Health app consuming battery when not in use iOS 26.1

Question

Level 1

4 points

Health app consuming battery when not in use iOS 26.1

Hello everyone,

I have recently upgraded to the new iPhone 17 Pro however I’ve noticed the health app is using quite a lot of battery without actually using it (both background or active use).

I checked my old phone and the picture looks the same. The health app is using around 14% battery every single day.

I already know that the phone is indexing, and I was attributing to that fact, but then I saw the same thing with my old phone that made me wonder.

Does it happen for you as well, and if so do you have any tips on how you managed to make it better?

iPhone 17 Pro

Posted on Dec 8, 2025 2:14 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mac Jim ID

Level 9

60,860 points

Dec 8, 2025 5:34 PM in response to tudman

Ok, I haven't seen anything specific with iOS 26.1 as far as battery usage of the Health app, but the issue has popped up in previous versions and the solution was to unpair the watch from the phone, then pair it again. You are probably familiar with this process, since you have just set it up on your new phone, but I included the Apple Support video on unpairing. Make sure to use the first part of the video to unpair using your phone instead of the Watch, since this will back up the Watch before erasing so when you pair it again there will be no data loss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Gex2x38DA&t=24s

You are correct that battery usage on your phone will drain quicker for the first 3-5 days after the update to index files and perform object detection algorithms on your photo library, but I have not seen where this causes a spike in the Health app.

Reply

Answer 2

tudman Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 8, 2025 2:54 PM in response to Mac Jim ID

Just checked and appears that I don’t have anything showing up under the privacy tab both for other apps and for research studies. I must also note that I do have an apple watch series 10 wifi only version. And both devices (including mu phone) are updated to the latest os update.

Reply

Answer 3

tudman Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 8, 2025 11:35 PM in response to Mac Jim ID

I think I’ll end up waiting to see if it stabilizes in any way. Cause I’ve also had the hunch that the problem stems from the apple watch. But on my old phone, so before getting this new one, I unpaired the apple watch and haven’t used it for like 2 weeks. That’s when on the daily, health app was using around 14%. Now I decided to pair it again to the new phone and it’s where it ended up going to 26% battery usage.

Reply

Answer 4

Mac Jim ID

Level 9

60,860 points

Dec 8, 2025 2:39 PM in response to tudman

Check if you have any apps that you have given permission to use Health data by going to Settings > Privacy & Security > Health. Also check there if you are enrolled in any Research Studies.

Reply