Apple Watch Series 4 randomly disconnecting from charger?

[DDustiNN]

I upgraded from an original s0 watch to the new s4. I’m still using the same charging puck from the old watch, as I have it set up into a charging stand, and didn’t feel that it was necessary to go through the hassle of removing the old puck and putting the new one in, since it has always worked perfectly fine.

However, sometimes I am having my watch disconnect from the charger randomly at night, multiple times. I’ll just be laying in bed, and hear the subtle “ding” you hear when the charger connects. Then maybe 5-10 minutes later, I’ll hear it again. Annoyed, I take the watch off the stand and place it back on. This almost always solves the problem. However, it’s not consistent. It only happened maybe 2-3 times a week. But it has never, ever happened with my s0.

So there are a few things I’ve considered:

1. Has the charging puck changed at all since the series 0? I’m curious if maybe the shape has changed slightly, causing the old puck to not connect to the new watch as firmly as it normally would. Though it certainly feels like it’s a solid connection. It doesn’t feel like it’s sliding off or anything.

2. Is there perhaps an issue with watchOS 5? Similar to the iOS 12 charging issue? My s0 watch cannot upgrade to 5, so I have no basis for comparison.

3. Last resort, could it be a hardware issue?

Just curious if anyone has experienced this, or may have any answers to these questions.

Here’s the stand I use, just for reference:

 

[Beards]

I also use my S0 puck with my Series 4 watch and whilst I don’t get the issue you mention I have noticed the watch does not sit firmly in the puck like the Series 0 Watch does.
Where the Series 0 would sit firm, the Series 4 rotates on the puck.

I put this down to a slight difference in the design to the back of the Series 4 watch.

Maybe I should dig out the Puck that came with the Series 4 but I doubt Apple would have changed the design.

It could be because the Series 4 doesn’t sit as tight, the watch may be moving during the night.

 

[DDustiNN]

I also use my S0 puck with my Series 4 watch and whilst I don’t get the issue you mention I have noticed the watch does not sit firmly in the puck like the Series 0 Watch does.
Where the Series 0 would sit firm, the Series 4 rotates on the puck.

I put this down to a slight difference in the design to the back of the Series 4 watch.

Maybe I should dig out the Puck that came with the Series 4 but I doubt Apple would have changed the design.

It could be because the Series 4 doesn’t sit as tight, the watch may be moving during the night.

Yeah my s4 does rotate on the puck, but I feel like the s0 did as well. I dunno it doesn’t seem any looser than the s0 did, but maybe it is and I just never paid much attention before. I might have to dig mine out too, dismantle the stand, and compare them. I was just wondering if anyone already knew of any differences.

 

[DDustiNN]

I have compared the backs of the s0 and s4 watches, and they are definitely different. The s0 sensors are a much flatter dome, whereas the s4 is more prominent and sticks out a bit more. That would tell me that the charger is almost certainly different. But I’m not sure at what point that changed, as I haven’t had any of the other watches in between.

So looks like I’ll just redo my setup using the new charger. I’m sure that will fix it.

 

[chino-rican]

Seems to be a WatchOS 5.0.1 bug. See thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/5-0-1-bug-full-charge-alert.2145548/

 

[tromboneaholic]

Make sure the puck is not sitting too far back in the stand. If possible try to slide/push the puck forward a little bit to make sure the stand itself is not keeping the back of the watch from making a firm contact with the puck.