Since updating to WatchOS 10.0.1, the watch battery charges only to 80% overnight and the battery drains more quickly than before the update. I also updated my iPhone 14 pro to iOS 17 around the same time. Would this impact the watch battery?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
As many here I was affected by the constant battery drain of approx. 5% per hour and I think I found what was causing this for me.
When I checked the Watch App on my phone ==> General ==> About it showed that it synced 15 photos even though I have not selected any photos or albums to sync.
Opening the photos app on the watch confirmed that and showed that there are no photos on the watch.
I then selected an album with one picture to sync and the photo count went up to 16. Next I created a photo watch face and set it to dynamic and suddenly the watch showed random pictures that I never selected to sync. I searched for these photos on my iPhone and deleted them from there until the watch only showed 1 picture being synced, which was the one from the album. I then changed the watch face back from dynamic to album and left the face on the watch.
I did this on Tuesday. Yesterday, on Wednesday my watch was at 37% after wearing it without additional charging for almost 17 hours. Usually it would have been dead after 14 hours max. Today I took the watch off the charger at 7:30, at 8:41 it jumped to 99% where it would have been at 94% or even less before and now at 12:30 it is still at 87% which is 2.6%/hour.
I think the constant photo sync would be a good explanation for this issue as the watch would constantly download new pictured from the phone and would index them. In addition to that it would also explain why not everyone is affected by this since this would not apply to people having their photo sync configured to sync specific albums rather than the watch syncing random photos when nothing is selected for the photo sync. And it would also explain why resetting the watch doesn't help to fix this issue since the watch would start randomly syncing photos again after the reset.
Might be worth to check/try for others.
I’m not a developer. But I did download 10.2 yesterday. Not sure why it was there but it was. And my watch was 100% charged at 4pm 10/27 and right now it’s only down to 65% percent that’s way better than what I was getting.
After going through all the suggestions everyone has tried, the only thing I found that worked was to roll back the update to watch os 9 and start over. Running thing is that when I did that the watch went back to 10.1 but a different build. If you have the option to roll it back do it. If not, you may be still waiting for the patch( or update) to fix yours. DEFINITELY A SOFTWARE ISSUE!!!!
There is nothing hardware related to the watches. Hopefully this helps.
FYI, I started day with 100% at 7:15 est and now my watch is at 100% at 9:46 est.
Good luck.
It is an OS problem duh. The OS has a bug with some third party apps. Deleting these third party apps not reading correctly has worked with mine and countless others. Maybe your watch is 3 years old and the battery can’t handle new software anyways buddy. Lmao
I have an Apple watch 8 also. I bought it a few months ago. The battery usage had sped up quite a bit but not as bad as what some people are experiencing. Mines would run down in the low 40% level but that's from almost a full day. Before it was running down to the low 50% level.
There is something wrong with this last major update. I hope Apple is working on a fix for this. I noticed that some people have the Ultra model and it's still happening.
At the Maximum use case, I can confirm that my Ultra 1 was able to last the Chicago Marathon on 10/8 with all the cellular and full apple run workout tracking options on for over 6h 40m (Yes, I'm a very slow finisher) without having to switch to low power mode at the finish line because it was still over 20%.
At the "normal smart watch" use case it would last for 1.5 to 2 days on a full charge often with 2 nights of sleep tracking if I don't have to track a long run in between, if not it was good for at least 1 evening of sleep tracking before even needing a recharge.
Sadly, after the Apple Watch OS 10.1 update it's going from full charge in the morning to low battery warning at 19% in about 8-9 hours, and if I wanted to use it for sleep tracking after a long day, I'd need a top off charge to last me overnight.
I was able to pick up my Apple Watch Series 7 this afternoon from the Apple Store. So far so good on the battery. But I’m not sure if it was an actual repair, or the fact I removed the dreaded MobyFace app from my watch (didn’t realize this could have been the culprit until after I dropped it off last week).
You are welcome. The maker of the app already said they are going to fix it. Until then delete that app AND ALL THE FACEYIU INSTALL FROM IT.
If the problem continues, impair your watch and pair it again and reset from last.
I truly hope it helps you. If you update your phone and tablets to 17.1 some wildest may don’t work or not even load. Don’t panic… reinstall the widgets and remove the old non functioning ones.
I updated my two phones, two pads and one watch. I still haven’t done my Mac.
I wish you well and remember: there is nothing wrong with the hardware of your watch. It is 💯 a software issue.
No, that only fixes the problem for some people not all. I do not have the mobyface app and discovered it was the update itself which caused the battery drain and no ability to fully charge the watch. I am not sure why people keep commenting that it is only the mobyface app creating the problems when others have stated they have no third party apps on their watch and are still having problems.
I have an older SE and the 10.1.1 update seems to have corrected my battery and heating issues. I dumped all my third party apps. Stupid I had to do that. Reset and then repaired with my phone. I also shut off notifications and shut off my automatic updates. I’ll take my chances. Good luck everyone. Do better Apple.
So I talked to Apple support and they did diagnostics and they said that my batteries at 100% however while on that call and plugged in my watch actually decreased in percentage and even on airplane mode it would not go any higher. I let it completely die and left it dead for about 30 minutes and plugged it in. It was actually taking a charge. However, I don’t know how long it’s gonna last I have an appointment with a specialist at five over the phone, I’m so happy that it’s not just me I’m not happy that it’s happening to us but at least it’s a known issue
I had the same issue with my Watch Series 5 - for a couple of days. So I'm pleased to report that, by Day 3 since the upgrade to 10.1.1, it has returned to its normal state re battery discharge. Apparently it just needed a little patience (from me) while it all shook down. Better still, I've come to like the new functionality after I myself settled down following the initial "what the heck" moment.
We have a problem with this as well. Ours will charge to 100%, but will drain quickly start ing the day after this latest update. Its still 10.1.1 but might be a different build for it.
Besides draining fast, our watches will no longer charge on 2 out of 3 of our Apple branded chargers. It started the night of the latest update for both of our watches. I called support and was bumped to senior support. We unpaired my watch from my phone and re-paired it. Did NOT restore it from backup, but started fresh. No change in speed of discharge or using the chargers.
We are nowhere near an Apple store, so are going to try a certified service center to see what they think.
BTW our battery healths are both in the 90-100% range.
I have always been very critical with this battery problem after watchOS 10 update in my series 5, but with the latest update 10.2 the battery consumption is much more stable, higher than that of watchos 9, but acceptable.
I take the watch out of the charger at 1:00am, I sleep with it and the battery is at 5% at night 9:30pm. Display always on except at night. With a small bike activity track I need a small charge at mid day.
The health of the battery has dropped to 79%, normal with a watch that is more than 3 years old. This health allows me to change the battery. I don't know if this replace will contribute to a much longer battery life.
Bets regards.
Thats what they told me. Its not true. Apple support confirmed they are aware of the issue and are working on a fix. Mine is exactly the same. The store just tried to make you believe it was the battery when it is not
Same here. Apple Watch is now draining power much more quickly. Watch could easily hold a charge for 12-18 hours prior to updating to 10.0.1. Now it’s below 10% after 8-9 hours.
Apple Watch Battery Drain Issues after Update
