Used S5, battery health degraded rapidly

[GLS]

Recently I purchased a used S5 Black SS 44mm. Physically, the watch is perfect. I received it on December 22nd; I charged fully, updated to 7.2 and the battery health was 93%.

On Monday of this week, after wearing the watch for 8 hours, I noticed battery life was below 50%. I left work for home, and 30 minutes later, it was down to 39%. After a couple of hours, I decided to do a re-pairing with the phone. That seems to have done the trick and now the watch is losing around 3% an hour, which is what my other watches do.

But, the battery health decreased from 93 to 91% in less than a week.

Any ideas? I've got a launch day S4 that still has 91% left, and to have this S5 (yes, I get it---it's used) only have 91% left (and lost 2% of it's life in a week) is head scratching.

 

[eneisch]

When I first upgraded to watchOS 7 my S5 had a battery life of 93. Over the past several weeks it has degraded to 88%. I also get terrible battery life compared to watchOS 6. At this rate it will need the battery replaced before my 2 year AppleCare + warranty is up.

 

[waw74]

I've had watch updates go wrong, and the battery level would drop very quickly (fully charged to dead in under 5 hours)
a un-pair and re-pair seemed to sort it out.

you won't loose anything as you can restore from the back up it makes when you unpair
it does take a while, so make sure you won't need the watch for an hour or 2.
also, it's always felt like the battery life seems to suffer a bit the first few days, so give a few days before you pass final judgement.


I've had my S5 since launch day, the health is 89%

 

[Ram65]

Can they replace the batteries on watches now

 

[Monkswhiskers]

Can they replace the batteries on watches now

Apple offer a battery replacement service for the watch, it probably means just giving you a refurbished unit as it would be less hassle for them.

 

[perezr10]

I wonder if it’s an algorithm thing? My watch took weeks to go from 95% to 94%. Then it went from 94% on Dec 26th (last week) down to 91% today the 3rd. This is a 44mm Series 5 purchased November 2019.

 

[PaladinGuy]

I just spoke with Apple about this today. It’s so odd to me that my Series 4 still has 98% battery health after over 2 years, while my Series 5 that is under a year old is already at 96%. My Series 5 definitely gets lower battery life time than my Series 4, so maybe it’s just going through charge cycles faster.

Either way, I’m concerned that it won’t make it much more than 2 years. I just barely get 18 hours most days.

 

[0906742]

Maybe batteries are not like they used to be in previous models? My Series 3 42mm that I have used for 3+ years still shows 100% battery health!

My brand new 12 Pro started to drop battery health in few days, still over 100% but it literally dropped from 103.5% down 2% just like that, so if something like that happens in few days it does not look promising.
Anyway my AW3 always seemed to perform very well and I haven’t noticed change in battery life from new at all.

 

[MetalMatt24]

My S5 44mm Titanium was at 99% Battery Health a month ago, I looked at it today and it's on 89% WTF

 

[PaladinGuy]

I noticed after this recent watchOS update that my series 4 dropped from 98% to 94%. I wonder if something that affects that estimate was altered in the update.

 

[House MD]

I had this issue before.
The advisor told me to unpair the watch and then pair it again.

 

[MetalMatt24]

I had this issue before.
The advisor told me to unpair the watch and then pair it again.

Des not work

 

[Cheefy]

It’s a used Apple Watch. The battery life is not brilliant on a new watch so its gonna be worse on a previously owned watch. You could get the battery replaced by Apple which would take you up to the cost of a new watch. These things are consumable - sadly.

 

[wilberforce]

After 14 months my 44mm S5 is at 88% battery health. Not as good as I hoped, considering I seldom discharge it to less than 40%. I do use AOD.
It seems to be a common theme that the battery longevity of the S5 is not great.
It is probably too early to tell if the S6 is the same or not.
But it is something to consider for those trying to decide S5 versus S6.

For comparison, my wife's 40mm S4 is at 96% battery health after 2 years.

 

[nattK]

I echo the sentiment that the S5's battery isn't as good as the S4. I have both watches but my S5's already at 84% battery health while my S4's still at 88%. I have AppleCare+ on my S5 so I'm not too concerned as I could just get the battery replaced once it drops below 80%, but for that to happen within 2 years is just mind-blowing. I have never had to replace the battery of any of my Apple products in under 2 years.

 

[mebehere]

I also recently purchased a used Series 5. When I received it, the battery health was 95%. Now, after two weeks, it’s at 93%.

What‘s crazy is that I still have a Series 0 I purchased used many years ago that has better battery life after all these years than the Series 5.

 

[macdogpro]

I posted this on two other threads, but should I be getting a used S5 with 86% battery health?

 

[wilberforce]

I posted this on two other threads, but should I be getting a used S5 with 86% battery health?

Depends on what price you can get it. A used AW with 86% battery health is worth a bit less than one with 96% battery health. It is probably unrealistic to expect to get a used AW with 100% battery health.

Assuming you are in the U.S., the fee for out-of-warranty battery replacement is $79. So that is the worst case scenario, if the battery continues to degrade (which it may not) and it does not last through the day. Based on my experience, if you plan to use AOD and various apps, workout tracking, etc. the S5 battery needs to be reasonably healthy (like 80%+) to last the day. My S5 is at 88% battery health and is doing fine.

You can judge for yourself if the price is good enough that you are OK with maybe having to pay $79 in the future to replace the battery.

 

[macdogpro]

Depends on what price you can get it. A used AW with 86% battery health is worth a bit less than one with 96% battery health. It is probably unrealistic to expect to get a used AW with 100% battery health.

Assuming you are in the U.S., the fee for out-of-warranty battery replacement is $79. So that is the worst case scenario, if the battery continues to degrade (which it may not) and it does not last through the day. Based on my experience, if you plan to use AOD and various apps, workout tracking, etc. the S5 battery needs to be reasonably healthy (like 80%+) to last the day.

You can judge for yourself if the price is good enough that you are OK with maybe having to pay $79 in the future to replace the battery.

It’s a stainless steel S5 with sports band on sale at USD 382. I’m not in U.S and asuming Apple battery replacement service is non existing here.

I could get a new aluminum S6 with the same price here, but really want a stainless steel AW.

Will probably using AOD without all the health features running.

I’ll just skip this one then. My experience with an iPhone 6 with under 85% battery health is bad (doesn’t support maximum performance any longer).

 

[ISKOTB]

My Series 4 had 100% battery health after over 2 years now until a few days ago it’s at 97% after I updated to 7.4/b3