Apple Watch 6 battery drain

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Level 1

54 points

Apple Watch 6 battery drain

My Apple Watch 6 has very recently - within the last month - been experiencing rapid battery drain. Prior to this past month, my battery would last a day and a half - depending upon use - before a charge. Now, some days the battery does not last 24 hours. After reading numerous discussions, I found that if I unpaired and re-paired my watch from my phone, it would function properly. However, this solution lasted only 2 weeks. I unpaired and re-paired again and it went back to functioning properly. I am now at another 2 weeks and my battery has not lasted 24 hours.

My use has not changed in these two weeks - I use the Workout app daily but do not use my watch for music, calls, or any other high-battery-drain feature.

Is this a software issue or a hardware issue or neither? I don't want to upgrade my watch if it's a software issue.

Apple Watch Series 6 (cellular + WiFi), watchOS 9.3 paired with iPhone 12 Pro, iOS 16.3

Apple Watch Series 6

Posted on Jan 29, 2023 9:00 AM

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Answer 1

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Richard.Taylor

Level 6

10,386 points

Jan 31, 2023 8:02 AM in response to Swamp Troll

Actually, the watch uses its own GPS. I do the 3 mile walks, and I use an app on my iPhone (out of habit--it's from before I had the watch) that tracks me, as well. The GPS's work independently. (They consistently differ by about 3%-- weird.)

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Answer 2

Swamp Troll Author

Level 1

54 points

Jan 31, 2023 5:34 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

I charged my watch to 100% before bed, turned it off, and turned it back on in the morning. It was 100%. The battery obviously is not the problem. Thanks for the suggestion. While I am not rolling out a hardware problem, it does appear that it’s likely a software issue.

By the way, the workout I most often do is outdoor walking. I always have my phone with me so GPS is not the culprit.

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Answer 3

Jan 29, 2023 11:35 AM in response to Swamp Troll

My Series 6 battery life hasn't changed with the any of the OS updates. Apple says the battery should last 18 hours, and mine does that. Using GPS during workouts is one of the big power drains for the watch.

If you charge the watch to 100% at night, turn it off, and check in the morning, it shouldn't have lost much charge. If it does, you may need to take it to Apple.

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Apple Watch 6 battery drain

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