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Slow charge? Series 4

grouch92

grouch92

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 13, 2016
195
312
I've had one of each series of Apple watches, but this one seems very slow to charge in comparison. I've had it charging for 3 1/2 hours and the battery has only gone from 20% to 88%. I wear it sleeping, so daytime charging speed is important.

I've tried 2 different charging cords and 2 different direct to wall outlets.

I have tried a reset and power off, power on already.

BTW what happened to the resync option? When things got out of whack, it only took a few seconds to empty the watch items and resync them. Now it seems like the only option is a total Reset, which takes quite a while and you have to input some settings again - like your ApplePay cards.

Battery life seems OK so far though.
 
Tried charging mine for the first time this morning and used the Apple Magnetic Charging Dock. Was about 30% and over 3 hours later it was only at 89%. All my past Apple Watches would fully charge in <2 hours max. was going to try a different puck but after seeing this thread I'm wondering and surprised that no other have noticed this or posted to it.

Also wonder if the new ceramic back might be the problem.
 
Newtons Apple said:
Maybe Apple slowed the charging process for longer battery health.
Click to expand...
After the pouch swelling problems that does sound sorta plausible. However just looked on the Apple Support site and it says (same as S3):

Screen Shot 2018-09-23 at 3.20.52 PM.png
 
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Mine seems to be charging slower as well. I'm using the S3 cable, but that shouldn't make a difference I wouldn't think
 
Definitely charging slower than my S3. I could easily go from 75% to fill in thirty minutes or so and definitely no where near than on the S4
 
Gold SS series 4. A lot slower for mine too, using the S0 SS charger that I also used with my S3. Came here to look for this same problem. Also don’t think my overall battery life is as good as my S3. No objective proof though.
 
What’s the max charging wattage on the Apple Watch Series 4?
I’m disappointed no quick charge for these watches yet..:
 
I noticed the same issue. Today it seems to be charging a bit faster and not draining as fast. Actually it’s the best battery I’ve had ever. Been up over 12 hours and only down 15% battery even with an hour workout. Might be an issue of loading and updating apps and info in the background over the first few days.
 
I’ve noticed this too. I usually wear while asleep for sleep tracking and charge when showering. The series 3 would charge fully, the series 4 does not
 
bthompson said:
Definitely charging slower than my S3. I could easily go from 75% to fill in thirty minutes or so and definitely no where near than on the S4
Click to expand...

No scientific data but I strongly agree with this. The S3 went up very quickly. The S4 is much slower. Not a complaint, just an observation.
 
redavis41 said:
I noticed the same issue. Today it seems to be charging a bit faster and not draining as fast. Actually it’s the best battery I’ve had ever. Been up over 12 hours and only down 15% battery even with an hour workout. Might be an issue of loading and updating apps and info in the background over the first few days.
Click to expand...
It will be downloading music over bluetooth the first night or 2 while charging along with other background tasks which would affect charging times, so in all hope this issue will resolve itself soon.
 
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Is it possible os5 broke the charging speed? I have a series 3 and its charging a lot slower. My daily routine is to charge while i eat breakfast and shower. This was plenty of time to get my watch somewhere between 75-100%. Today it got up to 40%.
 
Definitely having the same problem here.
Super slow charging time
[doublepost=1537860224][/doublepost]I had Apple run diagnostics on the battery and their response was "the last time the watch was charged was around 1 am for approximately 30 minutes. In that time the charge level went from under 10% to around 35%. The previous charging was the previous 1 am and it charge for just over 30 minutes and went from under 50% charge to just under 75%. Those results are well within charging expectations. Do keep in mind that the Watch is new and there is a break in period for that battery."

The guy then said that "The best practice during break in is to let the battery go all the way to zero and then charge fully before using. Do that for about 5~7 days as much as possible."
 
hojoon0724 said:
Definitely having the same problem here.
Super slow charging time
[doublepost=1537860224][/doublepost]
The guy then said that "The best practice during break in is to let the battery go all the way to zero and then charge fully before using. Do that for about 5~7 days as much as possible."
Click to expand...

OP here. I think this may be correct. Either that or the things I did in my original post fixed things. I'm on my second charging now. I was able to go 2 days on the first charge, but was down to 23% this morning. It's been charging for 30 minutes and it's already up to 55%.

Things look normal now. Whew!
 
hojoon0724 said:
The guy then said that "The best practice during break in is to let the battery go all the way to zero and then charge fully before using. Do that for about 5~7 days as much as possible."
Click to expand...

grouch92 said:
OP here. I think this may be correct. Either that or the things I did in my original post fixed things. I'm on my second charging now. I was able to go 2 days on the first charge, but was down to 23% this morning. It's been charging for 30 minutes and it's already up to 55%.

Things look normal now. Whew!
Click to expand...

Lithium batteries do not like to be run down to very low charge levels. Doing it regularly will shorten battery life.
[doublepost=1537894687][/doublepost]
tromboneaholic said:
It will be downloading music over bluetooth the first night or 2 while charging along with other background tasks which would affect charging times, so in all hope this issue will resolve itself soon.
Click to expand...

I don't have much stored on my Watch, but I think you may be on to something. After a couple of days, I think the charging times are getting shorter, closer to what my S3 did.
 
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newellj said,"Lithium batteries do not like to be run down to very low charge levels. Doing it regularly will shorten battery life."

Agreed. I did keep that in mind and started charging when down to 23%, not zero. However, when battery calibrations get weird, I have run them down to get them to re-calibrate. Doing it once or twice over the lifetime of a battery shouldn't affect it too much. But I sure agree that doing it all the time is a terrible idea. :)
 
grouch92 said:
newellj said,"Lithium batteries do not like to be run down to very low charge levels. Doing it regularly will shorten battery life."

Agreed. I did keep that in mind and started charging when down to 23%, not zero. However, when battery calibrations get weird, I have run them down to get them to re-calibrate. Doing it once or twice over the lifetime of a battery shouldn't affect it too much. But I sure agree that doing it all the time is a terrible idea. :)
Click to expand...
I read something that stated that lithium batteries like to be at 50%. In other words, their lifespan is the longest when they are kept between 40% - 60%. I'm not a chemist, but the article stated that keeping them at 100% all the time wears down the chemistry.
 
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I also see significantly slower charging first day. Will monitor if things do improve. The S3 was super fast to charge.
 
tromboneaholic said:
I read something that stated that lithium batteries like to be at 50%. In other words, their lifespan is the longest when they are kept between 40% - 60%. I'm not a chemist, but the article stated that keeping them at 100% all the time wears down the chemistry.
Click to expand...
I can second this. I did A LOT of reading on battery maintenance and the major common misconception is that you should be "calibrating" batteries regularly (read: monthly in most cases) by draining them all the way to shutdown and then charging to 100% and leaving them on charge for several hours after they reach capacity.

My watch routine has proven to be perfect for that "Goldilocks zone" that the batteries prefer, which is charging while I'm getting ready for work in the morning. I'm sitting at 53% right now and by the time I wake up in the morning, it'll be around 40 or 45. After that brief charge it's usually around 60 or 65.
 
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