If the battery in your Apple Watch drains too quickly
Apple Watch battery life is a combination of many factors, including the age of your watch and how you use it. Find out what to do if you think your Apple Watch battery is draining quickly.
Help your Apple Watch stay charged longer
Help your Apple Watch stay charged longer
Try these tips to get the most life out of your Apple Watch each time you charge it.
Keep your Apple Watch near your iPhone
You can use your Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby for many things, such as tracking workouts and activity goals. But your Apple Watch is most efficient when it has a Bluetooth connection to the iPhone that it’s paired with – so when battery life is a priority, keep your watch and iPhone within range of each other.
Use Wi-Fi when you’re away from your iPhone
When your iPhone isn’t nearby, your Apple Watch can connect to Wi-Fi, or mobile data if your watch supports it. Wi-Fi uses less battery power than mobile networks, so use Wi-Fi when you can.
Your Apple Watch connects automatically to Wi-Fi networks that your iPhone has connected to before. You can join another network on your Apple Watch by going to Settings > Wi-Fi, then choosing a Wi-Fi network.
Connect to a network with a strong signal, or use Airplane Mode
Wi-Fi and mobile connections use less battery power in places with strong signal strength. To save battery life when you’re away from your iPhone, try to use a Wi-Fi network with a strong signal or connect to mobile data in an area with good coverage.
To check your signal strength, press your watch’s side button to open Control Centre. At the top of your watch’s display, look for a small blue Wi-Fi icon
or a green mobile icon
, depending on how you’re connected. The icons use bars to indicate Wi-Fi or mobile signal strength, similar to your iPhone.
If you know you’ll be in an area with weak Wi-Fi signals or no mobile coverage for some time, turn on Airplane Mode to save battery.
Turn on Low Power Mode
You can extend the battery life of your Apple Watch by turning on Low Power Mode.
Press the side button to open Control Centre.
Tap the battery percentage button.
Turn on Low Power Mode.
When Low Power Mode is on, some settings and features turn off or happen less frequently. Low Power Mode will turn off automatically when your Apple Watch charges above 80 per cent.
Turn off the Always On display feature
Turning on Low Power Mode will also disable the Apple Watch display’s Always On feature. You can also choose to keep Low Battery Mode turned off and only disable Always On:
Open the Settings app on your watch.
Tap Display & Brightness.
Scroll down, then tap Always On.
Tap Always On to turn off the feature.
Turn off battery optimisation features temporarily
With Optimised Battery Charging, your Apple Watch learns from your daily charging habits to improve the lifespan of your battery. And supported Apple Watch models offer additional battery charge optimisations with Optimised Charge Limit.
These features help maintain your battery’s maximum capacity over its lifespan. During times when it’s important to make your watch last as long as possible between charges, you can turn the features off:
Open the Settings app on your watch.
Scroll down, then tap Battery.
Tap Battery Health.
Turn off Optimised Battery Charging or Optimised Charge Limit.
Choose Turn Off Until Tomorrow or Turn Off.
Turning off Optimised Charge Limit can increase wear on your battery and reduce its lifespan. On Apple Watch SE, Series 6, Series 7 and Series 8, turning off Optimised Battery Charging also turns off Optimised Charge Limit.
Preserve even more battery life during workouts
When you do an outdoor walking, running or hiking workout with the Workout app, you can have your Apple Watch take fewer GPS and heart rate readings. This adjustment can extend your battery’s use during long workouts.
Open the Settings app on your watch.
Scroll down, then tap Workout.
Tap Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings.
Now your watch will automatically take fewer GPS and heart rate readings when Low Power Mode is active and you begin an outdoor walking, running or hiking workout in the Workout app.
This feature is available with watchOS 9.1 and later on Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), Apple Watch Series 8 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra and later.
Use AirPods or other headphones for audio
Newer Apple Watch models allow audio playback through the built-in speaker. This can drain the battery more quickly, so for the best battery efficiency, listen to audio from your Apple Watch via AirPods or another Bluetooth audio device.
If Apple Watch battery life is less than expected after an update
Even though you can use your Apple Watch immediately after you’ve updated watchOS, certain tasks related to the update will continue in the background and may affect battery life.
If you notice that battery life has decreased after updating your Apple Watch, wait a few days and then check again.
Check your Apple Watch battery health
How long your Apple Watch stays charged depends on your use of the watch’s features and the battery’s capacity. Apple Watch batteries, like all rechargeable batteries, have limited lifespan and may need to be replaced eventually.
You can check your watch’s battery capacity:
Open the Settings app on your watch.
Tap Battery, then tap Battery Health.
Scroll down to Maximum Capacity. The percentage shown is a measure of your battery’s capacity relative to when it was new.
Get your Apple Watch battery serviced
If you see a message in Battery Health that says Battery Needs Service, or if you think your battery needs replacement, contact Apple Support.