How to Charge an Apple Watch Without a Charger

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Find out if you can charge your Apple Watch without the stock charger

Written by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: January 16, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Can you charge an Apple Watch without the magnetic charger?
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• How to Get a New Charging Cable
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• Alternate Ways to Charge an Apple Watch
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• Video

|Show more |Show less

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Have you lost your Apple Watch charger and your device could really use some juice? Or perhaps your old magnetic charging cable needs to be replaced, and you're looking for a cheaper alternative. Keep reading this article to find out if you can charge your Apple Watch without the magnetic cable, how to get a new charging cable, and some alternative methods to charging your Apple Watch.

Things You Should Know

• You can't charge your Apple Watch without a magnetic charger.
• Your magnetic charging cable can be plugged into any power source, as long as the cable plug matches the port.
• Apple sells replacement cables, as well as chargers that work for multiple MagSafe devices.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Can you charge an Apple Watch without the magnetic charger?

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1. 
   No, you cannot charge an Apple Watch without a magnetic charger. In order to charge your watch you must use the magnetic charger that came with it, or another charger that is made to work on Apple Watches.

   • Apple Watch 7 and newer have no ports on the device, so there is nowhere to plug a different type of charging cable into the device.
   • Apple Watch 6 and earlier may have a hidden six-pin port located behind the bottom strap. In the past, accessories were sold that could charge the watch via this port, but there are no cables or accessories on the market today that can charge the watch this way.
   • All Apple Watches come with the required cable to charge them.
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Section 2 of 3:

How to Get a New Charging Cable

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1. 
   You can buy replacement cables from Apple. As you can only charge the Apple Watch via a magnetic cable, the easiest way to get a new cable is to buy it directly from Apple.

   • You can purchase the cable from Apple online, or visit a retailer in-person who is authorized to sell Apple products.

Section 3 of 3:

Alternate Ways to Charge an Apple Watch

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1. 
   1
   Plug the magnetic charging cable into any power adapter. You can use any power adapter to charge the watch as long as the plug matches the port. Below are some ideas for possible power adapters:

   • Apple charging bricks
   • Charging blocks from other manufacturers
   • Laptop or desktop computer
   • Power bank
2. 
   2
   Use an alternative Apple charger. Apple sells the MagSafe Duo Charger, which can be used to charge your Apple Watch as well as your MagSafe-compatible iPhone, AirPods case, or other Qi-certified devices.
3. 
   3
   Use a third-party product. While Apple doesn't recommend using third-party products in their ecosystem, plenty of manufacturers have made third-party chargers for the Apple Watch.

   • This may be a cheaper alternative to buying Apple-branded products, but there is always a risk that these products may damage your device.
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