watchOS 26 Drastically Draining Battery

I had an SE2. Figured I needed a new battery, but using trade-in credit brought the SE3 down to almost $100, basically the cost of a new battery. So I opted for the SE3. My battery life is awful. The charge is pretty rapidly draining. I just bought it this morning.

Have an SE (2nd gen). A good buy from Costco. Would hate to have it go to waste because of a battery. Will try the unpairing fix. Just wanted to jump in to add myself to the list of those with issues.

I am facing same issue with my watch9. Infarct now at full charge it’s lasting only couple of hours, whereas earlier it used to last a whole day. I tied all stuff from reset to unpair etc but of no use. I Hope apple release an update patch soon as this has made my watch practically not usable.

Thought I’d chime in as well. I have an OG Ultra 1. Before watch OS 26 I was able to charge every other night (of course some variation depending on activity level). And on average the watch would be about 20% when I’d charge it. It’s still not terrible, however I’m finding it dies before I can make it to that second night, at around 9pm.

Of course I could change to a “charge every night” schedule. But the point is I’m annoyed my watch has lost about 25% capacity from an update that hasn’t really provided me any benefits.

Honestly, nothing works. I think it is shady that Apple won't admit the problem. I spent over three hours in all with different customer service people trying to fix this. No one admits it is an issue caused by the update. They all just try to get me to replace my battery.

I got so frustrated I am trying out the AmazeFit bip 6. It has a lot of great features and 10 day battery life! Going well so far!

Hi, I have an Apple Watch Series 7. Until September 28th, the battery drain after installing iOS 26 was very fast and frustrating. Then in an instant, the situation returned to what it was before installing the update and even better.

I experience the opposite on my Watch SE2.. before the upgrade, my battery lasts averaging 10-12 hrs only, then it drains.. now I’m running watchOS 26, it only consumes 20-30% after 12 hrs of my usual usage per day…

After updating watch to latest update. It’s improved quite a bit. When working out it seems to drop quite a bit more than previously but as it stands when watch is just doing the giving time it’s much better.

I have 6. series watch 44mm and before update I wear watch all night and day and charge after workout on 7pm. When they are 100% charge, i took it to bed and they work another day. After 26.0.2 on morning after sleep I have 25-30% battery, so need charge, after charge i have 5-6 hour until watch are on zero. Update its terrible. I try unpair, I try restart, nothing help.

I thought updates would help but no dice. I left it at home over the weekend while I traveled because it is effectively useless, and I wore it this morning and lost about 25% in the first hour. This is not normal battery degradation.

I’m having the same issue over here with a series 8. Two days ago this stupid thing started draining and being dead within the same day. By this I mean I’m up at 3 am ands it’s dead within 12 hours. Powering off and everything. I have 85% battery health. I’ve taken some of the suggestions here and hopefully it helps. If Apple is doing this to force users to buy new and they don’t fix the issue. This long time Apple user will change to other options for everything.

Also have 6 series and Did all the recommended things to fix drain but not succeed. Eventually i bought a Huawei fit 4 fir a very low proce compared to brand new apple watch. Very happy with the battery almost 5 days with intensive usage. Not as smooth as apple but does the job.

I followed the same advice and did a force restart which worked for 2x days but the ole battery drain is back . I wonder will Apple have an update to address this . I thought IOS26 was supposed to enhance not drain . It’s 2wks since I updated 😳

alari97 wrote:

In normal world, "Apple Green world", isnt ( idk ) 0-to something to change battery?

I mean 50 is half. 80 is 80 and almost like new?

This is not an Apple thing. It's the way lithium-ion batteries work. I suppose that all the manufacturers could get together and agree that 80% is the new 0%. But it wouldn't change how the batteries function.

I am so frustrated w how my battery drains now. Sometimes I barely get 12 hours. This watch is not even a year old. I have force quit several times. It makes a momentary difference. But my battery can go from 100% to 70% in a couple of hours doing absolutely nothing. If I go for a walk and use the fitness app, it almost completely drains the battery. Ugh. I am really hoping Apple figures out a way to fix this or this will be my last watch w them.