Classic and Modern Buckle Band Parts Let Third-Party Bands Connect to Apple Watch

There are few third-party band options available for the Apple Watch at the current point in time given that it just launched a week and a half ago, but those of you who purchased a stainless steel Apple Watch with a Classic Buckle or Modern Buckle band can use the components from those bands to connect standard watch bands to your Apple Watch devices.

In a newly published video, Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy walks through the process of using the parts in the Classic Buckle band to connect a 22mm third-party watch band to the Apple Watch.


As it turns out, there are two small pentalobe screws holding the pin component of the Classic Buckle together, so with a pentalobe screwdriver, the portion of the band that connects to the Apple Watch can be disassembled, slid into a standard pin-based watch band, and reassembled.

applewatchclassicbuckle
The Modern Buckle and the Classic Buckle are the only two bands that have a pin-based connector built-in, so those of you who want to use different watch bands with your Apple Watch devices will need to either purchase one of the models that comes with a Classic Buckle band or purchase a Classic Buckle band separately for $149 (estimated to ship out in May). The Modern Buckle has the same connector, but Modern Buckle Apple Watches have not yet shipped out and those bands are listed as "Currently Unavailable" in the online Apple Store.

Along with a compatible Apple Watch band, a tiny pentalobe screwdriver is also required to swap out the band, but those are available at little cost. With a Classic Buckle and the screwdriver, making a swap is as uncomplicated as simply removing two screws, pulling apart the connector, sticking the pieces into another watch band, and putting it back together again.

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...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
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...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
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...

Top Rated Comments

Jeremy1026 Avatar
133 months ago
Worth the extra $50 to get a watch with the Classic Buckle over the sport strap for almost unlimited band options.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aamoren3 Avatar
133 months ago
This pretty much extinguishes any of those Apple Watch adapter kick starters (thank goodness). :rolleyes:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mariusignorello Avatar
133 months ago
*Apple now melts all the parts together to prevent modifications*
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jwbrobst Avatar
133 months ago
If only he would have gone a step further and bought a strap that didn't look awful...

----------

Now that I think about it, this is excellent for the leather straps specifically. Based on my experience with Apple's dyed leather iPhone cases, I'd say there is a high chance of color fading or basic wear and tear of the straps and even if you'd prefer to use Apple's straps, this will come in handy if you don't plan on spending a couple hundred dollars for a strap once you're not proud of wearing the original.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannys1 Avatar
133 months ago
Pretty cool, however i'm yet to see anyone put a 3rd party band on that looks better than any Apple have designed.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
133 months ago
This pretty much extinguishes any of those Apple Watch adapter kick starters (thank goodness). :rolleyes:

I highly doubt it. For $10-20 (or whatever) you can get an adapter, which is a lot cheaper than buying an official band to just take apart. Other people might want different colors for the connector bits.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)