Apple Watch battery drain after update to 26.0.2

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Apple Watch battery drain after update to 26.0.2

Seems that battery drain issues have cropped up after previous AW software releases.

My Apple Watch 7 easily lasted 16-17 hours until I updated to 26.0.2. Suddenly it couldn't make it through 6 hours. Prior to the update the Battery Health indicator suggested battery was fine. Now, with nothing else changed (no setting changes) I get a "service recommended" indication.

I've tried a hard restart of the watch (and paired iPhone, but nothing seems to have changed.

Thoughts?

Apple Watch Series 7, watchOS 26

Posted on Oct 10, 2025 7:57 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 11, 2025 6:25 AM in response to BwanaD

If force restarting did not help, unpairing and pairing the Apple Watch again has helped other users in the past.

Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Also have a look at the posts in this discussion:

Apple Watch battery draining fast - Apple Community

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Answer 2

Oct 11, 2025 6:44 AM in response to BwanaD

If the battery health drops below 80%, the battery needs to be replaced by Apple, to get the original battery life back.

You can get an estimate for your model on this Apple Watch Service page:

Apple Watch Service and Repair - Apple Support

If you are willing to pay the service fee, Apple will replace the whole unit, not only the battery.

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Answer 3

Oct 11, 2025 12:36 AM in response to BwanaD

Same here. Also. Optimised charging limit seems broken. Watch does not seem to stop at 80% like it used to do. Always charges at 100%. Hoping that 26.1 fixes this.

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Apple Watch battery drain after update to 26.0.2

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