Apple

How to Fix Apple Watch SE Battery Life Problems

Published

4 months ago

11/13/2023

If your Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch SE 2 battery life starts draining faster than you think it should, there are several fixes you can try before getting in touch with Apple for support.

While we haven’t seen tons of complaints about Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch SE 2 battery drain, some owners have run into the issue.

In most cases, the problems are related to the software powering the watch or bad user habits. However, there’s also a chance the issue is hardware-related. If you try all of the fixes below and nothing works, you might have a problem with your watch’s battery.

If you think that might be the case, you’ll need to get in contact with Apple support so they can help diagnose the issue. If they find a problem, and your device is under warranty, the company should replace it.

11/13 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 SE.

Table of Contents

Before you contact Apple though, have a look at our fixes for Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch SE 2 battery life problems. These have worked for us in the past and there’s a chance they work for you too.

Restart Your Watch

Before you do anything else, try a simple restart. Power your Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch SE 2 down, wait a minute, and then power it back on.

If the battery drain is really bad, you can try force restarting your watch. If you don’t know how to do that, check out our walkthrough.

Update Your Watch

If that doesn’t resolve the issue, you’ll want to make sure your Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch SE 2 is running the latest firmware.

Check the Settings app on your watch or on your iPhone and determine if your software is up-to-date. If it’s not, consider upgrading.

New software has the potential to iron out bad battery life even if a specific fix isn’t listed in the firmware’s change log.

If your device is currently 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 also should make sure the applications on your Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch SE 2 are all up-to-date.

Developers roll out a constant stream of bug fixes and there’s a chance an update solves the battery drain issues you’re seeing on your watch.

In order to keep your apps up-to-date with the latest fixes, you’ll want to turn on automatic app updates. This will ensure you’re running the latest version of an app. Here’s how to turn this on.

On Apple Watch

Open the Settings app on your watch
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 might also want to close apps you aren’t using.

Manage the Display

Another way to help conserve battery life is by properly managing your Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch SE 2’s display. If the display is constantly at max brightness, it can drain the battery. Here’s how to manage screen brightness on your watch:

On Apple Watch

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

On iPhone

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 watch’s display

If you don’t need the watch’s screen to turn on every time you move your wrist, try turning off the “Wake On Wrist Raise” function. Here’s how to do that:

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

Adjust Haptic Feedback

If you’re really desperate, you might want to adjust the haptic feedback on your watch. You can adjust the strength of the alerts on your iPhone or the watch itself. If you want to turn them off completely, you can try that too.

On Apple Watch

Open the Settings app
Scroll down and tap on Sounds & Haptics
Scroll down again and find the Haptics section
Toggle Haptic Alerts to off or change from Prominent to Default

On iPhone

Open up the Watch app on your iPhone
Scroll down and tap on Sounds & Haptics
Toggle Haptic Alerts to off or change from Prominent to Default

Turn Off Background App Refresh

Your Apple Watch’s Background App Refresh feature keeps app data fresh in the background. It can be useful, but it can eat up battery life. If you don’t need this feature active, try turning it off.

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 SE/Apple Watch SE 2 gets older, its battery will start to degrade.

If you want to slow this process down, and you should if you plan on keeping it for several years, you’ll want to turn the Optimized Battery Charging function on.

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

This feature will help reduce battery aging by learning from your daily charging routines.

Unpair Your Watch

If none of these fixes/tips help, you can try unpairing your Apple Watch SE/Apple Watch SE 2 from your iPhone. This should only be used as a last resort. If you want to go through with it, check out Apple’s detailed guide.

If that still doesn’t help, you’ll want to contact Apple support and see if they can help remedy the issue.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 16.7.7 & 10 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 16.7.7 for Better Security

1 / 14

If security is important to you, think about installing Apple's iOS 16.7.7 update on your iPhone right away.

iOS 16.7.7 has new security patches on board, but Apple hasn't revealed them yet. It's likely waiting to release additional software before doing so.

If you want to protect your device from harm, you should install the upgrade sooner rather than later.

If you missed older versions of iOS 16, you'll get the fixes and features from updates you missed when you upgrade to iOS 16.7.7.

iOS 16.7.6 delivered several security patches to iPhone users.

iOS 16.7.5 had nine security patches on board and they're important if you want to keep you device and its data safe from harm.

iOS 16.7.3 delivered several security patches including one that patches up an issue with the Find My app.

iOS 16.7.2 brought several security patches to iPhone models still running iOS 16. Learn more about them here.

iOS 16.7.1 carried two important security enhancements including one that addressed a kernel vulnerability. You can learn more about the pair over on Apple's website.

iOS 16.7 had three security patches on board and you can learn more about them right here.

iOS 16.6.1 brought two important security patches to iPhone. If you're interested in what they patch up, here's Apple's guide.

The iOS 16.6 update featured 16 security patches. For more information about the changes, check out Apple's rundown.

iOS 16.5.1 brought two security patches to iPhone users If you want to learn more, head on over to Apple's website.

The company's iOS Security Response 16.5.1 (c) update also included a security update and you can learn more about it right here.

iOS 16.5 brought a ton of security patches to the iPhone. You can find out more about them over on Apple's security site.

iOS 16.4.1 included two security upgrades . You can learn more about the pair right here.

Apple's iOS 16.4 update had a substantial number of patches on board. You can read about them in detail over on Apple's security site.

The iOS 16.3.1 update had three security patches on board including one for an actively exploited vulnerability. For more on the security contents of iOS 16.3.1, check out Apple's security page.

iOS 16.3 brought 10+ new security patches with it and you can learn more about all of those right here.

In addition, the software came with support for physical security keys for Apple ID. These will beef up your account security by requiring a physical security key as part of the two factor authentication sign in process. Learn more about the change right here.

If you skipped iOS 16.2, you'll get its changes with iOS 16.7.7. iOS 16.2 brought a ton of important security patches with it and you can dig into the details on Apple's security site.

The update also brought end-to-end encryption to iCloud, iMessage, iPhone backups, Notes, Photos, and more. If you want to learn more about it, head over to Apple's guide.

If you decided to missed iOS 16.1.2, you'll get its solitary security patch with your upgrade. Learn more about it right here.

If you skipped iOS 16.1.1, you'll get its security patches when you upgrade. You can learn more about them right here.

If you missed the iOS 16.1 update, it brought 19 security patches to the iPhone and you can learn about the particulars of those over on Apple's website.

If you failed to download iOS 16.0.3, it had one security patch on board, a fix for a potential exploit within the Mail app. For more about the fix, check out Apple's security site.

If you're still running iOS 15 your iPhone, you'll get a bunch of other patches when you upgrade.

iOS 16.0 brought a ton of security patches to the iPhone. If you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website.

In addition to those patches, iOS 16 brings some additional enhancements to privacy and security including Safety Check which, according to Apple, will help "people in domestic or intimate partner violence situations review and reset the access they’ve granted others."

The feature also resets system privacy permissions for apps and restricts Messages and FaceTime to the device on hand.

Apple's also made some improvements to Passkeys in Safari. iOS 16 brings a brand new sign-in method that's end-to-end encrypted and safe from phishing and data leaks.