Battery power draining quicker after latest update. Battery fully charged and after 7 hours is down to 23%. Battery Capacity is at 72%. No apps running. 1 day earlier I used the SwingU golf app on watch and battery drain to 0% after 4.5 hours. This was not a problem prior to update.
iPhone 15
Downgrading watchOS is only supported for a short time after the latest watchOS update.
First, try to force restart your iPhone and Apple Watch:
Force restart iPhone - Apple Support
To force restart your watch, press and hold the Digital Crown and the Side button together for about 10sec, until the Apple logo comes back again.
If this does not help, unpairing and connecting it again to your iPhone without using the latest backup would be the next step, to rule out defective data in the backup. You should only lose watch faces that you have set up, your Health data is stored in iCloud and will sync back.
Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support
Set up your Apple Watch - Apple Support
Downgrading watchOS is only supported for a short time after the latest watchOS update.
First, try to force restart your iPhone and Apple Watch:
Force restart iPhone - Apple Support
To force restart your watch, press and hold the Digital Crown and the Side button together for about 10sec, until the Apple logo comes back again.
If this does not help, unpairing and connecting it again to your iPhone without using the latest backup would be the next step, to rule out defective data in the backup. You should only lose watch faces that you have set up, your Health data is stored in iCloud and will sync back.
Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support
Set up your Apple Watch - Apple Support
In the evening I restart and restore watch from backup, charged to 99% at 9pm, now at 7am a have 78% (I sleep in watch). Now battery is ok, like before update to 26.0.2.
This answer is from Google AI.
An Apple Watch needs time to "index" during or after an update, a process that can take from several minutes to an hour. This is normal because the watch is processing data, which is a background task that completes on its own. You can speed up the update by turning off Bluetooth on your iPhone to force the watch to use Wi-Fi.
What "indexing" means
My watch battery life has returned to pre iOS upgrade, but it took about 4 days.
Try wipe and restore from backup
Did you already try to force restart your Apple Watch after the latest update?
To force restart your watch, press and hold the Digital Crown and the Side button together for about 10sec, until the Apple logo comes back again.
If this does not help, unpairing and pairing the Apple Watch again has helped other users.
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
Update - apparently doing Watch reboot has made an improvement. I’m now seeing about 3.5% drop per hour.
If the battery health drops below 80%, you should get the battery replaced. I had to recharge my old Series 5 twice a day when art reached 80%. After the replacement the battery life went back to normal.
Have a look at the related article and the estimate for the battery service:
If after rebooting both devices there is no change in the battery discharge rate consider the following:
Apple recommends that any watch whose battery health is below 80% get a new battery.
The cost is $99 for Series 4 or newer and $79 for older series watches. I was told that for some older watches rather than replace the battery they just replace the entire watch itself. I was told I would have to give up the watch for about 2 weeks. At the time I couldn't do it - am too tied to my iPhone/Watch and AirPods Pro. For someone in their 9th decade I'm acting like a teeny bopper. 🤭
Press the stem to get to the apps. Go to General ➙ Battery. Under Battery Health it will say either all is OK or get battery replaced. I'm below 80% so have gotten into the habit of putting my watch on a charging stand for about an hour while I'm at my desk in the afternoon. It works for me as I'm retired.
Hard restart doesn’t work for me, do restore.
My Watch (Series 8) has same issue - rapidly draining battery at least 3 days in a row, probably longer, and I’ve been trying to figure out why. WatchOS 26 or 26.0.2 seems to coincide with the issue. Today I measured and it’s draining at about 9% per hour. Battery health is good at 90%.
My old Series 5 had a battery health of 80% after almost 3 years of daily use and workout. At this point in time I had to charge the watch twice a day and I was glad as it finally reached 79% and I could get the battery replaced under Apple Care+, which is included in the extended warranty plan at no cost.
Apple replaced the whole unit, as far as I know, the always replace the whole watch, if you are paying the service fee for battery service. In most cases, those are refurbished watches and also have a new serial number.
Having the same issue after upgrading to 26.0.2. Pre-update, I would charge my AW8 to 95% around 06:00 everyday, and by 21:00 I would still have 30-40% battery life remaining. Now I am at 20% around 16:00. And that last 20% burns down real fast. Also, the rate of battery drain appears to increase each day. I tried the hard restart with no results. I have not tried a restore from backup.
Wow! That's a big change. I'd be calling Apple Support in your case. Good luck.
A few FB posts suggest waiting a few days as this is normal after updates. I will give it a go first. Yes I have seen the Apple support page regarding this problem. If things don't go back to normal, I will definitely get a new battery fitted as battery capacity has dropped to 72%. Thanks very much.
My Apple Watch Ultra (AWU2) used to have a battery life of approximately 2.5 days between charges before upgrading to watchOS 26.0.2. Its battery life has since decreased significantly, now lasting barely one day.
Apple watch battery draining quickly after iOS 26.0.2 Update.
