21 Proven Tips to Save Apple Watch Battery Life in 2022

Apple makes excellent smartwatches with advanced health, fitness, and smart features. However, its poor battery life has been a problem for many users. Most Apple Watches I have tested give only 15-18 hours of battery life on a single charge, and the battery will die even faster if you use music, GPS, cellular features, etc.

The Apple Watch Ultra is the only exception to t is. It gives twice as much battery life as the other Apple Watches(almost 36 hours). However, the high price tag makes it less attractive for most users. If you use any Apple-made watch other than Ultra, you might struggle with its poor battery.

Also Read:

• How To Charge Apple Watch Without Charger?
• What is Green Light in Apple Watch and How to Turn it Off?

I have used many Apple Watches over the years, and I know how frustrating it is when the Apple watch battery dies in the middle of the day. If you also face the same battery drainage issue, then you are at the right place. 

Meanwhile, I have also figured out some valuable tips and tricks to save the battery life of Apple Watches. In this blog post, I will share those tips with you so you can extend the battery life of your Apple Watch. Let’s get started!

21 Proven Tips Save Apple Watch Battery Life in 2022

1. Turn Off Always-On Display

Always on display is an excellent feature of the Apple Watch. It lets you see the time and important information at a glance without having to raise your wrist or press any button. However, I am not a big fan of this because it puts an extra burden on the battery. If you turn off the always-on display, you can save any Apple Watches battery life to a couple more hours. 

Here are the simple steps to turn off always on display on Apple Watches.

• To turn off Always on Display, follow the steps.
• Go to Settings
• Find and tap on “Display and Brightness.”
• Now turn off the always-on display.
• Done

2. Decrease the Brightness

Do you know that the brightness of the Apple Watch’s display is one of the biggest battery killers? If you decrease the brightness, it will help you save some battery. I always reduce the brightness of my smartwatch whenever I go for a long run or while doing other outdoor activities, which always helps me to save some battery juice.

To decrease the brightness of your Apple Watch, follow these steps.

• Wake your watch by using the crown or by touching the display
• Open the “Settings.”
• Now tap on the Display & Brightness.
• Now adjust the display brightness by adjusting the slider. 
• Done

3. Update to the latest Watch OS

Many people forget or ignore updating their smartwatch to the latest software. But it is one of the most important things you should do to improve the battery life and performance of your Apple Watch. The new version may have many battery improvements and bug fixes that can prolong your watch’s battery life. You can always check the change log for more information about the new update.

If your Apple watch suddenly starts to die faster, there is a chance that the problem is with the current version of the OS. In this case, if available, you should check for a software update and install it on your watch.

You can check the availability of the latest OS at My Watch => General => Software Update. If a software update is available, then update it to the newest OS.

Before updating, check for the following.

• Ensure the Apple Watch and iPhone are connected and within the Bluetooth range.
• Make sure your smartphone is connected to stable Wi-Fi.
• Connect the smartwatch with a charger and ensure it has at least 50% battery.

Please read this in-depth guide on updating Apple Watch OS if you need further assistance.

4. Turn on Grayscale Clock Face

Activating the grayscale display helps you increase the battery life of your Apple wearables. If you are going out and do not want to charge the watch frequently, then enabling a grayscale display may help you last its battery for longer (at least for a few more hours).

Compared to animated or colorful clockfaces, the grayscale display requires less power to run. As a result, it helps you save some battery life. So if you dont mind seeing a black and white screen, then you should turn on the grayscale mode to save battery.

You can enable grayscale display either from your Apple watch or iPhone. Here are the simple steps to turn on the grayscale display on the Apple watch. 

Apple Watch: Go to Settings=>General=>Accessibility=>Turn on Grayscale Display

iPhone: Open Apple Watch App on iPhone=> tap on the My Watch icon=>Tap on “General”=>Accessibility=>turn on “Grayscale” by sliding the button.

5. Turn off iPhone Mirroring

iPhone mirroring on the Apple watch is one of my favorite features. It allows you to see all the notifications, messages, and other things that happen on your iPhone right on your Apple Watch. Unfortunately, it comes with a cost. The battery life of your watch decreases when you enable this feature.

I love to use it, but when my watch’s battery is low, I disable iPhone mirroring on my Apple Watch. This simple change helps me to save my Apple watch’s precious battery life. You can disable this notification feature right from your Apple watch. Here is the step by step to enable or disable screen mirroring on the Apple watch. 

• Open the Watch App on your iPhone.
• Scroll down and tap on “General.”
• Now tap on Do Not Disturb.
• Turn off Mirror iPhone.

6. Disable Siri

Everyone loves Siri, but not when it comes to battery life. When Siri is activated, it will always listen to your voice, even when you are not talking to her. As a result, this will decrease the battery life of your watch.

So disabling Siri will help you increase the battery life of your watch. You can disable Siri from your watch as well as from your iPhone. To turn off Siri on Apple Watch, go to settings=>Settings=>General=>turn off “Hey Siri by using the slide button. 

7. Disable Wake 

Even though you are tuned off the always-on display, the watch’s display will still turn on when you raise your wrist. I really love this feature while running and workout because you dont need to press any button or tap on the screen to see what you have on the display.

Unfortunately, this feature uses some extra battery juice. So disabling it will help you increase its battery life. You can disable it from Apple Watch, and here are the simple steps to do that.

• Wake up the display
• Go to settings
• General
• Turn off “Wake Screen on Wrist Raise.”

Here you also have an option to turn off “Wake Screen on Crown Up.” Turning off this will also help you prolong the battery for a long.

8. Turn off the Built-in Heart Rate Monitor

I do not recommend turning off your watch’s heart rate sensor because it is an essential feature that helps track your fitness and warns you about irregular heart rates if present.

But if you use a chest strap or other fitness tracker to track your heart rate, you can turn off your watch’s built-in heart rate monitor, which will help you save some battery life.

To turn off Apple Watch heart rate monitoring feature, go to the Watch App=>My Watch=>Privacy=>Turn off heart rate. Here is a simple step-by-step guide on how to turn off heart rate on an Apple watch.

9. Turn off Location Services

One of the most power-hungry features on your Apple Watch is Location Services. If you don’t need it, it’s best to turn it off altogether. With that said, if you are a professional runner or sports person, you will definitely want to keep Location Services on so that your watch can track your workouts and progress.

If it is not the case, you can considerably increase the battery life of your Apple watch(any smartwatch or fitness tracker) by simply turning off the Location Services. To turn off the location service, follow the simple steps below.

• Go to the settings
• General
• Location services
• Turmake phone calls,

10. Turn off LTE/Cellular

LTE or cellular is one of the most battery-draining features on your watch(if present). It allows you to make phone calls, send SMS, or stream music even when you are away from your iPhone. If you hate carrying those heavy iPhones with you, you may want to keep the LTE feature ON.

Also Read: 13 Best Smartwatch Make Calls without Phone

But, if you are in love with your phone and always carry it while going for a run or workout, you can turn off the LTE/Cellular to increase the battery life of your Apple watch. If you wonder how to turn off the LTE/Cellular on your watch, don’t worry, it is pretty straightforward. Follow the step-by-step guide below.

• Wake up your Apple watch
• Swipe down the display to open the control center
• Now tap on the cellular button.
• Turn off/on cellular.
• Done

11. Limit the use of Internet Based Apps

Like GPS, internet-based apps, especially the music streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify, etc., can also burden your battery life. If you want to increase or improve the battery life of your watch, you can either turn it off or download the songs offline and listen to them without using the internet.

As you may think, listening to music offline will also drain the battery, but compared to streaming music online, it will use less battery. So it is better to avoid using music apps while you go for a hike or long run, where you won’t be able to charge your watch for a long time.

12. Customize Notifications

Every time you receive a notification on your Apple watch( or any smartwatch), it vibrates, turns on the display, or makes a sound, which in turn drains the battery. So limiting the number of notifications on your watch can help you save some battery life.

Always enable notifications for the apps that you really need. This totally depends on you and your needs. For me, I have enabled notifications for only a few apps such as Phone, Messages, Calendar, and Email. I did not even enable the WhatsApp notification on my watch because I get a lot of messages, and thus it can consume a lot of battery life.

To manage notifications on your watch, go to the Watch App=>My Watch=>Notifications. Here you can see all the apps that are allowed to show notifications on your watch. You can customize app notifications in the settings for each app by tapping on it.

• Go to the Watch app on your Apple Phone.
• Now tap the “My Watch” tab and then tap on Notifications.
• Select an app to turn ON/OFF notifications based on your usage.

13. Low Power Mode

It is one of my favorite battery-saving modes on the Apple Watch. I always turn on Lower Mode while going for a long run or a hike. Even if your Apple Watch is in silent mode, it can still track important activity/running metrics such as distance, calories, pace, and elapsed time.

You can quickly turn ON/OFF the Low Power Mode on your watch. Just follow the steps below.

• Open the “Watch App” on your iPhone.
• Locate the “Workout” app on the “My Watch” tab
• Now simply turn on the “Low Power Mode.”

14. Turn on Silent Mode

Yes. I am not joking! Turning ON the silent mode on your Apple Watch can help you save some battery juice. When your smartwatch is silent, it will not make any sound, and the haptic feedback will also be turned off. As a result, your watch will consume less battery. It does not save a lot of battery, but it is worth trying with other battery-saving options mentioned here.

To turn ON the silent mode on your Apple Watch, just press and hold the “Side Button.” You will get three options on your watch screen as you press the side button: Power Off, Emergency SOS, and Silent Mode. Select “Silent Mode” to enable it. That’s it!

15. Turn on Power Reserve Mode.

The Apple Watch’s “Low Power Mode” increases the battery life by turning off some features. If your watch is running on Watch OS 9, a yellow ring appears on the top of your watch face. In Watch OS 9, you can turn on Power Reserve Mode in two ways, and I usually activate Power Mode following the simple steps below.

• Wake up by your Apple Watch screen.
• Now press and hold at the bottom of the screen until the control center appears. Alternatively, you can access the control center by just swiping up the screen.
• On the “Control Centre,” tap the battery percentage icon, and a new menu will open up.
• Tap on “Low Power Mode,” and a new page will open up.
• Scroll up and tap on either “Turn ON” or “Turn ON for…” to activate Low Power Mode.

Note: If you tap on the “Turn ON for…” on the next page, you can activate power save mode for 1 day, 2 days, or 3 days depending on your usage.

If you need further help, please check the video below to activate the “Low Power” mode on Watch OS 9.

If you are on Watch OS 8 or below, you can enable Power Reserve Mode by just following the steps below.

• Wake up the watch display
• Swipe up the screen to open the control center
• Now tap on the battery percentage.
• Now slide the “Power Reserve” to the right-hand side.
• A new screen will appear, and tap on “Proceed” to confirm.

Once it is activated, the watch will show the current time only. This means you won’t be able to use features like music, heart monitoring, calorie burn calculations, etc. until you turn it off. 

Here is an in-depth video guide on how to enable and disable Power Save mode on Apple watches.

If you are still unsure how to activate the “Power Reserve” mode on Watch OS 8 or below, the video below will help you.

16. Turn on Do Not Disturb Mode

As the name suggests, “Do not disturb mode” itself means that you do not get any alerts for the notifications when it is activated. As a result, the battery usage is limited in “Do not disturb mode,” and thus, the battery power is saved for a long. 

I usually activate this mode on my Apple Watch to avoid distractions while working out or studying. You can easily activate Do Not Disturb Mode on your watch by following the steps below.

• Access the “Control Centre” by touching and holding the bottom of the screen
• Now tap on the crescent moon icon to enable “Do Not Disturb Mode.”

Later you can manually turn off “Do Not Disturb Mode.” Alternatively, you can automatically schedule it to turn off at a specific time.

17. Turn off Hepatic Alerts

Hepatic alerts are the vibrations and sounds that your watch makes to notify you of an incoming notification. It is a handy feature, but it can also be a battery drainer, so just turn it off if you dont need to save some extra battery.

Go to Settings(Apple Watch), Scroll down and tap on the “Sounds & Haptics” slider to turn it OFF or ON.

18. Delete or Uninstall Unnecessary Apps

As you download more and more apps into your smartwatch, it not only drains the battery but also slows down the watch. So, it is recommended to uninstall the apps you don’t use very often.

For example, apps that use the internet and location services, such as Uber, can drain the battery quickly. So, if you don’t use them very often, it is better to delete those apps from your watch.

19. Turn ON Theater Mode

As the name suggests, the theatre mode is suitable when you are in a dark place (For example Movie theatre). When Theater mode is ON, you are alerted to the notifications with a buzz, but the screen remains dark, so the people around you do not distract by the light. 

As it does not turn ON the display, it draws less battery power when you get a notification. As I mentioned, it is not a super power saver mode, but it can help you to save some battery juice.

20. Restart Your Apple Watch

Restarting your Apple Watch can help optimize the battery life to a great extent. If you are facing any battery-related or performance issues, restarting your watch is the first thing you should try. Restarting your smartwatch or any electronic gadget will kill the apps or services running in the background. As a result, it will save some battery power and release some internal storage.

21. Always use the Original Charger.

Many people make this mistake! They use a cheaper or fake charger to save some bucks, which eventually damages the battery in the long run. So, it is always good to use the original charger and adaptor recommended by the company. 

Besides, when you use the wrong charger to charge your Apple watch, it will not only damage the battery but also void the warranty. So, playing safe and using the original charger is always better.

Final Words

That is it! These are some of the Apple Watch battery-saving tips that I use to prolong the battery life of my Apple Watch. I am sure these Apple watch battery-saving tips will help you too. Turning off or restricting the usage of GPS or Music can help improve your Apple watch’s battery life. Also, the other tips that I mentioned here also help you with some extra hours of battery backup.

When you implement a few or all of these tips, you will see a noticeable difference in the battery life of your Apple Watch. Do you have any other tips or tricks to Save the Battery Life of Apple Watches? If you have other tips to increase Apple Watch’s battery, share them with others in the comment box.