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Apple watch series 10 not charging

Hi I recently purchased the series 10 watch and everything good until the last few days where it refuses to charge. I have tried the old cable that I had with the series 6 (which still works - I have tested it), tried the new cable that came with the watch, tried soft and hard re boot. When i do this it works for about 1 minute then stops charging again. Is there anything I have missed or is it a faulty watch?



Apple Watch Series 10, watchOS 11

Posted on Sep 29, 2024 6:01 AM

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Posted on Dec 7, 2024 5:19 PM

Mystery solved. It had nothing to do with the cable or charger. Unlike my old watch, THIS watch supports optimized charging. So it was not charging (even though showing the charging icon) because of its optimization algorithm. So not a bug, just a "feature" of which I was unaware.

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Dec 7, 2024 5:19 PM in response to Eoin_C

Mystery solved. It had nothing to do with the cable or charger. Unlike my old watch, THIS watch supports optimized charging. So it was not charging (even though showing the charging icon) because of its optimization algorithm. So not a bug, just a "feature" of which I was unaware.

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Nov 24, 2024 6:25 AM in response to Ingo2711

It's a new puck (the one that came with the watch) and two different chargers. The only common item is the watch itself.


Again, charging should not be this difficult. The (this) puck plugs into a USB-C port on the charger. USB-C is a standard, meaning basic functionality is guaranteed if the standard is properly followed. The prior puck and charger were USB-A but the same statement applies. So Apple has either improperly implemented the USB standards in both their USB-A and USB-C pucks, or there is a hw or sw bug in the watch. Given that I've never had a charging problem in any of my prior Apple watches, that can only mean the problem is in the Apple Watch 10. And this is supported by the fact that other people with 10s who are no doubt using a variety of chargers are experiencing problems as well. The watch itself is the common denominator

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Nov 7, 2024 6:42 AM in response to Crazydragon1976

I've only had my 10 for 3 days. This morning when I put it on my charger (same cable I'd been using with my 5) it appeared to start charging. 1.5 hours later it was not charging and I could not get it to resume until I rebooted it. It charged for the next 20 minutes but then I had to leave for work.

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Dec 30, 2024 1:35 PM in response to Philjr1

As I noted in another post in this thread, it turns out this isn't actually a bug, it's a poorly advertised feature. The new watches are doing optimized charging to prevent battery degradation. Sometimes it limits charging to 80%. If you feel the need, you can turn it off on the watch by going to settings->battery->battery health.

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Nov 24, 2024 6:46 AM in response to Eoin_C

Older Apple Watches did not support Quick Charging, like the Series 10 does. Even the Ultra 2 needs more time to charge up to 80%.

So if your adapter can not handle the power management needed, your Series 10 can not charge correctly.

And Apple charging cables and batteries are equipped with electronic parts that help to control the charging process.


If you think charging your watch is an Apple Watch hardware issue, contact the official Apple Support or visit an Authorized Apple Service Provider/Apple Store, to get it diagnosed.

Apple - Find Locations

Apple Watch Service and Repair - Apple Support



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Nov 7, 2024 4:36 PM in response to Ingo2711

I just checked -- I'm using a 3rd-party 20w adapter. And I would not expect it to completely fail on a lower-wattage adapter (even if that were what I was using.) Good design would be that it would charge more slowly but charge nonetheless. The watch is not a high-power device.


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Nov 24, 2024 7:30 AM in response to Ingo2711

Even if some combination of chargers and cables don't support Quick Charging, the Watch 10 should not require it. That would be a horrible design decision. If the supposed combo of charger and cable doesn't support Quick Charging, the watch should still charge, just not as quickly. It should not behave as mine has done twice now, which is fail to charge altogether, or even discharge all the while showing the charging icon. The watch is not a high-power device. It should not require a high-power charger and extra "features" just to charge normally.


If my watch continues to behave as it is doing I will definitely be taking it in for warranty service.

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Dec 8, 2024 6:29 AM in response to Ingo2711

Your watch should notify you that it will be charging fully at a certain time

It does -- poorly. The green circle doesn't close, but it's only on the screen for a moment and if you don't know to look for it you won't notice it (I didn't). As far as the "tap the watch to show the charging screen" -- that's just wrong. It brings up the login screen, not the charging screen.


Overall I'd rate this a very poor implementation. But I least I understand now what's going on. Now I need to decide if it annoys me enough that I turn it off. My schedule is very irregular and I question if the optimization algorithm will help or just be inconvenient.

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Dec 8, 2024 7:59 AM in response to Eoin_C

I did disabled the "Optimized Charge Limit" option in my settings, so my watch will always charge fully, if needed.

Since I'm using the Apple Watch Ultra 2, charging is needed not every day. As I wear the watch also at night, I want it to charge as fast as possible up to 100%.

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Apple watch series 10 not charging

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