Zetetics

Q: Is Watch OS 3 causing my battery to drain faster?

I have been using an Apple Watch for a few months now and with all day use it never gets under 50%. I installed the new OS and today was my first full day to use it. By the afternoon it was warning me I was hitting 10%. I charged it in the car on the way home and it went to 44%...and a few hours later I am at 20%? Sitting on a couch watching TV??? Help!

Apple Watch, watchOS 3

Posted on Sep 16, 2016 8:07 PM

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Q: Is Watch OS 3 causing my battery to drain faster?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by alex_h1,

    alex_h1 alex_h1 Sep 17, 2016 6:23 PM in response to Zetetics
    Community Specialists
    Sep 17, 2016 6:23 PM in response to Zetetics
    Howdy Zetetics!

    I understand you're experiencing battery life on your Apple Watch that is less than you normally see. I understand the need for an Apple Watch battery that lasts all day!

    In this case, it might be typical to see a decreased battery life on the first day after an update: the act of installing an update takes a significant energy use. Additionally, apps may need to sync or update following an update.

    Have you experienced continued battery drain after posting this response?

    Have a great weekend!
  • by Zetetics,

    Zetetics Zetetics Sep 17, 2016 9:27 PM in response to alex_h1
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 17, 2016 9:27 PM in response to alex_h1

    Hi Alex_h1,

     

    I am not sure about that. Today it was used less than six hours and is now at 46%. Yow! So...I am thinking there must be something going on that is killing my watch. The only change was the OS. At least it hasn't bricked my watch. iOS 10 is problematic too which makes me wonder if part of the problem with the watch is actually the iOS on the phone?

     

    Now I am totally regretting having upgraded my devices.

     

    But thanks for the reply and the suggestions. I will keep trying to figure this out.

     

    :-D

  • by norm123,

    norm123 norm123 Sep 20, 2016 9:08 AM in response to Zetetics
    Community Specialists
    Sep 20, 2016 9:08 AM in response to Zetetics

    Zetetics,

     

    If the battery life continues to be an issue that you're seeing, it may be worth taking a look at potentially adjusting your settings for maximum performance. Specifically, check out these areas:

     

    Adjust your settings.

    There are a few ways you can preserve battery life on your Apple Watch:

    • During running and walking workouts, turn on Power Saving Mode to disable the heart rate sensor. To do this, open the Apple Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > Workout, and turn on Power Saving Mode. Note that when the heart rate sensor is off, calorie burn calculations may not be as accurate.
    • For longer workouts, you can choose to use a Bluetooth chest strap instead of the built-in heart rate sensor. To pair the Bluetooth chest strap with your watch, make sure the strap is in pairing mode, then open Settings on Apple Watch, select Bluetooth, and choose from the list of Health Devices.
    • If you’re very active with your hands and your watch display turns on more than you think it should, you can turn off the Activate on Wrist Raise feature. Open Settings on Apple Watch, select General, and turn Activate on Wrist Raise off. When you want to turn on the display, just tap it.
    • Disabling Bluetooth on your iPhone increases the battery drain on your Apple Watch. For more power-efficient communication between the devices, keep Bluetooth enabled on iPhone.

    View Battery Usage information

    To view your usage and standby information, open the Apple Watch app on iPhone and go to My Watch > General > Usage.

    Batteries - Maximizing Performance

     

    If you haven't been able to restart your Apple Watch since updating, it's also a good idea to do that before diving into deeper troubleshooting. Here's how:

    Restart your Apple Watch

     

    Cheers!

  • by subigirl,

    subigirl subigirl Sep 22, 2016 11:55 AM in response to norm123
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Sep 22, 2016 11:55 AM in response to norm123

    I had this same issue, too. I had tried it all...disabled background refresh, disabled SOS, took everything out of the the dock, rebooted the watch AND the phone, etc. I was seeing a drop of about 10% or more per hour that I wore the watch...and that was really not using it for much of anything.

     

    I was then messing with my watch, and swiped my watch face and noticed as I swiped, it changed faces. Seems every face that was listed as "available" in my watch app on my iPhone was on my watch!! Many of these had different complications and the like, and I started thinking...what if my watch is touching base with my phone constantly to update ALL THESE FACES all the time? I deleted out of my app all the watch faces except for the one that I set as my default face, and my battery life went back to normal. I charged it to 95% before I went to bed last night, and woke up this morning to it being at 84%. I then went for my workout for about an hour setting it to track my workout, and came back to it being at 79%. I charged it to 100% after my workout...putting it back on my wrist at around 9 a.m. this morning. It is now about 2 p.m., and I'm at 97%. This is after adding back the few apps that I use on my watch. Seems the multiple watch faces are a part of the drain issue.

  • by Ness1083,

    Ness1083 Ness1083 Sep 22, 2016 12:26 PM in response to subigirl
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 22, 2016 12:26 PM in response to subigirl

    I just noticed I had the same issue, I had 14 faces available and all were used when I swiped. I took all of them out leaving only the one I'm using. hopefully this solves the problem.

  • by vernonfromtustin,

    vernonfromtustin vernonfromtustin Sep 22, 2016 1:22 PM in response to Zetetics
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 22, 2016 1:22 PM in response to Zetetics

    I had the same issue post WatchOS 3 update.  I seem to have found the cause/issue.  I turned off "Background App Refresh" and "Enable Handoff" in the Watch App on my phone.  It is now 4 hours since I took my watch off of the charger, I am at 99%.  I hope this works for you.

  • by Richard Gibson,

    Richard Gibson Richard Gibson Sep 30, 2016 10:08 AM in response to alex_h1
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 30, 2016 10:08 AM in response to alex_h1

    Same problem for me -every day since updating I get extremely fast battery drainage.  I have not changed the way I use the watch at all.  However, before updating I'd make through the day without coming close to draining the battery, now I can't make it home from work.

  • by subigirl,Helpful

    subigirl subigirl Oct 4, 2016 4:42 AM in response to Richard Gibson
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Oct 4, 2016 4:42 AM in response to Richard Gibson

    Seriously....go in and turn off the app refresh and delete all but the one watch face you use...fewer complications the better. My battery usage on my sport has got completely back to what it was before the upgrade by doing these two things. Also, be sure to reboot your phone and watch after making the changes to make sure they get sync'd up right. The lowest I've been at the end of the day is 60%, and that is after a 2 hour workout at the dance studio! Overnight, going to bed with a 100% charge, I always wake up to about around 91-92% remaining. I'll charge back up to 100% after my morning workout, and it typically is at 75-80% in the evening when I set to charge before bed.

  • by Zetetics,

    Zetetics Zetetics Oct 4, 2016 4:55 AM in response to Zetetics
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple Watch
    Oct 4, 2016 4:55 AM in response to Zetetics

    An update here. I am able to get through a day with a charge. Unfortunately all sorts of strange things have been happening. I have to power off and restart the watch at least 1-2 times a day. Before this update I may have had to restart my watch 1-2 times for a period of four months. :-/ The screenshot mode is by default disabled in this release but even with turning it on (and yes, restarting the watch a few times) it was able to capture screenshots. About twice a day my watch face dial vanishes. The only way to get it back is to restart the watch. I find this to be insane. I really have grown to enjoy the functional nature of the Apple Watch but this OS is HORRIBLE. It makes me wonder if the only reason for the update was to force owners of the series 1 watch to purchase a series 2 device.

     

    As to so many of the solutions...cripple your watch by turning things off and deleting watch faces? I never had to do that with the previous OS. I enjoyed switching faces now and then. It would be nice if a new OS made my watch BETTER instead of turning it into a POS.

     

    2016-09-29 10.50.05.png

  • by Ness1083,

    Ness1083 Ness1083 Oct 4, 2016 4:58 AM in response to Zetetics
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 4, 2016 4:58 AM in response to Zetetics

    I Have not had any issues with the watch ever since I got it. I did a reser and been workong fine.