, it’s easy to mess one up while trying to place it.

rbolling - 28/12/17

Will removing the battery reset my icloud info? I have a guy who says he can do this, but i dont want him to run off with my watch after he replaces the battery…

dreadmusicreview - 19/07/18

I did not disconnect the battery first. After replacing the screen, it didn’t work. I have to assume I created a short. The watch will still turn on and haptics are evident, but the display doesn’t work. Are there any further repairs to save my watch at this point?

Scotty Beauchamp - 26/06/19

Yeah, sounds like you shorted part of the board. If it’s a Series 0 you’re working with, just go get a new one. Not worth fixing.

Thomas Gehman - 19/07/19

How do I insert the new battery???

WebPoppy8 - 28/06/19

After replacing the battery I tried to turn it on and was presented with the red snake, I let it go for about an hour. When I checked it the red snake was gone, when I tried to turn it on it showed the Apple logo for about 4 seconds then went away. Is this normal, and if not what should I do?

Donald Goodman - 28/07/19

I'm having a similar issue, did you manage to resolve it?

Craig Lyon - 18/03/20

Did you calibrate the battery? You need to fill it up completely and let it continue to charge for a few hours first.

Grant Glass - 09/05/20

Is it possible to place a battery in and charge/start the watch without the screen plugged in? I want to check integrity of the battery. I was thinking to put it on charge in a closed clear plastic container without the new screen on to see if the battery is good. I ‘really’ do not want to wait another 20 days for a battery replacement and the battery has no visual punctures, front looks good and the back where the adhesive is (or were, rather) is deflated and slightly ‘knobby’. I do not know if it is damage or just how it generally looks like or maybe it looks like so because of the old adhesive. It is not inflated or abnormally expanded. Anyone who knows about this? I used a hair dryer directly on the watch opened to loosen up the adhesive, is that a no-no?

Philip Bromander - 10/09/19

The battery swelled up and popped off the screen, so went directly to Step 12. Luckily the adhesive below the Force Touch sensor was intact. Was able to complete the fix using the Adhesive Strip after replacing the battery. Works again! Thanks!

Alex Danci - 18/09/19

Hi Alex, I’m having the same problem with my series one with the screen has popped off due to the battery swelling. Did you have any issues starting from step 12?

Glenn -

The apple logo keeps flashing on my series 1 watch, tried force restart with crown and side button but it still just keeps on flashing the apple logo, does anyone have any advise? Is the issue with the battery? Do I need to get a new battery? I change the screen as the screen was broken and used the existing battery.

shafeeqrahaman - 29/03/20

yes the issue was with battery, swapped with a new battery and booted up fine.

shafeeqrahaman - 01/04/20

Having the same issue.good to hear it’s the battery and not me.

Grant Glass - 09/05/20

my watch was completely unloaded and stays in power saver mode when I charge. When I load in power saver mode the red light turns green for a few moments then switch back to red and no longer charge. When I remove the battery and put it back on the charger the charge starts again for a while and then stops. Do I need to change the battery? (apple watch serie 4 nike)

IXO bf - 01/10/20

Where should I dispose of my old I watch battery?

oconnor84 - 23/11/20

I replaced the screen and battery on mine. Now, it will not charge. Everything works fine, except charging. Any ideas why this may be?

Donald Fournier - 05/02/21

My series one has two other cables/strings in the bottom left corner. Why do none of the pictures address this?

thatgreatdeal - 18/05/21

My watch hasn’t recalibrated with the new battery. Even a couple of weeks later I still get premature low battery - it can take hours for the final 10% to run out after the first 90% only took 9 hours. I left it off the charger for multiple days after installation and yet I could still quickly wake it up by pressing the crown to see the time reported with red numbers, so I don’t think it fully ran out.

Is there a way to force calibration? A Google search didn’t yield anything useful in the first several pages of results.

Chris B - 25/05/21

Hy Chris,

Same problem as you. Have you found a solution ?

luc poli - 17/04/22

If you’re lucky (?) the swollen battery will pop the screen right off for you. Anyone know where to get a replacement battery for a Series 0 watch?

rmann - 30/05/21

Watching various videos and instructions from others, I found that there’s no need to remove the screen if your goal is to only swap out the battery.

It’s meant to make it easier to clean off the old glue and install some double-sided adhesive tape but it was far more simpler to loop the tape around the screen with a pair of tweezers than to try to wrangle with the metal bracket securing the display and digitiser cable connectors.

T-7000 glue can presumably be used in lieu of double-sided adhesive tape but it’s definitely more messier.

Anyway, I was initially quite annoyed about my battery expanding and popping the screen off but very quickly got over it when I realised it was a simple $20 DIY fix. Guess I got lucky this time..

osienna -

I’m just replacing the battery. The screen and eveything is fine. While i’ve done just that and the new battery seems secure and eveything, i don’t know which is the adhesive strip that i’d use to re-secure the watch face back onto the watch itself. I don’t need a sensor because the watch face is fine, i just need the adhesive strip and i’m not seeing anything labelled as such in the kit. Ive got 2 tesa stickers (?) and one 3M sensor thing with a little compotent thingy attached to it. Which is the double sided adhesive that goes around the base of the watch to secure the face to the watch?? I was lucky in that my old swollen battery pushed the face off so replacing the battery was fairly easy. Now i just need to secure the face to the body. Any advice?

Anthony Rezendes -

Have followed the guide as best I could but when everything is reconnected the watch will not power up. Have disconnected and reconnected several times but still the same. Fear that is only going to do damage. Watch was working before removing swollen battery which had caused screen to detach.

johnriding -

How do you put in the battery and close the Watch

Liam Cassidy -

DOESN'T WORK FOR ME : Have followed the guide in every point but i have now the red snake.

Just after repairing i put the watch on the charger, let it some hours to charge.

when I took it, the watch was hot. It started up and was working. I let it discharge then put it back on the charger. After a few hours, it was not charged and showed the green snake. When I took it out, it showed the red snake.

Has anyone had this problem and found a solution?

luc poli - 17/04/22

Replaced my Series 1 battery/force sensor. The swelled original battery popped the watch open, so no prying necessary. However, the watch wouldn't work normally afterward, only displaying the "put me on my charger!" image of the charge cord with the disc on the end.

iFixIt was great about sending a replacement... battery, tools, force touch sensor, the whole kit, no charge. Replacement #2 required prying it open, but the force touch sensor stayed put, so I didn't have to replace that the second time. Watch is charging and behaving normally as I calibrate the battery. Can unlock etc.

Be very gentle/careful with the tiny force touch sensor screw. A great comment above says if you lose it, you can put in bit of a pick to press the sensor snug where the screw would hold it. I strongly recommend using a cheap hands-free, head-mounted magnifier w/light for this job. A loop of tape to stick the watch to a surface to hold it still while fiddling with the tiny cable connections was a HUGE help. Take your time!

Geneius -

Bonjour, connaissez-vous par hasard la référence de la batterie pour AppleWatch 2 de 42mm ?

Merci

drakkar_1er@yahoo.fr -

Bonjour @drakkar1er35709

Nous la vendons dans notre boutique : Apple Watch (42 mm Series 2) Battery Si vous avez besoin d'autres infos, veuillez contacter notre service client au support@ifixit.com (pour la boutique américaine) ou au eustore@ifixit.com (pour la boutique européenne et française).

Ce sera un plaisir de vous aider !

Bien à vous, Claire

Claire Miesch -

Yeah, after reading all this - no way I’m trying this myself!!

Joseph Ryan -

Conclusion

Continue from Step 17 of the Force Touch Sensor guide to re-seal your watch and complete your repair.

Author

Andrew Optimus Goldheart

Member since: 17/10/09

506915 Reputation

31 comments

I did a battery replacement in a 38mm Series 1 iwatch and the darn battery is not charging properly. It's been on the charger about 3 hours and I'm only at 14%. Any suggestions?

shableigh226 - 20/02/17

I managed to replace a swollen battery ($33.25 on amazon) that popped the screen, but this is not for the faint of heart. Special emphasis needs to be placed on not twisting the digitizer connectors as they are quite fragile ($119.99 on ebay for a new digitizer). It's also easy to damage the force-touch sensor ($24.95 on iFixit). You also need adhesive gaskets ($12.98 for 5 on Amazon)

iFixit lists all the parts required but were out of stock on all but one of the items I needed at the time.

Battery:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MV2...

Digitizer:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/262744629522?_tr...

Force Touch Sensor Gasket:

[linked product missing or disabled: IF308-013-2]

Adhesive Strips:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4J...

Charles Fulnecky - 16/03/17

Appreciate the detailed steps, happy for the option but after reading the $79 to get Apple to replace vs the $33, plus tools for battery... taking it to Apple Store does not seem so bad.

fourydog - 18/04/17

79 is just for battery …there Will be around 220$ service fees extra !!!

purnendra pratap singh - 06/03/18

Nope $79 complete. Just had it done at Apple store. Took about 30 minutes.

Albert - 22/04/18

#purnendra pratap singh - I think you just wanted to post something, or you like arguing because what you say is fundamentally false. It’s 79$ incl. Service fee

Iulian-Casian Merce - 08/01/22

I’ve been on a bootloop for a day now after replacing the battery for my Apple Watch series 1

any suggestions on how I can fix this?

9cRon Cordero - 08/01/18

I’ve been stuck on a bootloop for a day now

9cRon Cordero - 08/01/18

I was planning to only replace the seal - just glue it back down and call it good. The watch front looks flat when I put it back and the battery doesn’t seem to be pushing up on it. (!&&* I had been thinking about buying some super- glue or silicone glue and not ordering anything)

THOUGHTS? SUGGESTIONS? BEEN THERE DONE THAT?

Mark Bailey - 21/03/18

glue does the job …

Mattis - 09/08/18

How long did it take to charge the new battery after replacement?

Micki Bartlett - 24/03/18

This is such an odd question, why wouldn't you just plug it in and charge it instead of asking this question? Hopefully you haven't been waiting all this time to get an answer before you plugged it in.

Robb M -

I heated the glass until it was too hot to hold a finger on, but I still could not pry the glass loose with the curved razor knife blade. I also tried pulling the glass up with a suction cup and was able to exert quite a bit of force but not enough to release the glass.

Stephen Casner - 05/11/18

I had a swollen battery that popped the display off. Apple store would not replace the battery for $79, so I got a replacement from iFixit. The paper “how to condition your battery” notice got stuck to the glue on the replacement battery, so I used a little bit of Scotch double-sided tape to stick the battery to the case interior. Wish I’d used glue, the display is raised a barely noticeable fraction of a millimeter. Connecting the new battery to the battery cable connector was very difficult. I ended up using a pair of needle-nose pliers to squeeze them (carefully and delicately!) together. Be sure to remove the existing adhesive gasket lining before adding the replacement: I had to use an exacto blade to peel up and cut off a bit of it, then tweezers to pull it off. Applying the replacement double-sided tape gasket is very tricky. If I were to do it again, I’d decouple the display cable first (and get a second pair of hands). Fortunately, I have an LED-lighted magnifier visor and lots of patience.

Sugar Fish - 17/11/18

I did it, and made a video about it

You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/s8uyA3dQgXg

Bill Debevc - 25/01/20

The battery change was not difficult, everything worked as described, all the tools and parts were there (even the battery adhesive was included, despite the description saying that it isn’t).

Except one thing: the description is missing what to do if the Force-Touch-sensor is NOT damaged.

What is the best way to put the screen back on without replacing the Force-Touch sensor?

Does it need glue? Or just re-heating and pressing it on is enough?

I tried the re-heating and so far ok, but I’d really like some guidance… will this hold? Or should I use glue… what kind of glue?

it worked - 01/03/20

follow-up: Found the answer - it is not enough to just re-heat it, display falls of again. And in the process of cleaning the edges I finally managed to rip off one contact of the Force touch sensor. So maybe should have taken it out in the first place to do the cleaning. Was just trying to avoid disconnecting the other two connectors which looked scary but wasnt.

Ended up having to use the sensor that came with the kit… and then… big disappointment - the necessary screwdriver bit was missing from the kit. I think the screwdriver is supposed to come with three bits, one of them the tri-tip. But mine had only two bits in the handle… maybe better that way, cos looking at those other bits… not very impressive precision there. So ordered a separate Y000 screwdriver online and did the whole thing again. Now I think it finally works though…

Instructions almost great (missing my scenario), parts great, tools big miss. Probably worth 3.5 stars…

it worked - 04/03/20

IXO bf - 01/10/20

after following all the steps and getting the battery from ifixit my watch will not charge or turn on now. i will see the apple logo for a second then it goes dead. any ideas?

james transue - 26/11/20

I had to manually charge the battery outside of the watch as it had entered “over-discharged protection” (reading 0 volts) and the watch doesn’t appear to have the power to kick the battery back out of that mode. It only needed “charging” manually for a minute or so before it had enough power to run in the watch and charge that way. Did it on a breadboard with some solid core wire hooking up the positive (left wide gold pin) and ground (silver casing). I know they come sealed, but would be nice if the batteries were tested/charged enough before being sent out. I wouldn’t expect many people to be able/willing to manually charge a battery with the size of the connector, and also because it carries some risk!

Symptoms of this were the green charging snake appearing for less than a second, and then the watch not responding when pressing the button. It should wake the screen back up if the battery is okay/charging.

Chris Wright - 01/01/21

My battery swelled up and made this a bunch easier to do. I used the pick (see second picture in step 14) in this orientation to drop a bit of alcohol down under the battery to help with the adhesive. That worked a treat! Battery is in and it’s on the charger now, waiting to see if force touch works when it boots up.

Tyler - 19/05/21

Everything went well with the repair and the guide was tremendously helpful. Just a few caveats I’d like to add:

1. The old battery may REALLY be stuck down on to the case. Go VERY slowly when prying it out.

2. You will have to remove the screen, regardless whether or not you need to replace the Force Touch sensor. Prying apart that metal clip which encloses the screen cable, is a royal PITA…just be patient.

3. The adhesive ring to reseal the watch is quite flimsy to handle. You’ll have to be very careful lining it up properly. And make sure you really clean the surfaces with alcohol and let them dry thoroughly before applying the new adhesive ring.

Thanks iFixIt!!

John Merjave - 05/06/21

I tried everything on here and once I replaced the battery nothing turned on. In fact with the old swollen battery it did turn on. I’m not sure if the battery I got is faulty or not. That or I have done the replacement incorrectly

Adrian Fedele -

Replaced the battery but it wont charge. Screen shows a charging cable with a green lightning bolt, but it wont ever charge enough to turn on?

Lee Wampler -

Same problem for me, watch doesn’t charge….Any suggestions?

markus -

Thank you Andrew for this amazing tutorial on how to change the battery in my Apple watch. My battery is Still at 95% capacity but I want to be prepared as this watch was way too expensive to just discard and as I understand, if Apple services it I probably will not get my original device returned to me. Thank you

Unknown -

I replaced the battery and it holds a charge. For some reason, it starts to boot up and then turns off. Not a boot loop, but it just turns off while trying to boot, it does not show the Apple logo again after that. I fully drained the battery and charged it but nothing happened

Blake Hensley -

I also have the same problem, did you solve it?

Tự Do Tài Chính -

Money miser !$$&*! apple. Couldn’t give us a little win by not containing an battery that’s hard to change. What ever over to pixel next so bugger you apple you lose another customer. They will never satisfied. GREED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Craig Lofts -

I changed the battery, but the watch won’t turn on again. Display stays black, even with the old battery. I have no idea what’s the problem?!

K E -

The screen of my Apple Watch suddenly popped open. As the battery should be replaced, it could be a good point. But I didn’t notice immediately that the screen was only holding by the cables, so something may have been broken or lost. Anyway, the watch boots normally, side button and wheel are working, but the screen doesn’t register any tap. Is it definitely broken or is it possible that it is just a matter of a displaced cable connector?

If it is broken, I will just wait for the next Apple Watch; else I will order a battery and use this watch a little more.

What do you think ?

Luke MacWalker -