How to Fix Apple Watch Battery Drain After watchOS 26 Update

Although the Apple Watch is one of the best smartwatches available, it often receives criticism for its battery life. Unfortunately, the same is the case with the latest Apple Watch Series 11 as well, as it lasts up to 24 hours only. Nonetheless, it means you will need to charge your Apple Watch daily. However, many users have reported that their Apple Watch battery drains rapidly after updating to watchOS 26, lasting less than a full day.

So, if you are among such users, you have arrived at the right place. This post outlines several solutions to address the battery drain issue on the Apple Watch.

1. Disable AOD (Always on display)

Apple Watch Series 5 and above come with support for Always-on Display. It is indeed a great feature, as it enables the smartwatch to function similarly to its traditional counterpart. However, the battery takes a hit in the process, so if you’re trying to save it, consider disabling it. And here’s how to do it,

1. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
2. Here, locate and tap Display and Brightness. 
3. Scroll down and tap Always on.  
4. Toggle off Always On.  
   
   

2. Disable Raise to Wake

Another feature mostly used as a substitute for AOD is Wake on Wrist Raise. However, if you want to save your battery life, disabling this feature might help. Here’s how to do it,  

1. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
2. Here, locate and tap Display and Brightness. 
3. Now, scroll down and toggle off Wake on Wrist Raise under Wake.
   
   

3. Use Dark Watch Faces 

For those unaware, the Apple Watch features an OLED display. An OLED panel lights up individual pixels when used, helping conserve the device’s battery life. To help save battery on your Apple Watch, make sure you use watch faces that are mostly black. Doing so will help reduce battery consumption and increase battery life.

4. Disable Background Refresh

Ever wondered how Apps get added to your Apple Watch automatically? Well, it is because whenever you download an App for your iPhone, it downloads it by default if it has a companion app for the Apple Watch.

For all these apps, refreshing in the background will lead to excessive battery consumption, and disabling Background App Refresh is the only solution. Here’s how to do it,

1. Open the Watch App on your iPhone and ensure you’re on the My Watch tab.
2. Here, tap General. 
3. Select Background App Refresh. 
4. On the next screen, toggle off Background App Refresh.  
   
   

5. Reduce Notification Permissions

Yes, the Apple Watch is also used as a tool to get notified of your messages and reply to them instantly. However, receiving notifications from all applications installed on your iPhone may be unnecessary in most cases. Since the Apple Watch mirrors all notifications from your iPhone, you receive every notification directly on your watch.

Turning these unnecessary notifications off might be helpful, as the notifications not only light up the display but also have sound and haptic feedback. Here’s how to reduce notification permissions,

1. Open the Watch App on your iPhone.
2. Tap Notifications.
3. Now, select the apps and services you want to receive notifications from and select Mirror My iPhone or customize the permissions.
4. Also, scroll down and toggle off the apps you do not want notifications from under the Mirror iPhone Alerts From section.
   
   

6. Disable Silent Mode and Haptic Feedback

As I already mentioned, the Apple Watch is a tool for notifying users. However, you can make do with either sound or haptic feedback, which acts as an indicator when you receive a notification. Here’s how you can disable either Sound or Haptic feedback on your Apple Watch,

1. Open the Watch App on your iPhone.
2. Tap Sound & Haptics.
3. Toggle on Silent mode.
4. Also, tap on Haptics and select the Off option on the next menu.
   

7. Enable Power Reserve Mode 

To help improve the battery life, enable the Power Reserve mode on your Apple Watch. When enabled, your Apple Watch serves only one purpose: displaying time. Yes, the features won’t work, but if in an emergency, turning on Power Reserve mode is your best bet.  

8. Update watchOS

The watchOS version running on your Apple Watch might be infested with bugs that could lead to battery draining. Apple is renowned for fixing bugs quickly, and if a software bug leads to battery drain, any further updates of watchOS might help. Here’s our step-by-step guide on updating watchOS on your Apple Watch.

9. Miscellaneous Tips to Improve Your Apple Watch’s Battery Life 

• Enable Workout Power saving mode: Apple Watch is an excellent fitness tracker. But if you want to save some battery, turn on Workout Power Saving mode on your Apple Watch.
• Disable Environmental Soundtracking: When you step into a zone with loud sounds, the Apple Watch detects unsafe sound levels and notifies you about the same. However, this is one reason for battery drain, and if you want to save battery and live in a rather quiet place, here’s how to disable Environmental Soundtracking.
• Reduce Animations: If you don’t care much about animations on your Apple Watch, turning on Reduce Motion reduces the animations. Less animation = less power consumption.

Signing Off…

I hope these steps help you fix the Apple Watch battery drain issue in watchOS 26. If you have any other queries related to the battery life of your Apple Watch, leave a comment below, and I’ll try my best to provide you with a solution.

Read more:

• Apple Watch swipe up not working? Here’s how to fix it
• How to turn off Optimized Battery Charging on Apple Watch
• How to mirror your Apple Watch to Your iPhone