Apple Watch dies after every outdoor workout, regardless of battery charge or workout length

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Apple Watch dies after every outdoor workout, regardless of battery charge or workout length

Over the past two weeks my Apple Watch Series 5, watchOS 9 / 9.1 has consistently died every time I return home from an outdoor workout and end that workout. It seems to be related to the Apple Watch reconnecting to WiFi but is also Fitness-related, as this does not occur when I return home normally - i.e. without a workout involved. The watch battery starts close to 100% for every workout, and the length of the workout does not matter - I have had the same experience with 5K, 8K, and 16k runs. After a 7K run this morning, I checked battery life while 200 meters away from my house - it showed 87% left. When I walked onto the front terrace, it died and then gave me the Power Reserve message, showing suddenly only 10% battery life remaining.

I have restarted the watch, tried upgrading to the latest watchOS, and even changed the Fitness app I was using (from RunKeeper to Strava) to no avail. This is a particularly impactful bug, as my workouts, while saved on the Apple Watch, don't then sync to the third-party app, and I am unable to track progress, routes, etc.

Thoughts? Fixes? Anyone else encountering this?

Apple Watch Series 5

Posted on Nov 30, 2022 10:23 AM

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Answer 1

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mrnumbers Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 4, 2022 03:23 AM in response to Missy5937

Thanks for the tips. I am running iOS 16.1.1 on my iPhone, but it is typically nowhere closeby when I have these issues with the Watch.

I ran again today and used only the Apple Fitness onboard option. Same issue at the end of the run - the watch went into Power Reserve mode as soon as the workout was ended. No issues prior to ending the workout.

I did find one workaround this week: if I turn off WiFi before the run and only turn it back on after the watch has reconnected with the iPhone and been in the house for a while, I don’t have the issue.

I will try unpairing and repairing the watch today / tomorrow to see if that makes a difference.

Thanks.

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Answer 2

Missy5937

Community Specialist

Dec 2, 2022 02:04 PM in response to mrnumbers

Hello mrnumbers,

Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Communities. We're happy to look into this with you. Have you tested your watch to see if the same thing happens when using the Apple Workout app? If you haven't, you may want to give it try. This can help in isolating the issue to the watch itself, or 3rd party apps.

You mentioned that you've updated the watchOS, how about your connected iPhone? Is it running iOS 16.1.2? This is in Settings > General > About.

One action you might try, that we don't see listed, is to unpair and repair your watch and iPhone. The steps for this process are provided below:

Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support

How to unpair and erase your Apple Watch if you have your iPhone

1. Keep your Apple Watch and iPhone close together as you unpair them.

2. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.

3. Go to the My Watch tab and tap All Watches.

4. Tap the info button next to the watch that you want to unpair.

5. Tap Unpair Apple Watch.

6. Tap Unpair [your Apple Watch name].

7. For GPS + Cellular models, choose whether to keep or remove your cellular plan.

- If you want to pair your Apple Watch and iPhone again, keep your plan.

- If you don't want to pair your Apple Watch and iPhone again, remove your plan. If you aren't going to pair with a different watch or iPhone, you might need to contact your carrier to cancel your cellular subscription.

8. Type your Apple ID password to disable Activation Lock, then tap Unpair.

Before erasing all content and settings on your Apple Watch, your iPhone creates a new backup of your Apple Watch. You can use the backup to restore a new Apple Watch. After your Apple Watch unpairs, you'll see the Start Pairing message.

Now you can set up your Apple Watch again or turn it off if you're selling it or giving it away.

Hope this helps!

Best regards.

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Answer 3

LD150

Level 10

95,595 points

Jan 17, 2023 01:14 PM in response to glitter_titz

I work out for 30 minutes most days and have no problems like this.

I always carry the iPhone with the Watch but you should not need to.

As the Community Specialists said if the un-pair and set up (preferably as a new watch withoput backup restore) does not fix it then contact Apple Support directly

Before calling Apple Support directly check your battery for internal fault, unusual but possible.

How to check your Apple Watch battery fo… - Apple Community

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Answer 4

destiny241

Community Specialist

Dec 4, 2022 11:24 AM in response to mrnumbers

Hello mrnumbers,

We'd be interested in hearing back if unpairing and then pairing the Apple Watch solves this or not.

In case it doesn't, would you mind replying back to let us know the current battery capacity from the following location:

Go to the Settings app on your Apple Watch
Tap on Battery
Tap on Battery Health

What's the current Battery Health Capacity? If the battery is at 80% or less, it may require a replacement. Learn more here: Apple Watch Battery and Performance - Apple Support

Hoping to hear how it goes, take care.

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Answer 5

Jan 17, 2023 01:07 PM in response to destiny241

I am having the exact same issue. I tried every single work around mentioned above and I even did a factory reset and set it up as a new watch in case it picked up a bug. Nothing has worked.

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Apple Watch dies after every outdoor workout, regardless of battery charge or workout length

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