Severe Battery Drain on Apple Watch After Latest watchOS Update – Need Help!

Hardware
1

Hey everyone,

I am hoping someone here can help. Ever since I updated my Apple Watch to the latest watchOS version, the battery life has been terrible. It used to easily last the whole day sometimes even more but now it barely makes it through the afternoon. I have not changed my usage habits same apps, same settings but the drain is super noticeable. I have tried rebooting both the watch and my iphone, turned off background app refresh, and even disabled the always on display but nothing seems to make a big difference.

Has anyone else experienced this after the update? Is this a bug Apple plans to fix, or is there something else I should try? I am using an apple watch series 7, and my iphone is on the latest ios too.

Would really appreciate any tips or insight!

2

Visit a near-by Apple Store with an appointment with a Genius. They can test your watch. Alternatively, contact Apple Support.

I’m working with Apple Support, with a Genius Appointment this week, as with that same update I notice on my Series 9 Apple Watch with OS 11.4 (newest?) that if Wrist Detection is “ON”, Mail and Message notifications fail to reach watch. With Wrist Detection is “OFF”, these notifications work. I learned from Apple Support that others have reported this but resolution as of now not known, or if this is a true sighting of a bug or just coincidence. In any event, I hope my Apple Store visit next week moves resolution a bit closer.

3

What’s the battery health of your Apple Watch?

I also have a Series 7 and its battery health dropped under 80% not so long ago, so I’m going to let Apple replace it (out of warranty, on my costs).

Maybe yours is also getting a bit old?

4

Might want to try shutting off, waiting a minute or so, then turning back on. Otherwise, a visit to the Apple Store might be in order.

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5

Thanks so much for all the responses really appreciate everyone taking the time to help.

That is interesting about the Wrist Detection issue and notifications. I had not noticed that myself, but I will definitely check to see if toggling that setting has any effect on battery or notifications. Please do share how your Genius appointment goes would be helpful to know what they say.
I just checked, and my battery health is at 82%, so it’s getting close to that threshold too. I had not really considered that it might be the underlying issue, but now I am thinking a replacement could be on the horizon.

I have tried shutting the watch off for a minute before restarting, but no real change so far. I think you’re all right—it might be time to book an appointment and have Apple take a closer look. Hopefully it’s just a software glitch that they will address soon.

Thanks again, everyone.

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