My 2 year old apple watch has suddenly started to drain the battery very quickly

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Level 1

28 points

My 2 year old apple watch has suddenly started to drain the battery very quickly

Up until 2 days ago my watch was behaving normally. I charge it in the evening and put it one when I go to bed. It is generally showing 100% charge or very close to it when I put it on.

Yesterday however it ran out of charge early in the afternoon and shut down. Today it shut down late morning. I had checked last night before putting it on and found it was fully charged.

I have checked and found that it is still covered by Apple Care (for the next month). I could take it to the Apple store this weekend. However, is there something I should try first? I would like to save 2 trips to the store if I can fix it first!

Apple Watch SE

Posted on Mar 22, 2023 09:59 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

javaliga

Level 10

120,167 points

Mar 23, 2023 10:02 AM in response to elliotau

If the battery drains too fast after an update, see all the replies to:

Battery Drain since watchos 7.4 - Apple Community

WatchOS 7.5 battery drain - Apple Community

FWIW, in some cases, unpairing the watch, completely erasing it, then pairing and restoring the backup will resolve the battery draining issue after an update. (Simply unpairing and pairing again may not work.)

Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Also, some people have found that simply waiting a few days after an update resolves the battery draining problem.

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Answer 2

elliotau Author

Level 1

28 points

Mar 26, 2023 03:13 AM in response to elliotau

This problem seemingly went away after I rebooted the watch. But I think the problem may actually have been caused by the watch being being away from the paired phone and out wifi network for much of day 2. I was out for about 8 hours that day and did not have my phone with me. So I the watch would I made made a 4G connection (it was is a cellular model). I understand this may have drained the battery although I did not actually use it much that day (except as w watch).

It doesn't explain why the issue also occurred the previous day, but this may have been a charging error. E.g. as described but JNoel45 or perhaps even not charging it long enough the night before.

Anyway, back to normal!

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Answer 3

JNoel54

Level 2

190 points

Mar 23, 2023 10:08 AM in response to elliotau

My Apple Watch occasionally drains quickly. I noticed that this happens when the charger doesn't fit exactly onto the back of the watch. I always check for the display that indicates it is charging before I go to bed.

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Answer 4

javaliga

Level 10

120,167 points

Mar 26, 2023 06:27 PM in response to elliotau

Your Apple Watch uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to communicate with your paired iPhone. If you have cellular, your watch can also stay connected through a cellular network. Your watch switches between these intelligently to choose the most power-efficient connection. Here's how:

Your Apple Watch uses Bluetooth when your iPhone is near, which conserves power.
If Bluetooth isn’t available, your Apple Watch will try to use Wi-Fi. For example, if compatible Wi-Fi is available and your iPhone isn't in Bluetooth range, your Apple Watch uses Wi-Fi.
If Bluetooth and Wi-Fi aren't available, and you set up a cellular plan, cellular models of Apple Watch can connect to cellular networks.

For more info, see:

About Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

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My 2 year old apple watch has suddenly started to drain the battery very quickly

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