Battery Replacement

When Should You Replace the Batteries?

SBWatch needs battery replacement roughly every 6 months. The signs of a battery that needs to be replaced when your watch not working as well as it used to, you have to calibrate it often, the hands are stuttering or moving strangely, or you cannot connect to your watch. Read our troubleshooting guide first to make sure it is not a phone setting causing you issues.

Buying batteries

The SBWatch has a replaceable CR2032 button battery, which will power the watch for more than 6 months (or a year if used as a regular watch). Changing the button battery is quite simple, but do it at your own risk, or visit a professional (jeweler or watchmaker). Please note that some of them may struggle to check if the battery replacement worked well and they won't be able to calibrate and set the time without having the TimeSmith app. Even if you are taking the watch to a professional, read our guide.

CR2032 batteries are widely available and can be found at many retail stores and online retailers. Some places where you can purchase a CR2032 battery include:

Local department stores
Electronics stores
Drug stores
Online retailers such as Amazon or eBay

Our experience is that big-brand batteries are not necessarily better than cheap batteries, you can buy the cheapest.

It is recommended to purchase a set of CR2032 batteries, as it is common for some batteries to not be fully charged and able to power the watch. Try using multiple batteries until the watch starts functioning properly.

It is recommended to replace the battery under the following circumstances:

After 6 months of use.
If the watch begins to have difficulty maintaining the correct time and requires frequent calibrations.
When the app reports a battery percentage of 10-20%.

Please note that there is currently an issue with the firmware accurately reporting the battery percentage, and you may notice fluctuations when checking it. While we have made efforts to address this issue, it is best to follow the general guidelines listed above.

Other tools

We have an article about opening and closing the back of the SBWatch. Check what other tools you will need there.

Replacing the battery

Inserting the new battery can be a bit tricky, check the video below. Read our tips and the steps of the battery replacement procedure:

Update the watch firmware to the latest (see our Firmware Update Guide). Connect the watch to the app, go to Details, and scroll down as much as you can. A yellow box with a warning message should be visible if a firmware update is available. If you see a red box about downgrading the firmware (you have to scroll a lot), then you are fine.
Make sure the app is around, you should check if the watch is assembled properly and you can connect to it from the app.
Open the watch case (see our instructions).
Replace the battery. Make sure that the three connectors around, and forth on the movement are holding the battery properly.
The watch hands should start moving after adding the battery (rotate around, then run to show the time).
Even "brand new" batteries are not 100% charged if they were on the shelf for months. Also, it can happen that during replacement, you shortcut the battery and it kills it in a few seconds. You might need to try another battery.
If you are on the old firmware (but you should not be), you will have to press the button of the watch to turn it on.
Make sure the watch dial is aligned properly, the 12 is on the top, and the 3 is on the right and not rotated.
The button's pin and the tiny plastic extension on it should be able to reach the movement button.
If everything is working, put back the watch's back cover (see our instructions).
Check that the watch hands are moving properly. If a hand is stuck or moving dizzy, it can be that the watch face and the hands are too close to the glass. Also, the watch face plate might be a bit off, and the hands are blocked.
You will have to Calibrate the watch as it forgot the positions of the hands during the process.