Is anyone else experiencing battery drain from the recent update? I have a new watch and this recent update, in under an hour (53 minutes to be exact), had my battery go from 55% to 39%.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Apple Watch SE
EBeth0001 wrote:
I did charge it to 100%. It’s been 16 minutes and it’s at 82%. I’ll let it drain to 50% and then power it down until I decide what to do with it.
My advice is to keep using the watch if possible. Put it back on the charger if necessary, but keep its alive and let it sort out its post-update tasks instead of shutting down and having to start over, and over, and over...
You won't do any real harm to the battery by leaving it on the charger for a day or so. The charging system on Apple Watch is intelligent, and it will just stop the charge to prevent over charging, and continue to use the charger power to run the watch.
I and many other users have noticed that battery usage is often much heavier than normal for a few days after a software update. We believe this is because the internal storage gets reindexed after the update is installed, and there is probably a lot of processor work to do this and clear all the remains of the previous version. Usually this clears after a few days and everything is back to normal. However, you need to let the software do its job and not keep making it go back to the start line by shutting down.
EBeth0001 wrote:
I did charge it to 100%. It’s been 16 minutes and it’s at 82%. I’ll let it drain to 50% and then power it down until I decide what to do with it.
My advice is to keep using the watch if possible. Put it back on the charger if necessary, but keep its alive and let it sort out its post-update tasks instead of shutting down and having to start over, and over, and over...
You won't do any real harm to the battery by leaving it on the charger for a day or so. The charging system on Apple Watch is intelligent, and it will just stop the charge to prevent over charging, and continue to use the charger power to run the watch.
I and many other users have noticed that battery usage is often much heavier than normal for a few days after a software update. We believe this is because the internal storage gets reindexed after the update is installed, and there is probably a lot of processor work to do this and clear all the remains of the previous version. Usually this clears after a few days and everything is back to normal. However, you need to let the software do its job and not keep making it go back to the start line by shutting down.
Watch batteries are rated for 18 hours with normal daily use on the Watch page at apple.com. Anything beyond that is extra. The Ultra 36 hours.
Many folks find that a hard reset can resolve battery issues after an OS update.
M1 Mac mini, macOS 13.4; Watch, series 7 GPS/cellular, watchOS 9.5.2; iPad Pro 2nd Gen, iPadOS 16.5; iPhone 12 Pro, iOS 16.5; TV 4th Gen, tvOS 16.5; HomePods, audioOS 16.5 and Airport Express w/ Airplay 2
My Apple Watch Ultra used to last 30+ hours between a 100% charge to asking for a recharge (30% or lower).
After I updated to Watch OS 9.5.2 that 30+ hours dropped to about nine hours.
A hard reset of the watch improved the 100-30% cycle time to about 20-ish hours and now I can squeak by with one 100% battery charge every day.
I’m sure that Apple is getting enough feedback and will work out the underlying issue quickly. I usually dread software updates, but I’d really like an update that fixed this problem!
Have you force restarted your watch (Hold down both buttons until you see the apple logo)?
If you have, maybe try unpairing your watch with your phone, force restart and then pair it again with your phone. That process has helped me.
It is not uncommon for heavier than usual battery load for a day or so after software update. For a guess, everything getting reindexed in the device storage.
@ Dah•veed I agree completely about trying a reboot. This often seems to fix such problems for me.
I can’t speak for “everyone” but the battery life on my Watch Ultimate dropped to about 28% of what it had been the day before I installed the 20T571 update to WatchOS 9.5.2. A couple of hard resets, changing some settings, and removing some apps got my battery life back to 64% of what it was before the update.
Before the update I could easily recharge to 100% every second day, and depending on usage and timing could sometimes safely make it into a third day on one charge. After the update if I’m very careful about usage I can get by with only one charge to 100% each day.
If I make more than one phone call, use the GPS at all, or even run more than ten timers then I have to charge my watch twice per day.
Since applying iOS 16.6 and watchOS 9.6, the battery life has improved. I can get 12 hours before needed to charge my watch.
Note, I was easily getting 16+ hours before the watchOS 9.5.2. I can say that with confidence because my stand goal was 16 hours and I usually met or exceeded that goal. Lol
I think the hard reset helped out. It takes a while for the battery to adjust, but it did end up lasting me the day yesterday and I was happy about it. I hope this helps everyone else.
I stopped wearing my watch. I get less than 4 hours of battery before it dies. I’ve reset both my phone and my watch. I’ve checked for a leaky battery and the watch retains charge overnight when turned off. I’ve turned off every option I can (Bluetooth, wifi, background app refresh, etc.) , put it in airplane mode, decrease screen brightness, etc. and it still loses charge quickly.
My watch loses charge quickly when reset *before* it’s paired with a phone. Everything I’ve done to troubleshoot points to the 9.5.2 release on my watch.
If a full charge of your watch only lasts 4-6 hours then something is very, very wrong. The odds are very good that the problems are in the software settings, not the battery itself.
Get the watch fixed. Without knowing the particulars of your watch model, personal preferences, and your other Apple gear this discussion could take a couple of days (about 20 messages) to work out.
If you have a Genius Bar nearby at an Apple Store, a Best Buy, or even a few other places then that feels like your best answer.
If a Genius Bar isn’t available but you have AppleCare, use it. The people I’ve worked with via messaging have been great. They will help you get things working better.
if nothing else works, I’ll help you figure it out here. One message at a time!
You can always try another hard reset. They don't hurt anything.
@Dah•veed I just did the hard reset and it does seem to be helping, thank you very much.
Sent my Apple Watch Ultra into Apple. They replaced the watch, didn’t explain what the issue was. Was there & back in a week.
I applied watchOS 9.6 and iOS 16.6 about eight hours ago and at least so far the battery life appears to be much longer!
YetAnotherSQL wrote:
@branta_uk does make a good point. Using “no charge” was an error on my part as I proofread. It seems ironic that the proofread introduced an error. I’m sorry for that.
I should have used “automatic shutdown” or “full cycle” like I did everywhere else in my post.
No, DO NOT ever run Lithium batteries until their device shuts down. That's No, No Way, except if it is a life threatening emergency. The battery can't be "recalibrated" that is for different battery chemistry.
If you don't believe me, use your device for a simple test (use *your* device instead of risking other site users). Go into Settings/Battery/Battery Health and note the Maximum Capacity %%. Then do your Run to shutdown and recharge fully about 10 times, then check the percentage again and see how much it has degraded.
Battery drain on my Apple Watch after watchOS 9.5.2 update
