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This guide is about the Apple Watch. We did not research Galaxy Watch, Wear OS watches or Garmin, so the steps below do not apply to those brands. Before paying for a refurbished Apple Watch, confirm that your iPhone can pair with it and that the watch is no longer tied to another person's Apple account. If it is a cellular model, also confirm that its plan was cancelled and that your carrier activates it. When it arrives, check the battery and test it before the withdrawal period of your distance purchase closes. Prices by shop are on smartwatches.

The checklist before and after paying

  1. Look up the watch model in Apple's compatibility table and confirm that your iPhone and your iOS version qualify.
  2. Check up to which watchOS version that model goes.
  3. Ask the seller to erase the watch and remove it from their Apple account. If you can, try pairing it to your iPhone before paying.
  4. If it is a cellular model, ask that the previous owner has removed the data plan and cancelled it with their carrier.
  5. If it is a cellular model, ask your carrier whether it activates Apple Watch with cellular data.
  6. Look up the serial number in Apple's Check Coverage.
  7. When it arrives, read the maximum battery capacity on the watch itself.
  8. Clean the watch and the band only with what Apple allows for each material.
  9. Ask for the warranty in writing and keep the box, packaging, invoice and photos until the withdrawal period closes.

Your iPhone must be able to pair with it

An Apple Watch works only paired to an iPhone with a certain iOS version, and that requirement depends on your phone and not on the watch. In Apple's table, the Series 12 and the Ultra 4 ask for an iPhone 11 or later with iOS 27. The Series 11, the SE 3 and the Ultra 3 ask for an iPhone 11 or later with iOS 26. The Series 10, the Series 9 and the Ultra 2 ask for an iPhone XS or later. The Ultra, the Series 8 and the SE 2 ask for an iPhone 8 or later. The Series 5, 6 and 7 and the first-generation SE accept an iPhone 6s or later, and the Series 4 accepts an iPhone 6 (cellular model) or an iPhone 5s (GPS model). Apple clarifies that updating a watch to watchOS 11 requires an iPhone XS or later with iOS 18.

Old models have a ceiling. According to that table, the Series 4, the Series 5 and the first-generation SE go up to watchOS 10.6.1, the Series 3 up to watchOS 8.8.1 and the Series 1 and 2 up to watchOS 6.3.

How far it updates

According to Apple's security releases list, watchOS 27 came out on 14 September 2026 for Series 9 and later, and watchOS 27.0.1 arrived on 28 September. watchOS 26.6 arrived on 27 July 2026 for Series 6 and later. We found no end-of-support dates on the Apple pages we read, so we cannot tell you whether a Series 6, 7 or 8 will receive another update. If you are comparing a Series 6 with a Series 9, take that software difference into account as well as the price.

Activation Lock

Activation Lock turns on by itself when the owner sets up Find My on the paired iPhone. From then on, the watch asks for the email or phone number and the Apple account password before anyone can unpair it from its iPhone, pair it with a new iPhone or turn off Find My.

Apple describes three steps to leave a watch ready for sale, which are unpairing it from the iPhone, removing Activation Lock and erasing it. The practical test is to pair it with your iPhone. If during setup it asks for the previous owner's Apple account password, the lock is still active and only that person can remove it. The check Apple describes in the Apple Watch app (My Watch > All Watches > info button) is done from the owner's iPhone, not from yours.

If the owner has already handed over the watch, Apple says they can erase it and remove the lock from icloud.com/find, finding the watch under All Devices, choosing Erase and then Remove. Ask the shop to do it before sending it to you.

Cellular models

When unpairing an Apple Watch with cellular data, Apple says to remove the data plan, and warns that you must contact the carrier to cancel the subscription, because carrier charges may apply. Ask that the previous owner has done it.

Apple says its cellular models were optimised "para su uso en el país de compra" (for use in the country of purchase) and that not all of them work in every country or region. In the carrier table Apple publishes for Colombia, Claro appears. We did not research on which plan or at what price Claro activates an Apple Watch, or whether Movistar, Tigo or WOM do, so confirm it with your carrier before buying a cellular model. Apple lists on that page the A#### model numbers of each cellular watch. Find the number printed on the back of the watch and compare it with that list before paying, and ask the shop which market it is for, because we did not confirm which one corresponds to Colombia.

The battery

On the watch, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and scroll down to the maximum capacity. Apple says the battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity after 1000 complete charge cycles. Apple sets no minimum percentage for buying a used watch. The floor of more than 80% that Mercado Libre asks for its refurbished listings is a rule of that platform, not Apple's, and we did not confirm how it applies to watches. Clevercel states 80% or more battery in its Como Nuevo, Seminuevo and Outlet categories when it classifies a device, but its terms talk about phones and we did not confirm that they include watches.

Apple says some models recalibrate the capacity reading after a software update. A reading taken before that update may not be accurate, so read it again after updating. If the capacity does not match what the shop advertised, claim within its warranty.

Cleaning and bands

Apple allows cleaning the outside of the watch and the metal, Milanese loop, Ocean or Nike sport bands with a 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe, a 75% ethyl alcohol wipe or Clorox disinfecting wipes. Do not use those products on fabric or leather bands, and do not use anything with bleach or hydrogen peroxide. Apple says nothing about using a band another person used. If yours is fabric or leather, you cannot disinfect it with those products, so decide whether to keep it.

Apple's warranty and the shop's

In Apple's Check Coverage you enter the serial number and see the device's coverage. We did not confirm that the tool recognises every Apple Watch model.

Each shop's warranty is different. QuieroMac sells Apple Watch and its page says six months, and no warranty on Outlet devices. Refurbi states 14 months of hardware repair cover through a limited warranty and has watches in its catalogue. Clevercel publishes 12 months in three of its categories and 6 months in Saldos. We did not confirm that those terms apply to watches on every offer, so confirm the term with the shop before buying.

Your rights in Colombia

Ley 1480 de 2011 sets no fixed warranty term for electronics. Article 8 says the term is the one the producer or seller announces, and one year for new products if none is stated. A used product whose legal warranty has expired can be sold without warranty only if you accept that in writing, and otherwise it is understood to carry three months. The law does not use the word "reacondicionado", so whether that rule reaches your watch depends on how the shop disclosed and sold it. Ask for the warranty in writing. Each offer in Reacondi shows the warranty the shop states.

On a distance purchase, when no legal exception applies, article 47 gives five business days from delivery to withdraw. You send the product back by the same means and in the same condition you received it and pay the return transport, and in e-commerce the money must be refunded within a maximum of fifteen calendar days. The law leaves out, among others, goods for personal use and goods that by their nature cannot be returned, and it does not say whether a refurbished watch falls there. If the watch is a cellular model, test its activation soon.

If the shop does not answer, make the claim in writing and then go to the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC), which has an online form and the free line 01 8000 910165. The detail and the quotes from the law are in your rights when buying refurbished, and the photo routine when you open the package is in what to check when your refurbished phone arrives.

Sources

The Apple pages were read on 1 October 2026 and may change. Shop policies are what each site stated that day. None of this replaces advice from a lawyer.