watchOS 26 Drastically Draining Battery

Tried the reset and then set up as a new Watch when I upgraded to a new iPhone 17 Pro. The rapid training started after the re-pairing.

Something shady is up with Apple. I went to the Genius Bar and they looked at it and they said I need a new battery. I have a Series 7, so probably not wrong--but also easy to say. Like others have mentioned, it was lasting most of the day before I updated to WatchOS 26 Beta. Now it lasts 2 hours max.

Same here. AWU 2. 99% battery health and the battery is poor. I did unpair it once last week and reset it. But that did not make any difference. A hard reset crown and side button did improve a bit. But went for a run earlier. And it went down 25% Bluetooth headphones on. Before the watch would last three days with a couple of workouts. 1 hour runs.

@brownjive

If you installed a watchOS Beta, this is most likely the reason for the battery drain.

Chiming in to mention that WatchOS 26 has had a very negative impact on battery life for my Series 8. Usually I'm around 40% when I put it on the charger at night. Twice since the update my watch is dead by the end of the day. Clearly WatchOS is the reason.

I'm rocking a series 8 and my battery has gone from about 15 hours to about 8. My watch is at like 65% when I get to work. I've taken it off and charged it over lunch and still had it die before bed. I've disabled always on. I didn't have that setup on the previous watch OS version (was it an option?) so I don't consider disabling that a huge downgrade by any means.

I'm going to try re-pairing it, like some have suggested but this is ridiculous.

I have a series 4 that was running all day before I needed a recharge. I got a new iPhone 17 Pro, removed the watch and reset it to factory, then paired it again. Now the watch battery only lasts for about five hours. My wife’s series 4 also started draining fast after she updated to an iPhone 17 Pro. It can’t be a coincidence that both watches suddenly need new batteries after an iPhone update.

P.S. We both had iPhones 14’s prior to this issue. I had updated mine to iOS 26 and there was no issue with the Watch until I replaced the iPhone.

I spent almost an hour with Apple support last week on this issue with no resolution and no follow-up. Have similar issues to you. Other than using the podcasts and workout apps for about an hour 4-5 days a week the watch just keeps time with the occasional alert. Before 26 a charge would last for up to 28 hours. Now, on workout days I have to charge the watch twice, in the morning and evening.

[Edited by Moderator]

I have the Series 7 and recently had the battery replaced, so it’s at around 95% capacity. Prior to ios26 I was getting a good day and night before charging. I charge it when I wake up in the morning. Now I cannot get to bedtime without needing to charge. I’ve had ios26 installed for 4 days now so I assume the watch will have stabilized.

Kind of disappointed and I feel that Apple are nudging me to upgrade when it should not be necessary.

I had an SE2. Figured I needed a new battery, but using trade-in credit brought the SE3 down to almost $100, basically the cost of a new battery. So I opted for the SE3. My battery life is awful. The charge is pretty rapidly draining. I just bought it this morning.

Have an SE (2nd gen). A good buy from Costco. Would hate to have it go to waste because of a battery. Will try the unpairing fix. Just wanted to jump in to add myself to the list of those with issues.

I am facing same issue with my watch9. Infarct now at full charge it’s lasting only couple of hours, whereas earlier it used to last a whole day. I tied all stuff from reset to unpair etc but of no use. I Hope apple release an update patch soon as this has made my watch practically not usable.

Thought I’d chime in as well. I have an OG Ultra 1. Before watch OS 26 I was able to charge every other night (of course some variation depending on activity level). And on average the watch would be about 20% when I’d charge it. It’s still not terrible, however I’m finding it dies before I can make it to that second night, at around 9pm.

Of course I could change to a “charge every night” schedule. But the point is I’m annoyed my watch has lost about 25% capacity from an update that hasn’t really provided me any benefits.

Honestly, nothing works. I think it is shady that Apple won't admit the problem. I spent over three hours in all with different customer service people trying to fix this. No one admits it is an issue caused by the update. They all just try to get me to replace my battery.

I got so frustrated I am trying out the AmazeFit bip 6. It has a lot of great features and 10 day battery life! Going well so far!