Apple

How to Fix Apple Watch 8 Battery Life Problems

Published

6 months ago

11/08/2023

If you encounter rapid battery drain on your Apple Watch 8, there are some steps you should take before getting in touch with Apple customer service.

One of the more common Apple Watch 8 problems we’ve heard about is excessive battery drain. This is an issue that impacts every version of the Apple Watch.

Now keep in mind, most of these problems are related to watchOS 10, the operating system that powers the device. However, some users may have faulty hardware.

If you can’t fix your issue using the fixes in our guide, you might want to take your Apple Watch 8 into an Apple Store so they can run tests. Before you settle on that though, you’ll want to try fixing the issue on your own.

11/8 Update: We’ve updated this guide to reflect the release of watchOS 10 and a software update that fixes battery life issues impacting Apple Watch 8.

Table of Contents

In this guide we’ll outline the fixes that have worked for us in the past and they may help you alleviate your Apple Watch 8 battery life problems in a matter of minutes.

Restart Your Apple Watch 8

Before you do anything else, try restarting your Apple Watch 8. Restarting your watch could have a profound impact on its performance. And best of all, it takes very little time.

Power down your device, wait a minute or two, and then power it back on and see if your battery life improves. You might want to give it a day or so to let the device stabilize.

If you’re really in a pinch, you might try force restarting your watch. If you don’t know how to do that, please check out our walkthrough.

Update Your Watch

Apple will periodically roll out new software to your Apple Watch 8.

watchOS x.x updates are milestone upgrades that typically include outward facing features, enhancements, bug fixes, and security patches.

watchOS x.x.x upgrades are point updates and they typically focus on making under-the-hood improvements (security patches, bug fixes).

Both types of watchOS updates have the potential to solve your Apple Watch 8 battery drain issues, even if a specific fix isn’t listed in the change log.

If your Apple Watch 8 is running software older than watchOS 10.1.1, upgrade immediately. Apple says watchOS 10.1.1 provided important bug fixes and addresses an issue that could cause the battery to drain more quickly for some users.

Update Your Apps

You’ll also want to make sure your Apple Watch 8 has the latest app updates installed. Developers continually upgrade their applications and keeping them updating could help stave off battery life issues.

To do this, make sure your watch is set to automatically download app updates. Here’s how to check if this function is turned on on your device:

On Apple Watch

Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch 8
Scroll down and tap App Store
Make sure Automatic Updates is toggled on

On iPhone

Open up the Watch app on your iPhone
Scroll down and tap App Store
Make sure Automatic Updates is toggled on

You may also want to close apps when you aren’t using them just to be safe, Walkie-Talkie being one in particular.

Use Low Power Mode

The Apple Watch 8 is equipped with a Low Power Mode that saves battery life by limiting sensors and Wi-Fi connectivity on your watch. It’s useful in a pinch though you can leave it turned on if your watch’s battery is really struggling.

You can turn Low Power Mode on from the Battery section in your Apple Watch 8’s Settings app. Low Power Mode is also available for Workouts.

On Apple Watch

Open up the Settings app
Scroll down and tap on Workout
Toggle Low Power Mode on

On iPhone

Open up the Watch app on your iPhone
Scroll down and tap Workout
Toggle Low Power Mode on

If you frequently use your Apple Watch 8 during workouts, it might be a good idea to toggle it in for the duration.

Manage the Display

If you manage your Apple Watch 8’s display you’ll help the device conserve battery life and avoid unnecessary drain. Here’s how to properly do that.

First, if the display is constantly at max brightness, the battery will drain. So you’ll want to make sure the display is at an appropriate level of brightness for the environment you’re in. There are a couple of ways to adjust your Apple Watch 8’s screen brightness:

On your Apple Watch, open the Settings app
Tap Display & Brightness
Use the slider at the top to adjust the brightness of the display

If you’d prefer to adjust the brightness from your iPhone, you can do that too:

Open up the Watch app on your iPhone
Tap General
Tap Display & Brightness
Use the slider at the top to adjust the brightness of your Apple Watch 8’s display

If you don’t need your Apple Watch 8’s screen to turn on every time you move your wrist, try turning off the “Wake On Wrist Raise” function.

On Apple Watch:

Open the Settings app
Tap Display & Brightness
Toggle Wake on Wrist Raise off

On iPhone:

Open up the Watch app on your iPhone
Tap General
Tap Display & Brightness
Toggle Wake on Wrist Raise off

You may also want to shut the device’s Always On display feature off. Turning it off can increase battery life. Here’s how to do that:

Open the Settings app on your watch.
Tap Display & Brightness
Scroll down and tap Always On
Tap Always On to toggle it on or off

Turn Off Background App Refresh

Background App Refresh keeps your apps data fresh in the background. It can also chew through your device’s battery life if it isn’t managed properly.

Unless you really need it, we recommend toggling it off, or limiting it to certain apps. Here’s how you do that:

On Apple Watch

Open up the Settings app
Tap General
Tap Background App Refresh
Toggle Background App Refresh off

On iPhone

Open up the Watch app on your iPhone
Tap General
Tap Background App Refresh
Toggle Background App Refresh off

Optimize Battery Charging

As your Apple Watch 8 gets older, the battery will start to degrade. If you want to slow down this process, you’ll want to turn Optimized Battery Charging on. Here’s how to do it:

Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch
Scroll down and tap on Battery
Tap Battery Health
Toggle Optimized Battery Charging on

Turning this function on will help reduce battery aging by learning from your daily charging routines.

Unpair Your Apple Watch 8

If none of the above fixes work, you can try unpairing your Apple Watch 8 from your iPhone. This process is fairly involved and will take time to complete. It should only be used as a last resort.

If you want to go through with it, you’ll want to check out Apple’s detailed guide.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 17.4.1 & 12 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 17.4.1 for Better Security

1 / 16

If security is important to you, think about installing Apple's iOS 17.4.1 update right away.

The iOS 17.4.1 update includes two security patches. These patches will help keep your device and its data protected from harm. And that makes iOS 17.4.1 an important upgrade.

If you missed iOS 17.4 and older software, you'll get the security patches from updates you missed when you upgrade to iOS 17.4.1.

iOS 17.4 had four security patches on board.

The update also delivered quantum security protection for iMessage. The company says the upgrade gives iMessage "the strongest security properties of any at-scale messaging protocol in the world."

The iOS 17.3 update brought 15 new security patches to iPhone. The software also added Stolen Device Protection to iPhone.

It increases the security of your iPhone and Apple ID by requiring Face ID or Touch ID to gain access to passwords, make purchases in Safari, and more. This is useful if someone gets access to your iPhone and its passcode.

iOS 17.2 delivered 10 new security patches to iPhone. If you wish to find out more, you can head on over to Apple's security site for the details.

iOS 17.2 also included iMessage Contact Key Verification which improves the security of iMessage. The company also fixed an exploit that let the Flipper Zero multi-tool lock up iPhones.

iOS 17.1.2 had two security patches on board. Both were related to WebKit. If you want to learn more, you can do so right here.

iOS 17.1 brought 18 security fixes to iPhone. It addressed issues within Weather, Status Bar, WebKit, and more.

iOS 17.0.3 brought two patches for two security issues Apple identified within the software. If you want to read about the patches, head here.

iOS 17.0.1 delivered three important patches to iPhone. If you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website.

As for iOS 17 itself, it brought 40+ new security patches with it. A staggering number to say the least. If you want to learn more about them, head over to Apple.

In addition to those patches, iOS 17 brings some additional enhancements to privacy and security including improvements to Communication Safety beyond Messages.

It now includes content sent by AirDrop, Contact Posters in the Phone app, FaceTime, and the systemwide photo picker. You now have an option to blur out sensitive photos and videos before you choose to view them.

There's also an expanded Lockdown Mode which will help protect you against cyber attacks.

Apple's also improved sharing permissions and you now have more control over what you share with the apps on your device.

The company also notes that starting in iOS 17, Voice Memos encrypts the titles of recordings stored in iCloud, in addition to the recordings themselves.

If you skipped older versions of iOS, you'll get the security patches from those updates with your iOS 17.4.1 update as well.