Apple Watch Series 4 Fast Battery Draining

[Jay-Jacob]

I have Apple Watch Series 4. Obviously battery get worse over time but so far it been slow decline and I usually put on 7am morning and get about 35-40% battery life left by 10-11pm in evening and put on charge overnight. Tuesday this week I went out trip to London and battery drain quicker and it was 10% at 8pm so I thought it was one off cos I keep checking time for train/tube and make sure I arrive on time etc. Then yesterday I barely looked at my watch and it was 10% at 6pm! Lucky I closed all my rings etc before 6pm. Now I noticed today more careful look 9am battery already gone down 84% and now it 1:40pm and battery gone down to 51%.

I wasn't expecting sudden huge drop in battery life from Monday (all fine) then Tuesday and now continue today. I am hoping it not going be like this permanently. Sounds like I may need buy new Apple Watch but I was hoping to delay it next year since I need get new iPad and new iPhone. Going be very expensive year for me! I usually spread out buying Apple devices but Apple own fault not release iPad last year 🤣 (it would be spread out if they did!).

 

[jz0309]

I have Apple Watch Series 4. Obviously battery get worse over time but so far it been slow decline and I usually put on 7am morning and get about 35-40% battery life left by 10-11pm in evening and put on charge overnight. Tuesday this week I went out trip to London and battery drain quicker and it was 10% at 8pm so I thought it was one off cos I keep checking time for train/tube and make sure I arrive on time etc. Then yesterday I barely looked at my watch and it was 10% at 6pm! Lucky I closed all my rings etc before 6pm. Now I noticed today more careful look 9am battery already gone down 84% and now it 1:40pm and battery gone down to 51%.

I wasn't expecting sudden huge drop in battery life from Monday (all fine) then Tuesday and now continue today. I am hoping it not going be like this permanently. Sounds like I may need buy new Apple Watch but I was hoping to delay it next year since I need get new iPad and new iPhone. Going be very expensive year for me! I usually spread out buying Apple devices but Apple own fault not release iPad last year 🤣 (it would be spread out if they did!).

what is the battery health?

 

[Jay-Jacob]

what is the battery health?

Forgot can check this on Apple Watch. It says 85% battery health.

 

[JSRinUK]

I’ve had the 4 since launch and its battery has been getting steadily worse. How long it lasts on a particular day seems to be a random figure plucked out of nowhere. 😂 Battery health shows 75% maximum capacity.

These days I don’t take it off charge until I leave for work, and then I put it on power save mode to be sure it’s not going to die on me before I get home.

The other day I took it off charge in the morning, went for a 2hr run later, put it into power save mode when I’d finished, and it was touching 3% by bedtime. No way will it last a full marathon that I have planned in several months time.

If I’m just sitting around the house doing nothing, it’ll last the day without being on power save mode and still have some life left.

I’ve come to the conclusion that it needs to be replaced sooner rather than later. It’s had a good innings, and I’m wondering if a new SE is due to be released soon.

 

[Jay-Jacob]

I’ve had the 4 since launch and its battery has been getting steadily worse. How long it lasts on a particular day seems to be a random figure plucked out of nowhere. 😂 Battery health shows 75% maximum capacity.

These days I don’t take it off charge until I leave for work, and then I put it on power save mode to be sure it’s not going to die on me before I get home.

The other day I took it off charge in the morning, went for a 2hr run later, put it into power save mode when I’d finished, and it was touching 3% by bedtime. No way will it last a full marathon that I have planned in several months time.

If I’m just sitting around the house doing nothing, it’ll last the day without being on power save mode and still have some life left.

I’ve come to the conclusion that it needs to be replaced sooner rather than later. It’s had a good innings, and I’m wondering if a new SE is due to be released soon.

Sounds yours is worse than mine so I been lucky it been okay before this week Tuesday with big sudden drop. At least I know it normal after all then. Looks like I do need replace it sooner than later. Oh well.

 

[Shirasaki]

watchOS 10 ruined it. I can clearly tell. I can’t even let it Last a full 8 hour day without recharging in between. In the end I just resort to permanently enable airplane mode to save power, defeating the entire purpose of using a cellular watch.

 

[Grayburn]

watchOS 10 ruined it. I can clearly tell. I can’t even let it Last a full 8 hour day without recharging in between. In the end I just resort to permanently enable airplane mode to save power, defeating the entire purpose of using a cellular watch.

How can you clearly tell that either of the above watch users are on Watch os10?

Also why not just turn off mobile service until you need it instead of using airplane mode permanently?

 

[Jay-Jacob]

I am on watchOS 10 but it didn't ruin my battery life until Tuesday. It been fine so far so I don't think watchOS 10 is cause this time.

 

[JSRinUK]

I am on watch OS 10, but the decline was pretty consistent even before that. I don’t think I can place the blame fully on the OS. It’s more to do with how old it is, I feel.

 

[Jay-Jacob]

Question: Does Airplane mode affect tracking steps, movement, and stand? If it doesn't then I can use that when battery gets low.

 

[jz0309]

Question: Does Airplane mode affect tracking steps, movement, and stand? If it doesn't then I can use that when battery gets low.

It should not, turns off wifi and not BT if I remember correct… steps etc are measured by the gyroscope so shouldn’t be affected (low power mode might).
I kinda think that your battery is at its end, if you’re near an Apple store you can have them run diagnostics and that would tell you more than the health you read in the watch

 

[Rychiar]

My series 5 was dying by the evening this past fall so i sold it and bought a series 9

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Unfortunately, battery life quite often will deteriorate slowly and gradually, but then suddenly will take a big dip out of nowhere.

I'm not to say if it's watchOS 10 or just your battery. But having any device with as small a battery as the ones found in Apple Watches last fairly well some 5-6 years is quite good and around what I'd expect.

You'll have to get a new one or get the battery replaced out of warranty for $99.

If you do buy a new model, I wouldn't recommend any Apple Watch older than Series 7. And the newest Watch SE is, in my opinion, also a bad deal as you're not getting fast-charging which is a total game-changer.

My "hot take" is that Series 10 will be a major upgrade and leave 7, 8 and 9 looking like the "old" generation.

So I'd either hold on to that Series 4 or have the battery replaced for $99 and use it for six more months until Series 10 drops.

 

[LMC91]

Hi, I know this is the usual IT type response, but did you try powering off and restarting your watch? I do it every so often because I experience ghost touches.

I'm on Series 4 as well, with 78% battery health. I was scared to update to WatchOS 10 but was forced with iOS 17.4 last week, thankfully my battery appears to be mostly the same as OS 9, haven't noticed anything significant. Though in the past year I charge every night now rather than every other night.

I suppose as well you could try repair the Apple Watch, which will wipe it but resync everything back on.

 

[Jay-Jacob]

Unfortunately, battery life quite often will deteriorate slowly and gradually, but then suddenly will take a big dip out of nowhere.

I'm not to say if it's watchOS 10 or just your battery. But having any device with as small a battery as the ones found in Apple Watches last fairly well some 5-6 years is quite good and around what I'd expect.

You'll have to get a new one or get the battery replaced out of warranty for $99.

If you do buy a new model, I wouldn't recommend any Apple Watch older than Series 7. And the newest Watch SE is, in my opinion, also a bad deal as you're not getting fast-charging which is a total game-changer.

My "hot take" is that Series 10 will be a major upgrade and leave 7, 8 and 9 looking like the "old" generation.

So I'd either hold on to that Series 4 or have the battery replaced for $99 and use it for six more months until Series 10 drops.

Yeah I agree with you, I had slow decline then now sudden drop. So I think until new Series 10 released I will put my watch on Airplane mode except when I am exercising just to make sure data get synced over to iPhone and try get it last 12 hours in day to close all rings. Just need hold out until September.

 

[Jay-Jacob]

Hi, I know this is the usual IT type response, but did you try powering off and restarting your watch? I do it every so often because I experience ghost touches.

I'm on Series 4 as well, with 78% battery health. I was scared to update to WatchOS 10 but was forced with iOS 17.4 last week, thankfully my battery appears to be mostly the same as OS 9, haven't noticed anything significant. Though in the past year I charge every night now rather than every other night.

I suppose as well you could try repair the Apple Watch, which will wipe it but resync everything back on.

I did try that (switch on and off), that is my default thing to do. No difference this time.

 

[Collage]

Depending upon how much I use my watch during the day, my series 4 is around 30-40% at 6 pm.

Overnight my watch updated to 10.4

I didn't look at the battery level before I went to take a 30 minute walk at 2 pm. I always listen to music while I walk, but my watch shut down less than 5 minutes into my walk. Eventually I was able to get the screen to come up and it said low battery - 10%! I have never had this issue before. I'm thinking it's the darn update.

 

[dwaltwhit]

I have a launch day series 4. I make it through the day most days without going to low power mode. That said, by september of this year, I'll be ready for a new one. I think 6 years with a watch is pretty fair.

 

[Jay-Jacob]

I have a launch day series 4. I make it through the day most days without going to low power mode. That said, by september of this year, I'll be ready for a new one. I think 6 years with a watch is pretty fair.

Me too but now I will now need use airplane mode or low power mode. 6 years is pretty good for something so small and battery.

 

[JSRinUK]

If I’m just sitting around the house doing nothing, it’ll last the day without being on power save mode and still have some life left.

The other day I took it off charge in the morning, went for a 2hr run later, put it into power save mode when I’d finished, and it was touching 3% by bedtime.

I’m just adding some data to my previous post, because I don’t often have days when I stay home. Today I did, so I’ve had my watch on “regular” mode (not power save mode) and haven’t done anything with it other than treat it as a watch with notifications.

About 13 hours later, the battery still has 55% left. I add this info for comparison to the above.

 

[JSRinUK]

If you do buy a new model, I wouldn't recommend any Apple Watch older than Series 7. And the newest Watch SE is, in my opinion, also a bad deal as you're not getting fast-charging which is a total game-changer.

My "hot take" is that Series 10 will be a major upgrade and leave 7, 8 and 9 looking like the "old" generation.

That‘s useful info, thanks. I’m currently on the fence of whether to replace my s4 now or to wait longer.

 

[jazzzyJeff]

I’m just adding some data to my previous post, because I don’t often have days when I stay home. Today I did, so I’ve had my watch on “regular” mode (not power save mode) and haven’t done anything with it other than treat it as a watch with notifications.

About 13 hours later, the battery still has 55% left. I add this info for comparison to the above.

Doesn't mean you're gonna end up with 26hrs on a full charge. Drains faster below 30% so it could be more like 18hrs tops.

 

[LMC91]

I did try that (switch on and off), that is my default thing to do. No difference this time.

Ah, shame. Sorry, I made myself unclear with my other comment, I said about a ‘repair’ to the watch, which sounded like I meant a physical repair, I actually meant ‘unpair’ the Watch, and then pair it back again, which I believe you do from your iPhone. I’ve heard that fix issues in the past, but no guarantees of course. Hope you see improvements either way.

 

[JapanApple]

My Apple watch 4 was 87 up to 6 months ago. now it's 81

 

[JSRinUK]

Doesn't mean you're gonna end up with 26hrs on a full charge. Drains faster below 30% so it could be more like 18hrs tops.

Yeah I get that. I’m just adding info. When I did a 2hr run, the watch was practically dead by bedtime despite using power save mode for the rest of the day; but, when I don’t do anything, it was apparently only half drained by bedtime.

In my mind, the battery’s had it. It’s going to be replaced this year - I’m just glad it‘s still going, even if I do have to nursemaid it until I decide on its replacement.