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Watch battery life

Since updating to the new watch os8 my watch seems to be dying fairly quickly.

Posted on Sep 23, 2021 1:06 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 23, 2021 1:07 PM

If the battery drains too fast after an update, see all the replies to:

Battery Drain since watchos 7.4 - Apple Community

WatchOS 7.5 battery drain - Apple Community

FWIW, in some cases, unpairing the watch, completely erasing it, then pairing and restoring the backup will resolve the battery draining issue after an update. (Simply unpairing and pairing again may not work.)

Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Also, some people have found that simply waiting a few days after an update resolves the battery draining problem.


12 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 23, 2021 1:07 PM in response to Thefuture8412

If the battery drains too fast after an update, see all the replies to:

Battery Drain since watchos 7.4 - Apple Community

WatchOS 7.5 battery drain - Apple Community

FWIW, in some cases, unpairing the watch, completely erasing it, then pairing and restoring the backup will resolve the battery draining issue after an update. (Simply unpairing and pairing again may not work.)

Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Also, some people have found that simply waiting a few days after an update resolves the battery draining problem.


Sep 25, 2021 5:13 AM in response to Thefuture8412

I’m having the same issue. I actually had my watch in to the Genius Bar for diagnostics before the update and they couldn’t find anything wrong. My watch would randomly go from 100% to 10% in less than 2 hours. I erased the watch, re-paired it and did everything recommended and no improvement


Now since OS8 it’s worse. I was 100% when I left the office yesterday to pick kids from school and got home within an hour and down to 10%. Even last night was 100% before bed and this morning it was dead when I woke up.


the watch isn’t even a year old yet and has apple care+ but they consider there not to be a problem so won’t look at it further 🤦🏼‍♂️

Sep 30, 2021 7:52 PM in response to KevoTheFord

Waiting might help some of us! First, I’m sorry you’re also having this problem. I have the stainless watch 4, it’s 3 years old so the battery going bad would not be outside the realm of possibility. After the OS8 update my watch went berserk, the touch screen stopped responding and I had to do a force restart (hold both buttons 10 seconds) I’ve never had problems with it before. After this it was fine for a day, then I went swimming and the watch went even more berserk, it repeatedly dialed 911 and the touch screen wen unresponsive so I had to force it down again, then turn it completely off. After that it was odd and buggy then stopped working altogether and told me the battery was low…even though it had been charging. Then I attempted to unpair, reset to factory and at the last step of getting it paired again….I lost total control of it and it would not turn on again. I only saw the coiled wire with the green lightening icon indicating it was charging. As soon as I removed it from the charger the lightening turned red. It was not really charging. Took it to apple two days ago (Sept 29) and because it would not power on (and it was not paired to my phone remember) they could not run diagnostics. So I was resigned myself to buying a new watch. Then the next day (today) I tried again and the watch was responsive after sitting on charging puck all night. I was able to pair and set up the watch successfully and then I noticed the battery was draining by the minute!! I went back to apple store today and explained all of this and they ran diagnostics….showing my batter was perfectly healthy. 87% actually. So the only options were A) to send it in for a complete re-install of the operating system for no cost, B) Pay for repairs at $400 or C) Buy a new watch (and D) do nothing). Here’s what I think: The OS is draining people’s batteries, and it might regulate itself or not, but for the out of warranty people who have older watches like I do….Apple is perched to try and get $400 to “repair” it. To Apple’s credit, all employees agreed it was not worth spending that much for only a 90 day’s warranty on repairs. What sucks is that apple won’t replace the battery because diagnostics show it’s healthy, they will charge me an arm and a leg for repairs without even knowing what is happening…..and at the end of the day there is not real help (yet) for what is probably an OS problem that is yet to be addressed because not enough time has passed and not enough people have begun to complain.


So waiting might be the solution…..either the watch will regulate itself or if it is deemed an OS problem, Apple will take an action. Maybe! I wish you all the best.



Oct 19, 2021 11:20 AM in response to karenvb

Ya I am at the point where I have to charge 2-3 times per day so the watch is effectively useless which is ridiculous because it isn't even a year old yet. Even in sleep mode going to bed at 100% and when I wake up I am anywhere between 10-30%. I have been to a genius bar twice and twice on the chat and diagnostics show nothing wrong so they effectively won't do anything. I have Apple Care + with it as well and still can't get them to do anything to fix or replace it.


The odd part is my wife has the same watch, purchased the same day and we have the exact same settings (she just doesn't wear it 24/7 like me) and she has no issues.

Oct 20, 2021 2:11 PM in response to KevoTheFord

KevoTheFord wrote:

I’m having the same issue. I actually had my watch in to the Genius Bar for diagnostics before the update and they couldn’t find anything wrong. My watch would randomly go from 100% to 10% in less than 2 hours. I erased the watch, re-paired it and did everything recommended and no improvement


I think you might be on the right track with unpair-repair. When you setup again did you setup as a new watch, or restore from a backup?


Restoring from backup is likely to also restore any third party apps which were loaded direct from App Store cascaded from your iPhone. If one of the apps is misbehaving that would explain the unusual battery drain and the variability from day to day.. It might be worth trying an unpair+setup as new watch just to eliminate this possibility.

Oct 20, 2021 3:31 PM in response to Branta_uk

I did the full wipe and restarted as a new watch. I keep very few apps on the watch and restrict my notifications. I even changed the watch face to a mostly black one to save on power and changed Siri to only work with the button pushed.


I’m at a complete loss at this point. I’ve turned off features I want just to conserve battery and I’ve fully charged twice today and I'm already down to 52%

Nov 3, 2021 9:44 AM in response to Branta_uk

Just wanted to post an update…. After a lot of back and forth with apple support I sent my watch in to be serviced under my apple care + and they sent me a new watch. If I hadn’t had a small scratch on the screen it wouldn’t have need the apple care+ or deductible but it is what it is. Long story short I have ZERO issues now and even setup the new watch from my previous backup so despite no issues found during diagnostics there was clearly a hardware issue.


I now get at least a full day on my SE with no issues

Nov 3, 2021 10:19 AM in response to KevoTheFord

I’m glad they were able to help and your apple care came to the rescue. Sadly, my watch is 3 years old and out of apple care now. They will charge more than $400 to repair my watch and then it comes only with a 90 day warranty after that. Since that is more than 1/2 the price of a new watch…..it does not make sense.


What’s frustrating is that the issue happened immediately after upgrade to watchOS8.


Cheers and congratulations, and thanks for the update.

Nov 3, 2021 10:22 AM in response to Thefuture8412

My update is:


Battery will not last more than 6-8 hours. Watch button (below crown) is non-functional. After activating water lock and then deactivating, the touch-screen is sometimes unresponsive…..so I must set it on charging puck to get screen touch back.


Other than that the watch functions normally. Since side button is dead, I can not power down or call 911.


I’m out of Apple care warranty, so I’ll wait it out and buy a new one when this is completely unusable.

Thank you everyone who contributed.

Watch battery life

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