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It seems like every year or more frequently, there are multiple online reports that the latest iOS/iPadOS/AWOS upgrade or update has reduced the battery life of everything from MacBooks to Apple Watches, sometimes drastically.
In the case of watchOS 10 there was a claim that a watch previously lasting 24+ hrs on one charge was reduced to 4 hrs. That's pretty drastic, I tend to take these seemingly outrageous claims with a grain of salt while admitting there is probably some fire where there is so much smoke.
I and most people I know have been spared these extreme examples and the rest I tend to put down to expected increases in CPU activity related to app updates, syncing and other unmentioned circumstances. Until now:
After the recent iOS 17.2 and corresponding watchOS 10.2 update my watch battery life dropped by about ≅40%. Charging to 100% in the morning after wearing the watch o/night as usual I found my watch to be at around 10% on waking, rather than the usual 30-40%.
Of course I turned to the Web for posts about similar experiences. This being the source of my reference above to the, "reduced to 4 hrs" example but this was about the watchOS 10.0 upgrade not the recent 10.2 update. Still, I read a number of these posts on various forums, many advising complete resets and re-pairing of the watch and so on, but one did catch my eye. This was from one user who claimed to have found the answer. He said turning the watch off and on 3 times fixed it!
I was dubious, I mean how could that fix anything I thought?
Still, I was reminded of a quotation by Herbert Spencer, "There is a principal which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principal is contempt prior to investigation."
So, as this was a pretty simple exercise I thought, what the heck? I turned the watch off and on twice then on the third turn off I simply put it on the little Apple "puck" charger to wake it, it needed a charge anyway. I then wore it o/night as usual, this morning it was at 76% but as per my routine I put it on the charger. By around 0830 it was 100% charged so I put it on and now at 1056 it's at 99%. Obviously that doesn't prove anything but it's more in line with what I'd expect. The real test will be tomorrow morning so I'll update this post then but I have to say it bodes well.
If anyone has a scientifically based theory on why this method might work I'd love to hear it.
In the case of watchOS 10 there was a claim that a watch previously lasting 24+ hrs on one charge was reduced to 4 hrs. That's pretty drastic, I tend to take these seemingly outrageous claims with a grain of salt while admitting there is probably some fire where there is so much smoke.
I and most people I know have been spared these extreme examples and the rest I tend to put down to expected increases in CPU activity related to app updates, syncing and other unmentioned circumstances. Until now:
After the recent iOS 17.2 and corresponding watchOS 10.2 update my watch battery life dropped by about ≅40%. Charging to 100% in the morning after wearing the watch o/night as usual I found my watch to be at around 10% on waking, rather than the usual 30-40%.
Of course I turned to the Web for posts about similar experiences. This being the source of my reference above to the, "reduced to 4 hrs" example but this was about the watchOS 10.0 upgrade not the recent 10.2 update. Still, I read a number of these posts on various forums, many advising complete resets and re-pairing of the watch and so on, but one did catch my eye. This was from one user who claimed to have found the answer. He said turning the watch off and on 3 times fixed it!
I was dubious, I mean how could that fix anything I thought?
Still, I was reminded of a quotation by Herbert Spencer, "There is a principal which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principal is contempt prior to investigation."
So, as this was a pretty simple exercise I thought, what the heck? I turned the watch off and on twice then on the third turn off I simply put it on the little Apple "puck" charger to wake it, it needed a charge anyway. I then wore it o/night as usual, this morning it was at 76% but as per my routine I put it on the charger. By around 0830 it was 100% charged so I put it on and now at 1056 it's at 99%. Obviously that doesn't prove anything but it's more in line with what I'd expect. The real test will be tomorrow morning so I'll update this post then but I have to say it bodes well.
If anyone has a scientifically based theory on why this method might work I'd love to hear it.
