Apple Watch battery draining fast after watchOS 11 Update

I just bought an Ultra 2 in July. Right outta the box, I got about 3 1/4 days. With the newest update, I have to now charge it every 2 days! I spent the extra money so I didn’t have to do the daily charge - now I’m back to every other day

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.

Maylandy, yours was a helpful comment. Unfortunately I've reached my "likes" limit (what???) In any case, this whole thread is borderline scary. I have a 6; my wife a 5. I've been suggesting she upgrade to a 10, but now I wonder. The 5 will not update beyond ios 10.x, so that one has no battery problem even though its older than mine.

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?

It’s getting worse. Tried unpair and repair. Watch is going to drain in two hours and I can’t charge it as it’s draining faster than it can charge. I’ll be heading up to the Apple Store as it’s actually unusable now. Need a fix asap!

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.

Same with my Apple Watch 8. And with my iPhone with the most recent update to that. Please issue a fix asap. My devices aren’t lasting more than 10-12 hours even with modest use and no apps running in the background.

Unless Apple starts paying attention to the numerous posts on this subject, we are all screwed and are wearing bricks on our wrists. I asked for a Christmas upgrade, but now, reading that even the newest watches are experiencing this drain after the update, I will consider bringing it right back to the store. So unacceptable that we as consumers are faced with this scam. Not like they are cheap. More than frustrated.