Ultra 2 + WatchOS 10.2 -> DESTROYED battery life

So Apple did an update today for iphone. But what are they doing about the watch. I do need to repeat that I had to delete some apps from the watch, now the battery is ok. But why can't apple see what the problem was. ALl they said was "it looks like nothing is wrong" But in 1 hour the battery drained so fast I also, had to charge it to call back.

Additionally, my iphone 14 pro has had issues since I purchased it. They could not see anything wrong either. Even after telling them that I have 2 iphones on my account and the other one has no issues and it's a 14 regular. So why do we keep paying for a iphone or iwatch, get the apple care and get people that have no clue.

Likewise. My watch has practically been faultless since purchasing in 2018. After 24hrs it might be down to 10% when forgetting to put it on charge.

After 10.2 upgrade instantly overnight it started rapidly losing charge and almost flat by late afternoon.

I’ve unpaired. Forced reset. Other forum advised to reset location services. Nothing has worked.

Am going to try and reset to factory settings without backing up. Annoying, but hopefully this will help. Given feedback of new watches upgrading isn’t worth the money.

Apple have to be aware of this software issue. Although from other reviews sounds like they are being ostriches and putting their ends in the sand. Very disappointing Apple.

Elickelow wrote:

Apple …. Are you reading all this?

10.2 update is junk - the most notable change was to induce rapid battery drain. 🤬

Apple does not read this user-to-user technical support forum for feedback.

But you can send Apple feedback via:

Feedback - Watch - Apple

If enough users send feedback, it is more likely a decision maker will see it, and maybe take action.

FYI: watchOS 10.3 was just released. It is worth a try, to see if anything was fixed.

I am signed in, it just kept retrieving old emails I looked at and deleted until I turned the watch off and waited. Then turned back on.

The Battery seems to be ok after deleting several aps on the watch. But never had to do that until the new update. So what is the cause?

I realized I didn’t follow my own IT advice before posting my last reply, “reboot first”. I did a shutdown and restarted on mine before placing it on the charger last night. I’ve had it on my wrist for 8 hours thus far today and sitting at 93%. Might not need the drastic step of wiping but simply a restart.

Update on my Series 1 Ultra. The battery has returned to normal function. I refused to delete apps or modify my watch. Apple marketed it as a robust device and these apps were developed to run on the watch. I did update to iOS 17.2 and don't know if that was a factor or not. As others have said this may be an issue with 10.2 settling and the apps getting "adjusted" to 10.2 but Apple should inform its Genius bar and Phone support people so we're not chasing our tails. The advice I'd received from the Genius bar after they ran diagnostics and the battery problem persisted was to send it in. I'm glad I didn't. Good luck to the others with battery drain.

prior to 10.2 update Have been averaging 72 hours before recharging at from 6-7%, today after update have to recharge at 5% at 60 hours. I'm 84 yrs old so not using watch to it's full potential, up graded from Apple Watch 6 cellular to Apple Watch ultra2 for the bigger screen and better speakers when answering calls. nothing that pushes the battery except short phone calls and timing short Phys. therapy exercises.

Started keeping track of hours when I bought the Ultra 2, although I was getting over 24+ hours with the 6. I wonder if the shorter battery life is connected to iOS 17 recent updates. I usually wait several weeks before updating software.

My S4 watch has practically been faultless since purchasing in 2018. After 24hrs it might be down to 10% when forgetting to put it on charge.

After 10.2 upgrade instantly overnight it started rapidly losing charge and almost flat by late afternoon.

I’ve unpaired. Forced reset. Other forum advised to reset location services. Nothing has worked.

Am going to try and reset to factory settings without backing up. Annoying, but hopefully this will help. Given feedback of new watches upgrading isn’t worth the money.

Apple have to be aware of this software issue. Although from other reviews sounds like they are being ostriches and putting their ends in the sand. Very disappointing Apple.

my ultra 2 w/10.2 did take a dip after upgrade but now back to 3 days, 72 hours between charges. I'm 84 so not using all the features just using timers, pacer, fitness, alarms, messages etc. and answer phone on modular ultra face. I keep track of daily %'s on my notes app. At the 3rd day when watch battery is at 3-4% I recharge. I did get 75 hours once but normally it's 72 hours.

I previously posted that my Ultra had settled down and was again maintaining pre 10.2 battery levels. I may have reported too early, because today, it's draining at a very rapid rate. 15-20%/hour. And when I charged it it continued to discharge at about the same rate while on the charger with the display showing it was charging. It seems that Apple is content to let their customers flounder.

A little late to the game here but wanted to report my own similar, and different, issues. Hardware: Apple Watch SE (gen 1), issued by Apple after paying $90 (bargain) for my original SE with 82% capacity remaining, iPhone 14 Pro. Software: WatchOS 10.2, iOS 17.2.1.

I noticed on Sunday (Jan 14) that my watch didn't unlock when I unlocked my phone. Later, noticed abnormal battery drain. Went into Watch App on the phone to ensure I had "unlock with iPhone" turned on and got the "Cannot Connect to Apple Watch" error. Then, when checking for a software update got a different error "Unable to Check for Update -- Checking for a software update failed because you are not connected to the internet." I've spoken with two Apple Techs by phone (the closest Apple Store is an hour, I'm not wasting my time). The first, on Tuesday Jan 16, was quite helpful, but when attempting to re-pair the Watch with my phone I got multiple connection errors. Finally got it to go through, watch seemed to sync properly through the rest of the evening. Upon waking up the next morning, the watch unlocked with my phone, but 2-1/2 hours later I noticed battery was well below what it normally would be. Checked the above again, errors.

Called Apple Support again, and this tech was awful. His suggestion, at one point, was that the connection issue between watch and phone was due to my having the watch too far away from the phone. Silly me! Why don't I move it closer than the TWO FEET (at the time) I had between them on my desk at home. Diagnostics didn't show anything (shocker, it isn't a hardware issue). Glad to know it isn't just us peons with older watches having issues, but it's unacceptable either way. I've been a daily Apple Watch wearer for 7 years and I've *NEVER* experienced sync issues like this.

I'll be a good boy and wait until the next software updates for both watch and phone before making a final decision. I was hoping to wait until Series X was released, but I'm not walking around with a glorified paper weight on my wrist until September.

I'm easily getting 72 hours between charging Ultra 2. As 'I've said before I'n not really using all the features, my uses are: phone call receiving, iMessages, timing exercises, measuring walks, etc.. Bought the ultra 2 for better speakers on calls and larger screen.

I've previously described my similar problem of rapid drain. Now the problem only happens randomly. I may go several days with normal battery performance and then one day I'll receive a notice that my watch is down from 100% at 8 AM to 10% at 2 PM. I've also noticed that when I charge my watch it has actually lost charge during the charging process. The watch seems to be hot as well. What I've done is turn the watch off and then put it on the rapid charger. It charges fine and in the 3 or 4 times I've tried this, the watch holds it's charge normally for several if not may days. Don't know if this is coincidence or a fix but I wanted to share.

I purchased my Ultra 2 in November 2023. It worked great and then one day it would not take charge at all. Bricked. I took it to Apple Store and they sent it for repair. About a week later I got an email that it was un repairable and it was sent back to me. Once back in hand I filed an Apple care claim and had to use CC hold until they had proof I sent the Brick back. I was also charged $80+ dollars for the swap. New watch worked great until new update in February and I was loosing battery at a rapid rate. Wouldn’t hold charge for 12 hours. I put in an Apple support ticket and talked to tech support. I followed instructions and they asked and was told to try it for a week and report back. No Change. I talked to another tech via Apple support and was moved up to a supervisor. I made sure that the call was recorded. I was told by Apple tech supervisor “6-8 hours was enough! It is a device that like all battery operated devices drains with use.” Very frustrating. I am now getting about 16 hours out of watch and have been muscling through hoping for results through the next update. Quite frankly I hope to trade it for the next model when available though Verizon on a trade in… #shouldhaveboughtaGARMIN