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BeatCrazy

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jul 20, 2011
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Got my 45mm Apple Watch S7 in Nov '21. This is probably my 4th Apple Watch, so I'm familiar with battery degradation.

My battery health is at 89%, but the watch really only makes it about 16 hours on a full/nearly-full charge. I try to only charge to ~90% to preserve battery health, and I do have Optimized Battery Charging to ON.

An example of how bad it is: I went to bed at 11pm last night with battery at 35%, and I woke at 5am to find the watch was dead.

You guys getting ~18hrs on a full charge?

I have AC+ until Oct '24. I'm tempted to call up Apple and really press for a replacement, but since my health is a 89% (ironically the same as my charge state in my screenshot), I don't want to waste my time if Apple is being very strict about the 80% health 'rule'.

Recommendations?

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Apple will absolutely not replace it unless their battery diagnostic says it is below 80%... AppleCare+ or not. As a matter of fact, they won't even replace the battery if you offer to pay out of pocket unless it is below 80% battery health. They replace the entire device, not just the battery so they strictly, stubbornly stand behind the below 80% rule..
 
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The above comment is true I think. But they might get a different figure in the store from Apple's own diagnostic, especially since you say it doesn't last even 35% in the night. It's worth just booking an appointment and trying - and if anything they might point to another software issue you have that is causing the drain, and it's not the battery itself.

No harm - only thing that will happen is they say no.
 
If it is at 89% health it is a very long shot. If it was at 81% (say) it might be worth a try.
I believe if you take it in they will run their own diagnostic on it, which may not necessarily give the same result as the "battery health" percentage on the watch. Unlikely it will be drastically different, though.
Is your phone reasonably close to your watch? Extra drain can be caused by increased bluetooth power trying to communicate with a phone that is far away.
 
If it is at 89% health it is a very long shot. If it was at 81% (say) it might be worth a try.
I believe if you take it in they will run their own diagnostic on it, which may not necessarily give the same result as the "battery health" percentage on the watch. Unlikely it will be drastically different, though.
Is your phone reasonably close to your watch? Extra drain can be caused by increased bluetooth power trying to communicate with a phone that is far away.
Yep, phone is on nightstand or always close by/in my pocket. I'd say the watch is only on LTE maybe 1 hour per day, max.
 
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You have AppleCare+... All you have to do is find a way to get an express replacement. They will send you a certified refurbished watch, you will have a couple days to send yours back in for a refund. Look as the list of reasons you can use to get a replacement, and make sure it falls into one of them.

The refurbished watch will have a new battery and be free from cosmetic damages.
 
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