Apple Watch battery draining fast after watchOS 11 Update

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.

Apple Watch Ultra drained x 20% in 2 hours and now at 50% after 3 hours. I typically get 2 days from a charge. At this rate my watch will be on the charger more than on my wrist. Come on Apple. What have you done. Someone needs to address this with urgency.

Hi guys,

Same here. My Watch 7 CE is draining super fast after upgrading to iOS 18 (even 18.1). Wrist detection is also completely off and keeps locking every time so I had to disable it.

Of course month after warranty.... Sweet.

Restarts / reattaching did not solve the issue. Disabling Live activities or picture sync neither.

What now?

Same here even with 11.1. Update battery is still draining faster. Apple Watch Series 8… last night was at 19%. Typically on a regular day I end the night with about 40% battery. My battery is draining at least 20-25% more than it normally used to after the updates. I just finished a workout and not only am I charging it now, but it is charging slower than ever even with battery optimization off.

This is disaster, my Ultra 1 only have half day battery, Apple’s software nowadays is a lot worse than before. I don’t understand why their software has so poor quality! No fix plan yet, very disappointed. I won’t update any new Apple OS until it was found stable again.

I have an Apple Watch series 8 that is only a year and a half old. Ever since I performed the update to 11.1, the battery is draining so fast that I wind up having to plug it in halfway through the day. This is UNACCEPTABLE!! I wear my watch to bed - I don't listen to music on it. Nor do I use the apps. Only messaging and the walking app. It is not a cellular model. Battery drain at 1-1/2 years old should not be an issue. I contacted support..."maybe you're using too many apps or maybe you're not charging it correctly. BS!!! Do better Apple. We should not be required to buy a new watch at $900+ every year or two. I'll go back to a Fitbit before I do that. Ridiculous.

I had the same problem UNTIL my apple watch started to crash and a bit later, didn’t turn on anymore. The weirdest thing is that when I charge it, the paired iPhone still shows the battery level, but the Apple Watch is unresponsive, even when I try to force a hard reset (pushing crown+side button). Any advice?

Same and more terrible after 6 hours of sleep I lost more than 45% of battery and also the screen goes black for more than 1-2 hours a day even if I have more than 60% battery making my Apple Watch unusable… thinking on buying ultra cause of this , because I thought i somehow broke it ( right now I have a series 9 ) any opinions on this ?

My first gen Apple Watch Ultra has been having these issues. From 100% to 73% I’m under 3 hours with no activities, background apps or anything running. Ever since the update it’s been charging multiple times a day now to keep it going. This is unfortunate and makes me want to look at different brands or no smart watch at all anymore. I may have to go back to no watch or digital (no smart watch). Hopefully there is a fix for this, i know every two years or so devices tend to get worse so that they get you to buy new ones but this business plan is exhausting as a consumer. Makes me want to check out of it.

Me too! I was able to play Music and Runkeeper, at least twice. Now, Watch dies after about 30 min. And wearing it at might to monitor sleep use to be at 92% when wake up, now 70%. Tried the usual fixes. Same high drain.

I purchased my Apple watch series 9 with cellular in June and was delighted with it as it worked really well. After updating to the latest IoS on iPhone 15 pro (18.1?) and watch 11.1 my watch is almost useless as the battery constantly drains. It can be at 100% when I go to bed and then it drains less than 4 hours later. I have tried all suggestions: switch off both devices; keep iPhone within inches of the watch at night - never necessary before the update - and unpairing etc but nothing has helped! I am left with a six month old watch that cost £499 (plus additional monthly charge by my mobile network) that is now useless.

Does anyone have any other suggestions that might resolve this situation?

I chatted with Apple Support who did a remote diagnostics of my AW7. Action:Take it to Genius Bar. They said battery operating at 78% capacity. Said this is the cause of the high drain. Less than 80% requires battery replacement. Nooo! It drained after update to 11.0. Recommendation- send to Apple for $99 replacement of watch or replace battery. Will wait to see if iOS18.2 does anything.

A question for all who have posted your battery issue here: Have you told your story outside of this limited venue? I'm not a Facebook, X, Instagram or other social media user, but I'll bet a lot of you are. So far there are 8 pages of complaints and observations here, but it seems we're "preaching to the choir." Everyone here already has an Apple watch. Posting problems like this elsewhere will serve as a warning to those who don't have one but might be considering one as a gift. If you read that there is a charging problem that has been unsolved for months and months, you might think twice about buying one. What's more, the Apple execs looking for their annual million-dollar bonuses might decide this really needs to be fixed. Just my thoughts.

BTW, the history I've seen is version 11.0 must have had bugs. Version 11.01 may have fixed them but introduced a battery charge problem. Version 11.1 was intended to fix it and did for some but not others. Now I'm on 11.2, and while a full charge seems to bounce back and forth between 80% and 100%, daily charge is lasting through the day, typically 7am to 11pm. Notes. I have Passcode turned off (and btw, the watch is way less trouble without passcode for me). I've also turned off most apps that I never use. I do an "indoor workout" (1 hour on the treadmill) pretty much every day, and I use the watch to find my iPhone once or twice a day, and I use the timer maybe every other day. Battery "health" for my series 6 is 93%, and the Last Charge was to the Optimized Limit of 80%.

What I want to know is what is Apple doing about this? You’ve had enough problems with the 18.2 on iPhones, but draining the battery on your watch you rely on constantly? Apple got way out over its skis and trust me, I’m having to rethink using Apple products. So tell us Apple, what are you going to do?