BandSwapper Will Allow Apple Watch Sport Band Owners to Trade Out Duplicate Bands [Updated]

bandswapperAs the Apple Watch pre-orders continue to build this morning, it's worth noting a few third-party websites who plan to provide services to early adopters of Apple's new wearable device. One of those sites is BandSwapper, which will let users swap out their unused Apple Watch Sport Band for another size and color.

As was discovered closely following Apple's big "Spring Forward" event last month, every model of the Apple Watch that ships with a Sport Band - meaning both aluminum and stainless steel - comes in two sizes for both the 38mm and 42mm casing sizes. The smaller 38mm case covers 130-200mm wrists in both S/M and M/L bands, while the larger 42mm option ranges between 140-210mm wrists in S/M and M/L bands.

BandSwapper plans to fix the extraneous multi-band option by allowing Sport Band users to swap the band they won't use, for a completely different size and color band that they will. As the website claims on its currently sparse homepage, "It takes 5 minutes and costs only $6."

Here's How it Works:
1. Tell us which band you have and which one you want.
2. Send us your unused band with one of our pre-paid shipping labels.
3. We’ll send you back a band in the size and color you want.

Currently, the most users can do to prepare for band swapping is provide the website an email address to remind them when the BandSwapper storefront will be live, which will coincide with the Apple Watch's official launch on April 24.

As expected, a lot of Apple Watch-related news continues to circulate today as pre-order estimates begin slipping rapidly and more news on the Watch's warranty surfaces.

Update: As several readers have pointed out, customers do not actually receive two complete sport bands, instead receiving three band pieces that together allow for two different band sizes. As a result, BandSwapper's service will not allow users to trade for a complete band.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
maxresdefault

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
maxresdefault

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. ...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...

Top Rated Comments

troop231 Avatar
134 months ago
Why is this even a story? I thought the sport model only comes with one piece that has the pin, and two different size pieces of the other side.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
applegeek01 Avatar
134 months ago
Even this specialist thought it was confusing. Here is my conversation I just had:

Specialist: "Hello! Thank you for contacting the US Apple Online Store, my name is Jenne. Give me a minute while I read over your messages please."

Me: "Sure thing Jenne"

Specialist: "Thanks for your patience!"

Me: "Yes ma'am."

Specialist: "Okay, I’m going to answer, what I think is your question, and if I don’t please correct me! The Apple Watch Sport does come with two bands. They are the same color, whichever you select, the difference is they come in two sizes, so you can see which is most comfortable for you when you exercise as well as in your daily routine."

Me: "So, technically these two bands are made up of four different parts, correct?"

Specialist: "Correct, each band has two parts. One end that connects to the Watch and the other end connects to the band connection. That sounds way more confusing than it is. Hahah."

Me: "Understood. So in comparison, the Apple Watch (stainless steel) that comes with the sport band has just three parts? Because it only specifies as coming with "one" band"

Specialist: "That’s so confusing, I see what you’re talking about. No matter what Watch collection you buy, if it’s a Sports band, it’s going to come with two Sports bands for you!"


So, from her explanation, the video showing 1.5 parts is not valid, or maybe incomplete (even though I thought it to be true). She even admits the whole thing is confusing. No matter what, I'll let you know 24 APR
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MeFromHere Avatar
134 months ago
Check this video (from 1:20) and you can clearly see there are only 3 pieces in the Sport band box.

http://video.appledaily.com.hk/realtime/media/20150408/rt_sup77new_w.mp4?_=1
I don't see any such thing, clearly or otherwise. I see a heavily edited video; I don't know what was cut out.

I don't see even a single frame showing the three pieces you are talking about. In one place I see two pieces clearly. There might be one additional unseen piece, there might be two.

I don't see a frame where all the pieces are laid out side by side so I can clearly count them. I see white band pieces on top of white package pieces, and I'm not sure what I'm seeing.

I don't understand the written or spoken language in the video, so if the author actually tells us what's in the box, it's lost on me.

But none of the above really matters, because I see no evidence that we're seeing a normal retail Apple Watch. The video appeared the day the embargo was lifted on the review units -- more than two weeks before any actual retail watches or bands will reach real customers. I've seen no evidence (nor even a claim) that the reviewers didn't get custom, non-retail collections of stuff. So this video isn't definitive for me, even if it showed what some people claim it shows.


On the other hand, I see Apple taking orders (as of now) for an item that says there are two bands in the box. "One S/M band and one M/L band". I think Apple is too wise to risk false advertising claims by giving us less than two bands. They could have said "components to make either a S/M band or a M/L band" or something similar. They didn't say it that way.

I'm no lawyer, but taking money from people for "two bands" and delivering one band plus a spare piece looks like false advertising to me. If you sell that to me, I'll hold the first band in my hand, and ask you to show me the second band from what's left on the table. If you can't, I'll ask you to take a second package from stock and make up the deficit, free of charge. If you refuse, I probably WILL contact a lawyer. Maybe the lawyer will tell me a third-party video from Hong Kong has more weight than a plain-english statement on the seller's web page, and I don't have a case.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
applegeek01 Avatar
134 months ago
This is a waste of an article. It was confirmed yesterday that all of this swapping can't happen.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
budselectjr Avatar
134 months ago
I hope they realized they wasted their time and money developing this site.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
madsci954 Avatar
134 months ago
Great idea.

Confused by what people are saying about sport model coming with 1.5 bands. How is this of any use?

Photos popped up the other day that the Sport band comes in 3 pieces: the strap with the metal pin, a slotted strap for S/M size wrists, and a slotted strap for M/L size wrists. So it isn't 2 complete bands.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)