If you encounter horrible battery drain on your Apple Watch 8, there are some steps you should take before getting in touch with Apple customer service.
The Apple Watch 8 is, alongside the Apple Watch Ultra, Apple’s flagship smartphone. It arrived nine months ago with the company’s latest hardware and software. And while it boasts the latest bells and whistles, it’s not immune to problems.
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 so it’s not surprising to see Apple Watch 8 users dealing with it.
Now keep in mind, most of these problems are related to watchOS 9, 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.
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
Periodically, Apple will roll out new software to your Apple Watch 8. Note that the device is currently running watchOS 9, but it will move to watchOS 10 in the fall.
Apple’s (x.x) updates are milestone upgrades that typically include outward facing features and enhancements as well as bug fixes and security patches.
The 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 you’re running older software, try updating your Apple Watch and see if that helps.
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 also 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 is 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.
