Apple Watch will not power off and stay off / low battery life

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Level 1

9 points

Apple Watch will not power off and stay off / low battery life

I have used the normal methods to turn off my watch (both with the side button and using Settings > General). The watch shuts down for a moment and then automatically restarts. It will not remain off.

I have done a hard reset (holding the side buttons and crown down for 10 seconds) and it made no difference. It automatically restarts after power down. It tried not wearing it while powering down and it restarted on its own.

I was attempting to do one of the recovery methods for short watch battery life. After installing OS9, the watch only lasts 12-16 hours with minimal apps running and the screen always on setting off. I am wondering if these two behaviors (won't remain off and short battery life) are related.

The recovery method required both the paired phone and the watch to be off and then start the phone first. When I did it, the Watch would not power down and stay off. It always restarted itself automatically.

The watch battery health is 87% so the short battery life is not the battery. I have previously unpaired and re-paired the watch and phone and it made no difference in the battery life.

I had a similar problem with battery life in April 2022 after installing a OS update but it cleared after the next OS release. None of the OS9 updates have fixed the battery life. Watch is running OS 9.3.1.

Apple Watch Series 6, watchOS 9

Posted on Mar 15, 2023 7:05 PM

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Answer 1

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LD150

Level 10

90,113 points

Mar 16, 2023 2:02 AM in response to Jack Wentz

If the Watch will not turn off then it suggests a hardware fault.

Regarding heavy battery use there are a lot of things to try including resetting the iphone to factory settings as an extreme measure... Some of it you may have tried.

Watch uses a LOT of battery

Make sure to turn off background app refresh and check walkie talkie is not accidentally turned on.

Force restart your watch i.e. press and hold both the side button and Digital Crown for at least 10 seconds, then release both buttons when you see the Apple logo. It may take up to 30 seconds for it to appear.

Then while it is restarting Force Restart the paired iphone Force restart iPhone – Apple Support (UK)

Try it for a couple of days especially if you sync photos to your Watch.

Then if still no better you can check for damaged or self-discharging battery...

How to check your Apple Watch battery fo… - Apple Community. (This needs the Watch to actually turn off!!)

If the battery seems OK then Unpair the watch and then pair it again.

Unpair and erase your Apple Watch – Apple Support (UK)

Set up your Apple Watch – Apple Support (UK)

Apple Watch - Battery - Apple (UK)

Batteries - Maximising Performance - Apple (UK)

If it still discharges after all Watch resets try this extreme user tip

Apple Watch battery drain - the ultimate … - Apple Community

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Answer 2

Jack Wentz Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 31, 2023 4:36 PM in response to LD150

I tried most of the methods listed with no change in performance. I could not do the self-discharging battery test because the watch would not remain powered off. Battery consumption was at 6-9% per hour so even with a battery health of 86%, a full charge lasted only 10-14 hours.

I checked in for an appointment with at the Genius Bar. They ran the diagnostics and found obvious no hardware issues. They were quite puzzled by the will not remain off when powered down issue. They believed it was a software issue. We installed the latest software version and did a fresh build of the watch instead of using the back up version from the iPhone in case the configuration file was corrupted. No change. If anything, the battery consumption went up.

In the end, your first call of a hardware issue appears to be correct. The estimated repair service charge for a hardware repair was around half the cost of a new watch (after trade in) so I bought a new series 8 watch. With the same apps installed, the battery consumption rate is now around 2-3% per hour. Faster charging with no charge duration anxiety.

Thank you for responding to my post and thank you for your help.

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