Apple Watch battery drains after updating to watchOS 10.1

Dear all,

Let me share all the things that did NOT solve this problem and the one thing that DID solve this for me.

Background: iPhone 13 running iOS17, Apple Watch series 6, updated from WatchOS 9 directly to WatchOS 10.1.1 after which battery life dropped from 18+ hours to 8 hours, and this did not improve for several weeks.

What did NOT solve it:

• updating to iOS 17.1.1 or 17.1.2
• multiple restarts and hard resets of Apple Watch and iPhone
• deleting all third-party apps from Watch, then rebooting iPhone and Watch
• resetting all privacy and security settings (forcing each app to ask for access to location etc again)
• unpairing Watch from iPhone, then repairing with iPhone and reinstalling from the last Watch back-up

What DID solve it for me:

• unpairing Watch from iPhone, then repairing with iPhone as a new Watch.

The excessive battery drain was solved immediately. This procedure comes with great disadvantages, e.g. I lost all my watch-faces with edited choice of complications, I had to reconnect the Watch with my activity tracker app, I had to rearrange all app icons to the positions I prefer in the app viewer, I had to choose playlists of songs to be downloaded to Apple Watch again, I had to go through my Apple Watch settings and adjust these to my preferences, and probably a few more nuisances. Despite these, I am happy that my Apple Watch lasts through the day again...

I hope this helps some of you...

This was happening to me too.

Last night I removed some 3rd party apps (MobyFace and a few others too) and today it is back to normal.

Someone in another forum suggested that MobyFace and other 3rd party apps are not battery-friendly in WatchOS 10.1.

I would say they may be right.

My watch has been off the charger for 3 hours now and I'm down to 86%. Yesterday it would have been dead already.

I found an app draining the battery: Watch Faces by MobyFox

I removed the app and now it’s gone back to normal battery usage! 88% after 4 hours and slept with the watch on last night after 7 hours still had charge left.

Add me to the growing list of frustrated Apple Watch owners. I have an 8. Usually get 48 hours on a charge. I updated to 10.1 last night at 12:30am. Overslept this morning because the alarm didn't go off. Looked at my watch and it was dead as a doornail. Charged it this morning and a short time later it was dead again. Started paying close attention and noticed it was losing about 1% per minute! At one point I put it on the charger and got it up to 70% and it stopped, then started LOSING charge while on the charger and started getting very hot.

Some google-fu pointed to an issue with location services. You can disable location services altogether, which requires disabling it on the phone as well, so I opted not to do that. Alternative workaround is to go into the weather complication and set the location to a specific city, rather than "current location". It has drastically reduced battery drain. It's not perfect, though. I've lost 20% in the past hour and a half, which is still entirely unacceptable. I may still have to resort to disabling location services completely if Apple can't push an update soon.

It seems for many people this started with 10.0. I didn't have an issue until 10.1 last night.

Temporary Solution: Uninstall all 3rd party apps. Reset and re-pair your watch to the phone. Uncheck auto-app install. Use only stock apps until Apple can release a fix. You can also try reinstalling one app at a time to determine which apps are the source of the battery drain. Once I did this, my watch returned to normal operation on a series 8 and a series 5.

Update: After a very trying day on Friday, a bunch of changes, and a weekend of usage, I think I'm back to normal now.

• I changed the weather location to a fixed city. No change.
• I disabled location services completely. No change.
• I deleted MobyFox. No change.
• I got frustrated, took the watch off, turned it off and tossed it on the corner of my desk.

When I left work, I picked the watch up and noticed it had turned itself back on and was at 97% after some unknown number of hours of sitting on my desk. It held well overnight and into the next day. I charged it Saturday evening to 100%, re-enabled location services, set the weather back to "current location", restarted the watch again, but I left off MobyFox. I'm closing in on 48 hours on this charge now and still have 15% left, so this is exactly where I expect to be.

Key takeaway for me. Remove MobyFox, but also restart the watch after doing so. Just removing it didn't fix it initially. If you don't have MobyFox, look to other 3rd party apps. Remove one at a time and restart after removing each one.

Another post here recommended to uninstall 3rd party apps including MobyFox. So, I uninstalled MobyFox, and my 3rd party weather app from my Series 6. Now my watch is currently at 98% battery for the last 5 hours. Possibly those apps need the developers to update them with iOS 17 and watch OS 10.1 in mind?

When watchOS 10 first came out my watch updated automatically. I’m one of the unlucky few whose watch started using too much power. Using extra power after a major update is common for a couple days. After two weeks, my watch still had to be recharged several times per day (not acceptable). This was not an issue with watchOS 9.6.3 (there is no way to go back).

I have some draconian steps and a configuration that gets my watch through a day on one 90 minute charge, but NOT back to pre-watchOS10. My settings remove or disable much of what makes an Apple Watch special…but it’s better than a frequently dead watch.

As a side note, Apple Technical Support has been consulted twice: online and in-person at an Apple Store Genius Bar. Diagnostics pass, my watch has never been wet, and my S4 is not covered by a warranty. 

Apple Tech Support is aware of the problems and tried to solve my issue but ultimately provided two options: 

1) trade in my watch for a new S9 (net cost $400) or 

2) replace the battery even though it has 84% capacity ($299 cost for battery capacity over 80%, $99 replacement battery capacity less than 80%).

Neither option seems all that great…yet.

Here are some tricks and tips that might increase an Apple Watch’s daily battery use with the current watchOS 10:

• Adjust display settings. The display is one of the biggest battery drains, on S4 through S6. Reduce display impact by adjusting the brightness, reducing the amount of time the display stays on, and disabling the always-on display for S7 and newer.
• Reduce the number of notifications. Every notification that appears on the screen  requires the watch to wake up and use battery power. Try disabling notifications for apps that you don't use often and/or try setting notifications to silent delivery.
• Turn off haptics. Every time the watch has to send a haptic, a small vibrator has to use battery power.
• Remove apps from the Smart Stack. While this is a new feature, on my S4 it seems to consume significant power. 
• Delete 3rd party apps. Some 3rd party apps are not behaving well with watchOS 10. Delete the 3rd party apps on the watch AND on the iPhone. 
• Disable location services, especially for the Apple weather app. Apparently the weather app frequently checks location and retrieves weather for the location, even if your location is not significantly changing. Remove all but one weather app location. Completely removing the weather app may help too. 
• Turn off background app refresh. Complications will still update in the active watch face. Other apps will refresh when you open them or a watch face with corresponding complication.
• Turn off as many features as possible. Many Apple Watch features use battery power, even when not actively using them. For example, the heart rate sensor, GPS, and Wi-Fi can use battery power. Try turning off these features to save battery life.
• Use Power Saving Mode. This mode disables certain features to extend battery life. 

Here are some additional tips that may help improve battery life on watchOS 10:

• Unpair and re-pair Apple Watch. This can sometimes resolve battery life issues.
• Restore Apple Watch from a backup. This can also help to resolve battery life issues.
• Reset Apple Watch and do not restore from a backup. This can also help to resolve battery life issues.

If these fail to help with the short battery life:

• Contact Apple Support. If you're still having trouble with battery life, contact Apple Support for assistance. Do not expect good technical support from these Apple Community Forums, there are a few trolls who generally  make condescending and smug remarks.

If you are not happy with watchOS 10, share your concerns directly with Apple at Feedback - Watch - Apple  

Hope this helps your situation!

When watchOS 10 first came out my watch updated automatically. I’m one of the unlucky few whose watch started using too much power. Using extra power after a major update is common for a couple days. After two weeks, my watch still had to be recharged several times per day (not acceptable). This was not an issue with watchOS 9.6.3 (there is no way to go back).

I have some draconian steps and a configuration that gets my watch through a day on one 90 minute charge, but NOT back to pre-watchOS10. My settings remove or disable much of what makes an Apple Watch special…but it’s better than a frequently dead watch.

As a side note, Apple Technical Support has been consulted twice: online and in-person at an Apple Store Genius Bar. Diagnostics pass, my watch has never been wet, and my S4 is not covered by a warranty. 

Apple Tech Support is aware of the problems and tried to solve my issue but ultimately provided two options: 

1) trade in my watch for a new S9 (net cost $400) or 

2) replace the battery even though it has 84% capacity ($299 cost for battery capacity over 80%, $99 replacement battery capacity less than 80%).

Neither option seems all that great…yet.

Here are some tricks and tips that might increase an Apple Watch’s daily battery use with the current watchOS 10:

• Adjust display settings. The display is one of the biggest battery drains, on S4 through S6. Reduce display impact by adjusting the brightness, reducing the amount of time the display stays on, and disabling the always-on display for S7 and newer.
• Reduce the number of notifications. Every notification that appears on the screen  requires the watch to wake up and use battery power. Try disabling notifications for apps that you don't use often and/or try setting notifications to silent delivery.
• Turn off haptics. Every time the watch has to send a haptic, a small vibrator has to use battery power.
• Remove apps from the Smart Stack. While this is a new feature, on my S4 it seems to consume significant power. 
• Delete 3rd party apps. Some 3rd party apps are not behaving well with watchOS 10. Delete the 3rd party apps on the watch AND on the iPhone. 
• Disable location services, especially for the Apple weather app. Apparently the weather app frequently checks location and retrieves weather for the location, even if your location is not significantly changing. Remove all but one weather app location. Completely removing the weather app may help too. 
• Turn off background app refresh. Complications will still update in the active watch face. Other apps will refresh when you open them or a watch face with corresponding complication.
• Turn off as many features as possible. Many Apple Watch features use battery power, even when not actively using them. For example, the heart rate sensor, GPS, and Wi-Fi can use battery power. Try turning off these features to save battery life.
• Use Power Saving Mode. This mode disables certain features to extend battery life. 

Here are some additional tips that may help improve battery life on watchOS 10:

• Unpair and re-pair Apple Watch. This can sometimes resolve battery life issues.
• Restore Apple Watch from a backup. This can also help to resolve battery life issues.
• Reset Apple Watch and do not restore from a backup. This can also help to resolve battery life issues.

If these fail to help with the short battery life:

• Contact Apple Support. If you're still having trouble with battery life, contact Apple Support for assistance. Do not expect good technical support from these Apple Community Forums, there are a few trolls who generally  make condescending and smug remarks.

If you are not happy with watchOS 10, share your concerns directly with Apple at Feedback - Watch - Apple  

Hope this helps your situation!

What is required is a forced restart of your Apple Watch. A forced restart is more than just turning your Watch off and on. Observe the battery usage for the next 24 to 72 hours. If there is no improvement you’ll need to unpair the Watch from your iPhone, force restart the Watch and the iPhone and lastly pair the two devices. Battery usage will return to normal in 24 to 72 hours.

Force restart Apple Watch - Apple Support

Force restart iPhone - Apple Support

Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Deleting the Mobyface app fixed it for me. My guess is that some 3rd party apps that don’t frequently update conflict with the new update and drains the battery.

Hi mickeddie,

Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities. We understand your Apple Watch battery is draining quicker since the update. This article has some helpful information about battery performance: Apple Watch Battery and Performance.

Also, this article has some tips to maximize your battery performance: Batteries - Maximizing Performance - Apple.

"Update to the latest software.

Always make sure your Apple Watch is using the latest version of watchOS.

• To see if you need an update, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and go to My Watch > General > Software Update.
• If an update is available, connect your iPhone to Wi-Fi, attach the charger to your Apple Watch (make sure it has at least 50% charge), and update wirelessly.

Learn more about updating watchOS

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 prevent the display from turning on every time you raise your wrist. Open Settings on Apple Watch, select General, select Wake Screen, and turn Wake Screen on Wrist Raise off. When you want to turn on the display, just tap it or press the Digital Crown.
• 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.

Enable Low Power Mode.

Introduced with watchOS 9, Low Power Mode is an easy way to extend the battery life of your Apple Watch when needed, for example if you’re on a long flight or find yourself without your charger for the night. You can enable it by swiping up to Control Center and tapping on the battery percentage, or by going to Settings > Battery. 

Low Power Mode prolongs battery life by turning off always-on display, limiting the cellular and Wi-Fi connections of your Apple Watch, and disabling background sensor readings including heart rate measurements, high and low heart rate notifications, irregular rhythm notifications, and blood oxygen measurements.

When not connected to your iPhone, your Apple Watch will attempt to retrieve notifications approximately once an hour. When your Apple Watch battery reaches 80% charge Low Power Mode automatically switches off."

Take care.

I had the same issues on both a Series 4 and Series 9.

Series 9 I unpaired/re-paired twice (this actually made everything worse). Series 4 I did not do so.

This morning I removed all 3rd party apps from both (Series 4 and Series 9) and they've stabilized, no more drastic battery drain.

I got that tip from a different thread, but theoretically apps shouldn't be able to use battery life in the background. So it might be a syncing issue after the os update.

fasteddiexx1 wrote:

Possibly those apps need the developers to update them with iOS 17 and watch OS 10.1 in mind?

Given the number of people who are reporting that the problem goes away with the removal of MobyFace, I think you're right.

FURTHER UPDATE: 10 hours on from last night with watch on overnight battery still doing well at 83%. This removal of MobyFox seems to have resolved the issue. Apple still needs to push an update I feel though for sure. Might be an idea for those who don’t have this app to think about removing any 3rd party apps and trying to see if it helps!!