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Series 7 Watch barely charging on old (slower) puck

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wills11

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 4, 2013
165
74
My new 45mm Aluminum Series 7 charges in under an hour on the new charging puck...

However, it barely charges at all on either of my older pucks:
  • Apple 1m USB-A charger
  • Bellkin 3-in-1 charger
The Belkin charged my Series 4 faster than the standard puck—but it's now charging the Series 7 at less than 20%/hour—about ⅕ the speed of the new puck! The difference remained constant at different battery levels (i.e., from 0-20% and 40-60%).

I noticed this at the same time the S7 suddenly started draining the battery at an incredibly rapid rate (which it wasn't 2 days ago), so maybe that's the issue. I've turned off Walkie-Talkie and uninstalled all apps I added since it was charging/draining normally—but no settings have been changed. I wondered if the watch is draining so fast the old charger can't keep up—but given that the new one is charging right on spec, that seems unlikely.

Anyone else experiencing terrible charge speeds with their old pucks?

I will update once I see how it's doing.

Other than that, I love the new watch!
 
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Hi, yes same issue. very slow charging on old pucks. Also I have a magsafe duo and my watch series 7 doesn't always start charging when I put on the magsafe duo; sometimes I have to take it off and on a few times until it chimes that its charging. On new and old pucks it starts charging right away.

This slow charging on old pucks was mentioned within another thread too. I'm glad you started a dedicated thread on this. Also, I submitted feedback to Apple regarding this issue.
 
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Do you think that the slower charging might actually be better for the overall health of the battery long-term? I can probably personally live with a slower charge, especially if it means it is better for the battery.
 
ajm222 said:
Do you think that the slower charging might actually be better for the overall health of the battery long-term? I can probably personally live with a slower charge, especially if it means it is better for the battery.
Click to expand...
It's so incredibly slow though. Doesn't seem like intended behavior.
 
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I have been charging my S7 on the old pucks and have not noticed slow charging. It's possible that it might be marginally slower than the S6, but if so not enough to notice. I'm not saying you all are wrong, but not all S7 watches are charging incredibly slowly on the old pucks.
 
I was wrong about the old pucks. They are charging the watch 7 as expected.
it’s my MagSafe duo that is still charging the watch very slowly. I tried a different cable and different charging brick but no change in speed With the duo.
 
I had the same issue but on 20w apple charger and fast charger puck. 10 minutes of charging but only 3%.
 
Haven't got a 7 yet but can anyone tell me if the size of the new pucks is the same as the old ones?
 
btrach144 said:
I had the same issue but on 20w apple charger and fast charger puck. 10 minutes of charging but only 3%.
Click to expand...
Whatever else is true, THAT combination should charge an S7 and do so faster than an S6 or earlier on the old pucks. Try restarting the watch? Are you on the latest WatchOS? Possible defect in the puck, or in the watch?
 
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ukms said:
3% total or increased by 3% ?
Click to expand...
0% to 3%. So total
newellj said:
Whatever else is true, THAT combination should charge an S7 and do so faster than an S6 or earlier on the old pucks. Try restarting the watch? Are you on the latest WatchOS? Possible defect in the puck, or in the watch?
Click to expand...
Yeah, force rebooting the watch seemed to work. Running 8.0.1.

Something is off with the charging on the S7
 
btrach144 said:
0% to 3%. So total

Yeah, force rebooting the watch seemed to work. Running 8.0.1.

Something is off with the charging on the S7
Click to expand...
Or with some of them...or with WOS 8.0? If it were a widespread problem I think the forums and the Mac fan sites would be on fire with this issue - super-slow charging is something that everyone should notice, if it is a problem with their specific watch. It seems unlikely that every S7 has this problem and most people haven't noticed. I can say that I am definitely not experiencing slow charging with my S7 on the old puck, but clearly at least some people *are* having a problem with charging the S7 watches.
 
newellj said:
Or with some of them...or with WOS 8.0? If it were a widespread problem I think the forums and the Mac fan sites would be on fire with this issue - super-slow charging is something that everyone should notice, if it is a problem with their specific watch. It seems unlikely that every S7 has this problem and most people haven't noticed. I can say that I am definitely not experiencing slow charging with my S7 on the old puck, but clearly at least some people *are* having a problem with charging the S7 watches.
Click to expand...
Based on your other comments, I don't think you understand the issue.

The watch is charging at like less than 0.5% for 30 minutes of charging.

I've only had this issue once in the 7 nights I've charged my launch day S7, so that's probably why not everyone is complaining but there are a few people here reporting it. It seems to be a really rare bug that resolves itself over time but still an unexpected behavior.
 
I just purchased the Apple Magentic Charging dock and it worked great. Charged my s7 faster then expected. I do notice my s5 magnetizes stronger then my s7 to older pucks, but charge speed wasn’t an issue. I know the magnetic charging dock is old and slow charge but i dont mind and feel it will be healthier for the battery.
 
btrach144 said:
Based on your other comments, I don't think you understand the issue.

The watch is charging at like less than 0.5% for 30 minutes of charging.

I've only had this issue once in the 7 nights I've charged my launch day S7, so that's probably why not everyone is complaining but there are a few people here reporting it. It seems to be a really rare bug that resolves itself over time but still an unexpected behavior.
Click to expand...
Are you saying the watch always charges at 0.5%/30 minutes, or that this only happened once?
 
On my Belkin MagSafe 3-in-1 I’ve noticed that the charging is especially slow compared to my S5. I was not expecting the advertised fast charging of the S7, but at least a similar speed compared to previous models. I wonder what could explain that
 
fwmireault said:
On my Belkin MagSafe 3-in-1 I’ve noticed that the charging is especially slow compared to my S5. I was not expecting the advertised fast charging of the S7, but at least a similar speed compared to previous models. I wonder what could explain that
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I experienced. It seems to have resolved itself, but I'll have to retest it.
 
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btrach144 said:
Based on your other comments, I don't think you understand the issue.

The watch is charging at like less than 0.5% for 30 minutes of charging.

I've only had this issue once in the 7 nights I've charged my launch day S7, so that's probably why not everyone is complaining but there are a few people here reporting it. It seems to be a really rare bug that resolves itself over time but still an unexpected behavior.
Click to expand...
This was exactly my issue. As you report, it hasn't happened again as far as I'm aware. But it was really bizarre. I force restarted the watch and iPhone and it continued. Then the next day it was better. I wonder if charging it with the new puck then switching to an older/slower one somehow threw it off.
 
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Janeilfen said:
Haven't got a 7 yet but can anyone tell me if the size of the new pucks is the same as the old ones?
Click to expand...
The new aluminum-rimmed puck is precisely the same diameter as my old (polished steel rim) puck—but it's just a hair thinner. I don't have calipers here, unfortunately, but it's minimal.
 
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Also, didn't there used to be two lengths of the old puck available? I only see the 1m now—I could swear there was a 2m version and that I have one somewhere.
 
wills11 said:
Also, didn't there used to be two lengths of the old puck available? I only see the 1m now—I could swear there was a 2m version and that I have one somewhere.
Click to expand...
There was. I have one as well. I’ve heard speculation that Apple will release a 2m fast charge version, but it may be that theyre sticking with the 1m cables only going forward.
 
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