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.
This is ridiculous!
My watch used to last all day, now I can't even make it from the morning until 3PM after this latest update!
How does Apple manage to make each update worse? It's almost like it's on purpose...
I updated my watch last night, it won’t hold a charge for more than 50 minutes. Customer service said they would fix it for $99. They are not liable because the warranty is expired. Maybe give more than a year if you are planning to trash my watch after 2 years. I keep seeing these rando accounts saying to wait several days and it will fix itself. I have seen no proof anywhere. Get your bot a** out of here.
My series 6 watch has been doing the same thing the past few days. All I did was update to IOS 10.1
I tried live chat & was told things seem fine but to do further research they'd need me to return the watch & it would cost $330.00 to perform the work. I declined. Apparently the watch is just unusable now due to the update.
Same here. And for those stating that it's due to the 'Optimal charge' feature, even turning that off the watch won't hold a charge more than 6-8 hours. Wtaf, Apple? I rely on my watch for a lot. Super sucks that an update is making it less usable.
YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE NICE? IF APPLE ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THIS OBIVOUS ISSUE!
2,371 PEOPLE! WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO REMOVE APPS! APPLE SHOULDN'T BREAK OUR PRODUCTS WITH UPDATES!
REDDIT IS POSTING ABOUT THIS SAME ISSUE!
You shouldn't have to use the forced restart unless the watch is unresponsive to the normal shutdown invoked by holding down the side button. A forced restart is the equivalent of yanking the plug out of the wall -- not something you ever want to do on purpose.
I lose 70% in 5 hours after a full charge. My watch would last two and a half days and had enough battery to spare but now I can not use if I will be gone for more than 8 hours. I have the Apple watch ultra first gen.
I have a series 6 and the same problem. I charged before bed, only made it to 88% and was dead when I woke up. I charged at 5 pm tonight, walked my dog and it was dead in less than 4 hours. I am very upset. I use this to track my sleep and activity and need this fixed ASAP.
Exact same issue with mine. Battery used to last about 20 hours and now it’s about 3 hours since the most recent update to 10.1. I’ve done a reset erase all settings and haven’t loaded any 3rd party apps. The battery drain is still as bad. I’m hoping for a fix soon as my watch is not usable at the moment due to this battery drain.
@geapgr Some of us have zero third-party apps on our watches and are experiencing this problem, so please don’t act like there is a simple solution that you’ve found that people are overlooking. And telling us to “turn off your phone and stow it away for a couple of days until this problem is solved” is not practical advice. People rely on their phones, and it has already been several WEEKS, and this problem is still not resolved. Would you “turn off your phone and stow it away for several weeks until this problem is solved”?
I can understand your point on stowing away. But you dont comment on the sheer madness of a) buying a new device on own decision b) buying a new one on apple recommendation and c) paying apple top $$$ to get it fixed
I have the Apple Watch SE 2 generation. After downloading the watchos10.1 my watch dies quickly it may last 5- 6 hours. Before the update my battery lasted all day. I’ve tried unpairing and repairing and restarting it. No change in battery life.
Same issue it won't charge and loses charge when I put it on charger. When I did charge it to 80 % it lost charge quickly. Why won't they fix this. Sent the watch in to Apple they only reprogrammed it but now 10.1 is to be loaded I don't know what to do. This makes me think they don't care it's really horrible business practice.
@LD150 Still on 10.0.1 because just as many people are still reporting the same battery issues with 10.1 as they had with 10.0.1. Why trade one release with the battery charging and draining issues for another release that still has the same issues? I’ll wait for a release that contains actual fixes, thanks just the same.
I have an 6series watch and have a big problem with battery after update.
Before the update battery was stil 20-25% after a full day,now less than in 4 hours is drained.
is there a way to go a previous watch os version,because as it is now I cannot use the watch.
Apple Watch Battery Drain Issues after Update
