Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Watch Owners Complain of Battery Life Issues With Both Series 5 and Older Models With watchOS 6
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Ok, my battery life is 12 hours, at best, this is my second watch. Apple claims 18, so I am comparing my battery life to that of what Apple suggests and I am not getting those numbers.
I do two 3 mile walks each week day during, running the Outdoor walk workout for 45 minutes each time. I wake up at 5.30am, finish the day around 10pm.
Have the watch on all day, using it to also monitor phone alerts and occasional to check the time !!!
On the first day I had always on selected and just made it to the end of the day, around 5% battery left.
I then switch off always on and raise to wake and the battery has lasted 2 days, watch on over night, it is 7pm and I have 5% left. My series 3 would do about the same when new, now it is 2 years old it gets to the end of the first day with around 20% left.
On the weekend I do a 7 hour hike, running Hike workout, haven't even bothered using always on for that, no way it will last the day !
Happy with the upgrade from 3 to 5, was skeptical about the always on feature.
Have the watch on all day, using it to also monitor phone alerts and occasional to check the time !!!
On the first day I had always on selected and just made it to the end of the day, around 5% battery left.
I then switch off always on and raise to wake and the battery has lasted 2 days, watch on over night, it is 7pm and I have 5% left. My series 3 would do about the same when new, now it is 2 years old it gets to the end of the first day with around 20% left.
On the weekend I do a 7 hour hike, running Hike workout, haven't even bothered using always on for that, no way it will last the day !
Happy with the upgrade from 3 to 5, was skeptical about the always on feature.
How accommodating were they to extending the return window? I ordered online for in-store pickup, wondering if they could do the same.
i totally get the health benefits & convenience of the apple watch. Definitely some very cool tech. I just haven’t added it to my quiver of iOS devices yet. Right now the iphone & ipad do all i need. Perhaps some day down the road. Maybe when it gets a camera. That would be very James Bond/ Dick Tracy. I was never a watch wearer. And i know many people just wear traditional watches now for fashion. So in that sense the apple watch is a much more useful device as well as a fashion statement, so i get it.
I've come from a Series 2 to a Series 5 and I have definitely noticed a problem. I'm now at 46% after a day of general usage and no workouts whereas my S2 would be closer to 60-70%. I have a half marathon in a few weeks so I think I'll turn off the AOD just in case.
[automerge]1570040485[/automerge]
[automerge]1570040485[/automerge]
This device has changed me from being someone who couldn't run a mile to doing half marathons comfortably. Each day it helps me be more active and healthier. So much more than a fashion statement and easily the best Apple device I own.
I have only had a watch 4 and got watch 5 cuz I have a lot of times I have stuff I'm holding and can't see the time. I do not want 3 sources of EMF pollution, so I turn off Wifi and I don't get the LTE model. I only use BT cuz it is the least amount of EMF pollution.
My AOD and only BT radio results in the same battery life as the Watch 4 I had. Maybe there is a connection?
My AOD and only BT radio results in the same battery life as the Watch 4 I had. Maybe there is a connection?
No... I did not say that at all.
Two users were asking why someone was complaining about 20 hour battery life. I answered their question with info from the article and Apple’s website.
I am not extrapolating this to all Apple watches. I didn’t make any claims as to why the person was getting bad battery life. I didn’t blame apple for it. For all I know, the person’s watch might just be defective.
They just asked why this one person was complaining, so I explained why this one person was complaining. That’s it.
Yes, this is a thing... I used to work at Apple and a lot of staff would not install odd numbered OS'. Never thought of applying that to hardware except for year 1.
S5 with LTE and everything turned on. First 2-3 days battery life was pretty ****** but after that it drastically improved and is completely fine now. Even on days with 1 h workouts an 1.5h on LTE i’ll typically end the day with >40% after 16-18 hrs off the charger.
Today I’m at 65% after 14 hrs with no workout and no time on LTE. This definitely suggests that AOD isn’t a problem at all.
Long story short. It’s been fine for me.
My S3 (without LTE) battery life went to **** after updating to watchOS 6.
Today I’m at 65% after 14 hrs with no workout and no time on LTE. This definitely suggests that AOD isn’t a problem at all.
Long story short. It’s been fine for me.
My S3 (without LTE) battery life went to **** after updating to watchOS 6.
Last edited:
Thought I was crazy. Same experience. Watch got better after upgrading my phone to later iOS 13 Beta.
Series 4 cellular, theater mode always on, cellular off, no email notification at all, and I can’t even go 2 days anymore. I’m at 11-30% remaining after a day.
although, I did not upgrade my watch right away - my battery woes started with ios13.1 (skipped 13.0) and have gotten slightly worse since then upgrading the watch a week later.
something has changed for sure!
although, I did not upgrade my watch right away - my battery woes started with ios13.1 (skipped 13.0) and have gotten slightly worse since then upgrading the watch a week later.
something has changed for sure!
My Series 5 with always-on turned on seems to be about the same as my Series 4. No complaints from me. I charge every night so if I can get through the whole day then I am good.
Anyone else have this issue:
Most of the time, fantastic battery life, for me, with a daily workout and use, end the day with about 50-60%. Then there’s days that, even on a rest day, no tracking, the watch seems to nuke itself, powers off, restarts with the “charging coil” like it needs to be charged, then restarts to have 10% battery. I’ll charge it again, then it‘s fine until it randomly happens again.
This exact thing happened during a 10k about a week ago, got to about 1/2 mile left, music cuts out, and look down to see the charging coil image, then it restarts twice, and I have 10% left. Completely random. I have done multiple 10K’s (and a half) while tracking without iPhone, with LTE on, and music playing that is locally stored, and it has been fine.
This is a 44MM Series 4, LTE, updated to 6.0.1, but it has done it on both 6 and the last version of WatchOS 5.
Most of the time, fantastic battery life, for me, with a daily workout and use, end the day with about 50-60%. Then there’s days that, even on a rest day, no tracking, the watch seems to nuke itself, powers off, restarts with the “charging coil” like it needs to be charged, then restarts to have 10% battery. I’ll charge it again, then it‘s fine until it randomly happens again.
This exact thing happened during a 10k about a week ago, got to about 1/2 mile left, music cuts out, and look down to see the charging coil image, then it restarts twice, and I have 10% left. Completely random. I have done multiple 10K’s (and a half) while tracking without iPhone, with LTE on, and music playing that is locally stored, and it has been fine.
This is a 44MM Series 4, LTE, updated to 6.0.1, but it has done it on both 6 and the last version of WatchOS 5.
I stand corrected... in your case, at a minimum. 😁 But I have seen an awful lot of "I'm losing 5% an hour" or "I've only had it on 12 hours and I'm down to 40%" sorts of complaints.
Don't get me wrong - I do hope Apple quickly tunes iOS 6 so we get much better battery life. I'd prefer to get my old results of 1.5-2 days on a charge (from my Series 1!), if only because more cushion is always better. But my Series 5 exceeded Apple's claimed 18 hours right out of the gate... by a small amount, at least.