Apple Watch battery drains super fast after 10.1 update.

Get rid of MOBYFACE. The problems with watchOS 10 probably involve more than just MOBYFACE.

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!

A week ago my battery lasted all day with two hours of working out. Now it runs out before 2pm before I’ve even left my apartment.

it’s utterly useless now. I am so disappointed that it might be time to make the switch to a Garmin. If this is a ploy to get me to buy a new watch (which as a continued Apple customer I have every reason to believe), this is my last straw.

i love the Apple Watch and I’ll be sad to part ways with it. Please, please, please fix this.

Series 9 went from 100% to 20% in 20 minutes. All due to latest update yesterday V 10.1

Ultra 2 drained from 100% to 59% in 8 hours of normal use. Way too quickly.

That is absurd. I am in the middle of restoring from backup. I will not do more if it doesn't work.

Anybody have a contact at Apple to escalate the issue?

Same issue on a replacement series 4 I received today 10/27. Brand new-to-me, wouldn't charge to full due to overheating, and drained at last check, 8% in 12 minutes. Very hot on charger. On with Apple support right now and the person said: "Hey I would recommend you not using the Apple Watch until advised by the senior team, I will now escalate this case to the senior team, who will further investigate and help you with your option." Having tons of other issues after being forced to update to 10.1 like apps not showing correctly, trouble pairing, problems restarting the watch. Yuck.

@rosella82

You should contact the official Apple Support about that, since your watch is still under warranty:

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

nmyers wrote:

I’m proud of you.

I believe you missed the point: Apple is not sabotaging older Watches. That's a very silly theory. My old watch works just fine. If you're having a problem with your watch, you should have Apple evaluate it.

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

IdrisSeabright wrote:

No, I'm focusing on the only objective fact. Until you replace the battery with one that is not past its useful life, you have no way of knowing if there is any other problem and, if so, what it is. But, if you would prefer simply to speculate and complain, by all means, have at it.

But the issue is that you're focusing on only one objective fact. You're ignoring these:

• That watch with a battery past its useful life got through the day with watchOS 9, now it comes nowhere close.
• The other watch had a battery health of 100% and after a month of watchOS 10, it's now at 92% and it also comes nowhere close to making it through the day.

How does that not make it clear that there is an issue with watchOS 10? I'm really confused what you're trying to prove here. There's quite clearly an issue with watchOS 10, not only for me but for so many other posters.

Speculate and complain? I'm not speculating but yes, I'm complaining that watchOS 10 drains my watch batteries insanely fast.

I agree with this comment. My third party apps worked fine before and my battery lasted all day .

Same thing here. After updating my Apple Watch to 10.1 yesterday it does not hold a charge. I fully charged it to 100% and took it off the charger at approximately 10:30pm. When I woke up this morning at 4:45am it was completely dead. Chatted with Support, but the watch wouldn’t connect to start a diagnostic check, it kept acting like it was too far away (which it’s only a foot away) or in Airplane Mode (which it’s not). Agent sadly couldn’t proceed without being able to connect to run the diagnostic check and advised to go to my closest Apple Store. Imma hold off on that as I can only assume an update will launch asap, but if not in a couple days imma definitely swing by.

I'm seeing the same thing; I have excessive battery drain on my Apple Watch. Running iOS 17 on an iPhone 13 paired with an Apple Watch 4. Updated to iOS 17.1 and then 17.2 and Watch OS 10.2. My watch used to last 1.5 days. Now it lasts half a day.

I don't understand what got messed up in the last iOS and Watch OS update, but it's effectively ruined my watch.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Apple watch series 5.

Same issue since 10.1.

It seems like Apple decided to integrate more frequent complication updates for the “always-on” display. You can either turn off the complication updates under the display settings menu OR turn off “always-on” altogether.

I turned off Always-on (which stops the always on complication updates), and since doing this, my battery (80% health) went from lasting 8 hours, to now lasting about 12.

Hope this works for someone else.

I will no longer purchase Apple watches. It is nearly useless now with the 4-5 hour battery life. New watches every year means that they will sabotage the older ones to make us buy new. I suppose the joke is on us.

not like this.

I have never had it drain in minutes