Apple Watch battery draining fast? How to extend its battery life

⚡ Fast fix

• Battery draining fast? Turn on Low Power Mode to immediately reduce background activity.
• Apps running wild? Close unused apps and turn off background refresh.
• After an update? Restart your Apple Watch® to clear temporary battery drain bugs.
• Still dropping fast? Lower screen brightness and disable Always On Display.

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Your Apple Watch® can count your steps, find a great new restaurant, and even remind you when you've been sitting too long. Cool, right? When your device runs out of juice in the middle of your workout? Not so cool. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways to increase your Apple Watch battery life.

At Asurion, we don't just protect your tech, we fix it, and teach you how to get the most out of your devices—whether you want to know how to speed up your phone or how long your laptop will last. Here are our top Apple Watch battery-saving tips.

Turn on Low Power Mode

This reduces background activity and extends battery life.

1. Swipe up from the watch face.
2. Tap the battery percentage.
3. Turn on Low Power Mode.

Update your Apple Watch

To help prevent battery drain and ensure you have the latest efficiency optimizations, always keep your watchOS® up to date.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone®.
2. Go to My Watch > General > Software Update.
3. If an update is available, connect your iPhone to Wi-Fi and place your watch on its charger (it must be charged to at least 50%).

Reduce your wake screen time

Every time your screen brightness jumps to "active" mode, it consumes power. You can conserve battery by ensuring the screen stays active for the shortest time possible.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2. In the My Watch tab, tap Display & Brightness.
3. Tap Wake Duration, then select Wake for 15 Seconds.

Adjust Wake on Wrist Raise

If you move your hands a lot, your watch may be turning on unnecessarily. You can disable this so the screen only wakes when you tap it or click the Digital Crown.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2. In the My Watch tab, tap Display & Brightness.
3. Toggle Wake on Wrist Raise to Off.
   • Note: If you have an "Always On" display, the screen will stay dimmed rather than turning completely black.

Audit your notifications

Constant haptic vibrations and screen wakes from "push" notifications are major battery killers. Turn off alerts for apps that aren't essential.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2. In the My Watch tab, tap Notifications.
3. Scroll down and toggle off any apps that don't need to reach your wrist.

Delete unused apps

Apps that run processes in the background can "ghost" your battery. To remove them:

1. Press the Digital Crown to go to your Home Screen.
2. Long-press any app icon until the icons begin to jiggle.
3. Tap the "X" or the minus (-) button on the app you want to remove.
4. Tap Delete App to confirm.

Manage Background App Refresh

This feature allows apps to check for new info even when you aren't using them. Turning this off for non-essential apps significantly extends daily life.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Go to My Watch > General > Background App Refresh.
3. Toggle it off entirely, or select specific apps (like Weather or Calendar) to keep active while silencing others.

Enable Reduce Motion

Apple Watch uses high-quality animations to open menus. Turning these off saves processing power.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Go to My Watch > Accessibility > Reduce Motion.
3. Toggle Reduce Motion to On.

Adjust Siri Settings

Newer Apple Watches listen for "Hey Siri" or "Raise to Speak." This means the microphone is always "primed," which uses energy.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Siri.
3. Toggle off Listen for "Hey Siri" and Raise to Speak. You can still trigger Siri by holding down the Digital Crown.

Optimize Workout Battery Life

Monitoring your heart rate and GPS during exercise is the fastest way to drain a Pixel.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Go to My Watch > Workout.
3. Turn on Low Power Mode. (Note: This has replaced the older "Power Saving Mode" and is much more effective at balancing health tracking with battery longevity).

Use a Bluetooth chest strap

For long hikes or marathons, use an external heart rate monitor. This allows the watch to turn off its built-in optical sensors.

1. Put your chest strap into pairing mode.
2. On your Apple Watch, go to Settings > Bluetooth.
3. Under Health Devices, select your strap to pair it.

Check how long your battery is lasting

How long does an Apple Watch battery last? The answer may be more complicated than you think. It should run for up to 18 hours on one charge. But if you don't take care of your device—and let it sit in the hot sun, for instance—it won't last as long.

To view your Apple Watch battery health:

• On the watch, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health.
• If the Maximum Capacity is below 80%, the battery may be chemically aged and require professional replacement.

Re-pair your Apple Watch and iPhone

If you've tried all these fixes and your battery is still draining too fast, try unpairing, then re-connecting your watch and iPhone. This will give your devices a fresh start to work together.

Check out our step-by-step guide for how to unpair and connect your Apple Watch to an iPhone.