Series 4 battery drain is rife

amzi160586

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Hi all

So I have an Apple Watch Series 4 - 87% battery health and I’m noticing that the battery drain is like 7% per half hour - anyone have any insight on this. Currently on watch OS 8.6 and I’ve noted it’s getting worse each and every update Apple pushes out.

Surely the watch cannot be at the end of life this quick -
 

ksassy

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I have a Series 5 and my battery health is at 89%. My battery life is okay but it’s not horrible either. I’ve noticed that the software updates for WatchOS 8 have done very little to improve battery life for me. If you’re noticing abnormal battery drain try a reboot especially after a recent software update as that usually clears it up. Whenever I update my Apple Watch I always notice higher battery drain initially so I force a reboot 1-2x to help it settle down. Hope your battery drain gets resolved.
 

tcuprof

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Something is definitely amiss. KSASSY's advice is exactly where I would start.


And no, the watch is definitely not at the end of life this quick.
 

pr1nce

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I have a Series 5, battery health is 86%. My battery life has been good through all the watchOS updates.

I agree with the above suggestions.
 

amzi160586

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I have a Series 5 and my battery health is at 89%. My battery life is okay but it’s not horrible either. I’ve noticed that the software updates for WatchOS 8 have done very little to improve battery life for me. If you’re noticing abnormal battery drain try a reboot especially after a recent software update as that usually clears it up. Whenever I update my Apple Watch I always notice higher battery drain initially so I force a reboot 1-2x to help it settle down. Hope your battery drain gets resolved.

Thanks a lot all for the replies and advice - I have just forced rebooted the device - currently sitting at 63% battery level as I write (08:50 BST) this and I will see where it lands at mid day 🤞🏽
 

amzi160586

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As an update -

I put the watch on charge to get it to 100% and took it off at 10.45BST.

Since the hard reset, and now (13:35BST) I’ve lost 2% (which seems a lot more in line with expected behaviour given battery health at 87%).

However, the real test will now be when tracking activities (which will happen later this evening) - so will revert with an update.

Thanks for the hard rest advice
 

amzi160586

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I think you can just replace the battery, and if I read it correctly, it would cost: £82.44 if it's out of service. If it's still in service, it would cost £0.

Source: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/watch/repair/service/pricing

I'm not sure how correct this is - the advisors I have spoken to have explained that the battery is not changeable as the unit is sealed in nature - so they would have to charge £ 366.44 for a replacement - definitely misleading, but at £ 366.44 is definitely not worth it.
 

Annie_M

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I'm not sure how correct this is - the advisors I have spoken to have explained that the battery is not changeable as the unit is sealed in nature - so they would have to charge £ 366.44 for a replacement - definitely misleading, but at £ 366.44 is definitely not worth it.

Interesting. I got that from Apple's website, so it would be terrible if it was incorrect!
 

amzi160586

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Interesting. I got that from Apple's website, so it would be terrible if it was incorrect!

I know right, I just spoke to another advisor now, who is claiming the battery is changeable - but I just don't understand how, because it is not the norm for Apple to crack open a device that is fully sealed (and the Apple Watch Series 4) is a closed unit - then again, I could be wrong now that I have differing version for three advisors.

I'll take it in and see what they say.
 

Annie_M

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I know right, I just spoke to another advisor now, who is claiming the battery is changeable - but I just don't understand how, because it is not the norm for Apple to crack open a device that is fully sealed (and the Apple Watch Series 4) is a closed unit - then again, I could be wrong now that I have differing version for three advisors.

I'll take it in and see what they say.

Please let us know how it goes for you (and your Watch)!
 

amzi160586

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Please let us know how it goes for you (and your Watch)!

Update:

Took the watch into Apple and they said that given the battery health is at 87% they would not recommend a battery replacement.

I have been monitoring the performance after the advised hard reset and it seems that having charged the watch yesterday evening to 100% @ 18.25, I have woken up 08.10 to the battery @ 64%. So a total loss of 36% over the course of the evening and night with no activities being tracked and just on my wrist during sleep.

What do you all think? Acceptable behaviour?
 

doogald

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Update:

Took the watch into Apple and they said that given the battery health is at 87% they would not recommend a battery replacement.

I have been monitoring the performance after the advised hard reset and it seems that having charged the watch yesterday evening to 100% @ 18.25, I have woken up 08.10 to the battery @ 64%. So a total loss of 36% over the course of the evening and night with no activities being tracked and just on my wrist during sleep.

What do you all think? Acceptable behaviour?

That sounds close to mine. I always charge my watch an hour before I go to bed and usually wake after putting it on my wrist about 7-8 hours later with about 85% battery left. My watch (S5) battery health is 86% at the moment.

I workout in the morning, charge while I eat breakfast and shower, charge again (as I said) an hour before bed, and I always get through the day just fine. Most days my watch is at about 50% to 60% at 10 pm when I charge before going to bed.
 

amzi160586

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A further update -

Watch fully charged to 100% as of 09.38.

It’s currently 13.21 and the battery is sitting at 84%.

Since taking it off charge, I have completed the following:

1) tracked a 3km outdoor walk
2) tracked a 14 minute cool down session
3) tracked a 65 minute weights session

So I think a 16% battery drain given over a four hour period and the level of activity tracked is ok.

I believe the hard reset had done the trick
 

Annie_M

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A further update -

Watch fully charged to 100% as of 09.38.

It’s currently 13.21 and the battery is sitting at 84%.

Since taking it off charge, I have completed the following:

1) tracked a 3km outdoor walk
2) tracked a 14 minute cool down session
3) tracked a 65 minute weights session

So I think a 16% battery drain given over a four hour period and the level of activity tracked is ok.

I believe the hard reset had done the trick

Glad to hear!
 

Annie_M

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Mar 2, 2016
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A further update -

Watch fully charged to 100% as of 09.38.

It’s currently 13.21 and the battery is sitting at 84%.

Since taking it off charge, I have completed the following:

1) tracked a 3km outdoor walk
2) tracked a 14 minute cool down session
3) tracked a 65 minute weights session

So I think a 16% battery drain given over a four hour period and the level of activity tracked is ok.

I believe the hard reset had done the trick

Glad to hear!
 

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