Apple Watch battery draining fast after watchOS 11 Update

I have the 14 also. I turned off all the apps that were on I was not currently using. If I want to use them I need to turn them on again and off when not. It has helped, but it’s a pain. Not what should be happening. At least I can get a day and a quarter out of it. I used to get 2 days and charge it at the end of the second day. Now I need to charge it so much sooner. There is no denying Apple has serious issues which they refuse to acknowledge. I still have not updated my iPad or watch to 28.2.1. I still don’t trust it.

Try optimizing battery settings by disabling background apps, reducing screen brightness, and enabling Low Power Mode. If the issue persists, consider a software reset or check for a firmware update.

This usually will always happen with any update to your Apple watch, this is because of the background task from that update that is running in the background, it should get back to normal in about 2-4 days.

Something is a bit off though- I have a Apple watch Se (2nd Generation) on the newest update (11.3) and it will be fine on some days, like at the end of the day (5:00am-8:00pm) I will have around 60-70% battery left without battery saver on. But on others, for some reason it will drain from 100% to 20% in just 7 hours. I don't know why and it honestly annoys me. On those days, I have to charge it at work just to make it last to the end of the day. Also, my battery health is at 96% so there should not be a problem. Maybe Apple is making updates that are taking too much of the power somehow.

Let Apple know about your findings by using the Feedback link, to make them aware of the watchOS issue.

Feedback - Apple Watch - Apple

Anyone still experiencing this after the watchOS 11.0.1 update?

It said it fixed the battery drain from watchOS 11, but it clearly didn't. I brought my watch into Genius Bar and they noticed a significant depletion in battery when they diagnosed it in comparison to before I updated the watch. Big surprise, as usual, they claimed "this is the first time they've hear about this" - which is what they say for every issue. It's already been factory reset, network reset, everything has been reset. I also don't leave background app refresh on and I close all apps every time.

They tried to do a software reboot on my Apple Watch series 9, but it failed, so they sent my watch in and I didn't have it for a week. I had updates saying they didn't do anything to it and nothing was wrong and sent it back. When I picked it up, Genius Bar said they were updated and said the software reboot was successful and I shouldn't experience any more battery drain.

After 8 hours, my watch is normally still at 65%-70%, however, it is at 50%. It may have gotten slightly better, but it's still pretty bad. Genius Bar told me to bring my watch back in before my 1 year is up... but it doesn't seem like they want to admit its the watchOS update that's causing the issue. They also refused to give me new hardware because it wouldn't make a difference.

Buying a brand new watch for almost $900, and it being less than a year old... having this battery drain is ridiculous!!

Hey, Small_violin. What happened at the Apple store? Any new information? Did they fix it? This watch battery problem is starting to resemble the stories of Tesla EVs spontaneously combusting (we keep hearing about them but never a definitive cause or how an owner could have prevented them!)

My Series 6 seems to have settled down after 11.1 and restarting once a day for a few days after that update. I put in on the charger overnight, usually take off the charger between 7 and 8 am, and the charge is at 80%, the new standard, as I read about it. Most of my days include 45 minutes on a treadmill with the watch recording an "indoor walk." End of day around 11pm or so, it's showing between 36% and 44% charge left, when it goes on the charger. I used to put it on the charger while I'm showering after the treadmill, but to better test the battery life, for the last few weeks, I've skipped that extra 25-minute charging session. So, it's going 15-16 hours daily use between charges. I don't sleep with the watch on.

One thing I may do differently from most is I have Passcode and wrist detection turned OFF. I was one of those people with the phantom "too many wrong passcodes, try again in 2 hours" or such, after carrying the watch in my pocket during yard mowing or pushing a cart at the supermarket. I don't use Apple Pay, and I don't leave my watch anywhere outside my home, and frankly, the watch is far more convenient to me without having to enter a passcode 3 or 4 times a day. This may or may not affect battery life, but I thought I'd mention it.

My wife is still undecided on moving from her Series 5 to a new Series 10 (she's been thinking about upgrading since Series 9 first came out!)

I have Apple watch series 9 after this update I am now having to charge my watch twice a day. Prior to this I could go almost 48 hours with charging once. Took to Apple store, they said there were no reported issues with battery life. Said my battery is fine. Suggested I unpair my watch and set up as new. I did this and the battery life is even worse. Took all apps off my watch, background refresh. Turned off always on. Disappointed to find many people complaining about the issue and the issue still persists.

So update....

Sitting here after reading all of the same comments and some users wondering if Apple has been contacted, I contacted them yesterday (12/8/24) and informed them of the battery drain since the 11.0 and 11.1 update, . I was just aggravated enough. The short version is, they did a diagnostic, checked the hardware, blah blah blah, etc., and there's nothing wrong with the watch. I could send it in for service if I want to but why? I'll be without it for a couple of weeks and they will send it back and say it's working just fine. The point of this additional post it - I implored them to please read the numerous posts on this subject. Twice! They said "noted" and I can only hope that they will listen to us consumers as we, as ****** off as we are, are still making them very, very rich. I think I am finished with this subject unless they put out a patch for us to fix this debacle. Merry Christmas, everyone!

The latest updates seems to heave resolved the battery drain for many users, sadly not for all of them.

Let Apple know directly about your thoughts and wishes about this issue by using the Feedback link.

We are all users here, trying to help other fellow users, Apple can not be reached by posting here.

Feedback - Apple Watch - Apple

And yes, an additional battery monitoring status, as on the iPhone for example, would be helpful.

Plus, we are all volunteers here, Apple provides the Moderators and the Apple Community platforms.

I too have the Apple Watch 7 and am so disappointed in the battery life all of the sudden. I barely have anything on my watch and it’s draining so much faster. I assumed it drained a lot within the last few days because of all the hurricane updates and stuff. Now that we’re not getting all of those warnings, I can’t blame it on that. I just took my watch off my charger and within an hour, it was down to 90%. Went to bed last night at 48% and woke up to 10%, which it’s never drained like that before. Sure hope it goes back to normal within a few days after the update like another person says. 🤞🏼

This is a significant concern, and it seems that Apple isn't addressing it. I often hike for 8-10 hours and previously relied on my watch to track my activities. However, since updating to watchOS 11, the battery now lasts only about 5 hours, which disrupts my hiking records. It is impossible to recharche the battery in the middle of hiking! I am going to have to consider switching to a more reliable device that can sustain a longer battery life.

Mine lasts for 6 hours. I already tried a watch and phone reset multiple times. In addition, the battery health dropped from 100 to 83% during this time. This means that I will need to replace my battery once it reaches 80% if Apple doesn’t address this issue.

Today, my watch also wouldn’t stop beeping, asking me to power it off, contact emergency services (SOS) or cancel. I would cancel or power it off, and it just keeps alerting me with the same prompt.

I did a phone reset and it happened again during the reset. I had to keep trying to reset it in-between the erroneous alerts. I have yet to see if this reset fixed anything.

I have also found that my watch has been draining very quickly since the update. The watch is only a year old and it doesn’t even make it through the day. At first I thought it was because I hadn’t put it on the charger right and it didn’t charge fully. However, that isn’t the case. Today when I put it on it was 100% charged. I looked at it 45 minutes later and it was 76% charged. All I had done was feed the dogs, make coffee, and sat down to watch the news. Nothing strenuous. The only thing I can relate this fast drain to is the update. Before the update the battery stayed charged all day and some.