NewsWhoop angers users over reneged free upgrade promisesWhoop promised members who’d been around at least six months would get free next-gen hardware. Now, you’ll have to pay.Whoop promised members who’d been around at least six months would get free next-gen hardware. Now, you’ll have to pay.by Victoria SongMay 9, 2025, 2:53 PM UTCLinkFacebookThreadsUpgrading from the Whoop 4.0 to the 5.0 hardware is no longer free for most existing customers. Photo by Victoria Song / The VergeVictoria Song is a senior reporter focusing on wearables, health tech, and more with 13 years of experience. Before coming to The Verge, she worked for Gizmodo and PC Magazine.Whoop just announced its new Whoop 5.0 fitness tracker yesterday, but some existing users are already calling foul. Previously, Whoop said people who had been members for at least six months would get free upgrades to next-generation hardware. Now, the company says that members hoping to upgrade from a Whoop 4.0 to 5.0 will have to pay up.Whoop is a bit different from other fitness trackers in that it runs entirely on a subscription membership model. Most wearable makers that have subscriptions will charge you for the hardware, and then customers have the option of subscribing to get extra data or features. A good example is the Oura Ring, where you buy the ring and then have the option of paying a monthly $6 subscription. Whoop, however, has until now said that you get the hardware for “free” while paying a heftier annual subscription.Previously, Whoop promised users that whenever new hardware was released, existing members would be able to upgrade free of charge so long as they’d been a member for at least six months. However, that has since been scrubbed from Whoop’s site — though it was there as recently as March 28th this year, according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.This was on Whoop’s site as recently as March 28th, 2025. Screenshot: Whoop, Internet ArchiveOn Whoop’s current official “How to upgrade” site, the company states that existing members have one of two options. They can either extend their membership by another 12 months and receive new Whoop 5.0 hardware “at no extra cost,” or if they’d rather not extend, they can pay a one-time upgrade fee of either $49 for the regular Whoop 5.0 or $79 for the Whoop 5.0 MG, which includes EKG sensors. An official Reddit thread also notes that people who either joined or extended their membership in the past 30 days are eligible for a free upgrade.Understandably, Whoop fans are none too pleased. The r/Whoop subreddit is full of angry users who are accusing the company of misleading them.“One of the main reasons I chose a Whoop over an Apple Watch was due to the free hardware upgrades,” writes one Redditor. “Conveniently my 12 month subscription is up around the same time the Apple Watch is released. The cost isn’t the issue, it’s them changing what was promised.”“I’m definitely cancelling mine now, over the Whoop hype. Was excited to see they had a nice update and deflated after I saw they went back on their word about not charging for future hardware,” writes another.The Verge reached out to Whoop for comment about why its changed its hardware upgrade policy, but didn’t immediately receive a response. We’ll update when we hear back.It’s another example of how changes to subscriptions often results in customer backlash. Garmin recently angered its customer base by introducing a paid tier to the Garmin Connect app after years of touting its lack of a paywall. Oura also received hefty backlash when it introduced a subscription with its third-gen smart ring.See More: FitnessGadgetsNewsTechWearableMost PopularMost PopularYou can now submit your claims for Apple’s $95 million Siri spying settlementApple is planning smart glasses with and without ARNetflix is removing Black Mirror: BandersnatchWhoop wants everyone to give a whoop about the new Whoop 5.0Palworld had to remove game features because of Nintendo lawsuitInstallerA weekly newsletter by David Pierce designed to tell you everything you need to download, watch, read, listen to, and explore that fits in The Verge’s universe.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
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