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Whoop Has Changed Their Upgrade Policy
Here's what has changed—and whether it’s even worth going for the upgrade.
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Whoop’s new 5.0 hardware launched this week, along with a premium version of the device that they’re calling the MG. Along with the launch came a new upgrade policy, requiring users to pay for what many thought would be a free upgrade. The company has walked back some of the new policy, but most users will still need to pay to get the new device. Here’s what you should know.
Whoop’s official, current upgrade policy
Hardware comes bundled with Whoop’s subscriptions, which are typically sold in 12-month or 24-month memberships. Whoop said upon launching the 5.0 and MG that you can get the new hardware in two ways:
You can pay to add 12 months to your subscription (a “membership extension”) and receive the new device.
You can pay a $49 fee and receive the new device without changing the term of your membership.
(There was also a mention of a $79 fee for upgrading to the MG hardware, but that hardware requires a more expensive subscription, so people who plan to upgrade to MG would be expected to pay more for their subscription anyway.)
After some backlash, Whoop published an article “clarifying and updating our upgrade policy” in which they announced a policy to send upgraded hardware to some customers without any further payment:
Members who already have more than 12 months left on their membership (for example, someone who bought a 24-month membership and still has 13 months left) can get the new hardware for free.
Members who purchased a 12-month (or more) membership or renewal in the 30 days before the 5.0 was announced on May 8 can also get the new hardware for free.
Why people are mad
This new upgrade policy is different from how Whoop handled upgrades in 2021, when the previous device—the 4.0—came out. And until the launch of the 5.0 earlier this month, at least two pages on Whoop's website appeared to say that members would get to upgrade to the next generation of hardware for free. Whoop has addressed one of these as a mistake—a blog post referencing a six-month commitment—but hasn't commented directly on the other, a FAQ that seems to say everyone gets free upgrades. I'll start with the FAQ.
Until recently, that FAQ stated “WHOOP is a membership, which means you get the latest and greatest technology as soon as it's available as long as you are an active member. No need to buy a new device each time it is released; you can upgrade for free.” Here is an archive of that page that I made on May 2, 2025, still showing that language less than a week before the 5.0 launched. The date on the page says that it was published in April of 2020.
The page still exists on Whoop’s website here, but now says something very different: “WHOOP is committed to a membership model where hardware is always included. When new devices launch, you’ll have the opportunity to upgrade by extending your membership and you'll receive the new device at no additional cost. If you're not ready to extend at that time, you can receive the latest hardware by paying a one-time upgrade fee.” There is no indication on that page that it has been changed, and it still bears the April 2020 date. (Here is an archive of how it looks today, for future reference.)
I wrote to Whoop asking if they had any comment on that change, along with a few other questions. In response, they sent me the new upgrade policy (also found here), addressed a different blog post that had changed—more about that below—and later sent along this statement:
"We've always tried to make it as easy and accessible as possible for our members to get on WHOOP. Since 2021, we've required members have a certain number of months remaining on their membership to receive a free upgrade. That remains true today. You can receive a free upgrade to WHOOP 5.0 with 12 months remaining on your membership. Alternatively, you can also pay a one-time upgrade fee if you'd prefer not to extend. You can also choose to renew your subscription when it is up, and you’ll be eligible to upgrade to WHOOP 5.0 at that time for free. With this launch, we introduced two new devices -- 5.0 and MG -- both of which offer 14+ day battery life, a 7% smaller size, and the Wireless PowerPack. Given MG is our most premium offering with different medical-grade capabilities, it does come with more premium cost. We ensured members could still receive a free upgrade to WHOOP 5.0, but have a different option if they were looking for different features and functionality."
Whoop has also been criticized for a blog post, found here by Whoop users on Reddit, that shows another discrepancy in stated policies. That blog post, which bears a date of September 30, 2024, said that the policy was to give upgraded hardware to anyone who had been a member for at least six months. The blog post was still live as of March 28 of this year, as shown on this Wayback Machine archive. Whoop says that “was never our policy and should never have been posted,” saying instead that they had offered free upgrades to anyone with six months or more remaining on their subscription at the time of the 4.0 launch.
This appears to be correct—emails sent in 2021 mentioned that Whoop users with “6+ months left on their membership” were eligible to upgrade for free. Whoop showed me screenshots from such emails, and I dug into my own inbox (never delete anything, folks) and found the same. The screenshot below is from an email I received in 2021.
So that historical fact about six-month memberships checks out, but I see why many Whoop users say they feel misled. Meanwhile, the FAQ's statement about free upgrades for all active members certainly influenced my long-term review of the 4.0, published just last month, in which I reported (based on that FAQ on Whoop’s own website) that “you don’t have to pay for new hardware to get new hardware.”
Angry Whoop users are discussing on Reddit and other forums the question of whether the company’s actions may run afoul of truth-in-advertising laws in Australia, the UK, the EU, and/or the U.S. Some are suggesting that U.S.-based customers consider submitting a complaint to the FTC (here is the form) or to your state's attorney general.
Is it even worth upgrading from the 4.0 to the 5.0?
After all that, it’s not even clear whether the move from 4.0 to 5.0 is worth paying anything. If you’re happy with your current membership (now known as Peak), all you’d gain with 5.0 is a longer battery life.
But you’d lose the ability to use any straps or accessories you bought for your 4.0. The new device is 7% smaller, Whoop says, which smacks of “we wanted you to buy all new accessories.” It sure seems like they could have easily stuffed those seven-percent-smaller internals in the same size housing as the 4.0 and had everything still be compatible. Heck, fill the extra space with an even bigger battery!
I would only pay to upgrade if you feel the longer battery life is more important than back-compatibility with your old straps and accessories. (And if you have a lot of Whoop Body clothing, you may want to wait for more 5.0 users to weigh in before you toss it all—I saw at least one Reddit comment saying that the old boxers fit the new device just fine.)
Should you "upcycle" your old 4.0?
There’s another strange thing going on with Whoop’s upgrade plans. If you upgrade from the 4.0 to the 5.0, they’ll send you a gift box with a sanitizing wipe and a brand-new strap, so that you can pass your old 4.0 on to a friend. They call it “upcycling,” and the full details are here.
But why would your friend want your old 4.0? They would still have to sign up for a Whoop membership, and any new membership comes with a free 5.0 (or MG).
Whoop attempts to sweeten the deal by giving you (the gifter) a $50 credit that can be used for accessories for yourself—but not put toward membership. You only get this once your giftee signs up for a paid membership. As for the person you gift your old device to, there are a few ways for them to get a discount on membership with the used 4.0:
You (the gifter) can prepay for a 12-month Peak membership for them, for $190 rather than the usual $239.
They can join for $199 for a 12-month Peak membership
They can use the 4.0 for a two-month free trial, which automatically rolls over into a full-price $239 12-month Peak membership.
As soon as you pay for a membership, and have 12 months remaining, you can upgrade to the 5.0 or MG—so that gifted 4.0 may have a short lifespan indeed.
This doesn’t feel like upcycling at all to me, just a way to pretend you’re doing something useful with a device that will shortly get thrown away. For devices you actually buy, like a Garmin or an Apple Watch, going with an older model can often save you some cash. With the Whoop’s cost being baked into any new subscription, it seems strange to recommend that some users forgo the brand-new hardware that would otherwise be included.
If you have a friend getting rid of an old 4.0, you might as well use the upcycling program to get a small discount on the membership with 5.0 that you were planning to buy anyway (using one of the two options above). Or if you already have a 4.0, you might as well ask your friend to get the re-gifting kit just for the free spare band—those things still cost 49 dollars.
