Should I Drain Apple Watch Battery Before Charging? Apple Says

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It is much easier to charge your Apple Watch overnight, while some people like to leave their watches charging at random times during the day.

It doesn’t matter how often you charge your Apple watch, but it’s important to consider the battery life when charging the device.

So let’s determine if you should drain your Apple Watch before charging it.

Apple says it is not good to completely drain your Apple Watch’s lithium-ion batteries, which can permanently damage the battery. Instead, you can charge your Apple Watch whenever you find it most convenient. Usually, this is overnight, enabling you to start every day with a fully charged battery.

Before charging your Apple Watch, keep reading to understand the potential dangers of draining the battery. I have also included other important questions like whether you should charge your smartwatch every night and fully charge it.

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Should I Wait Until My Apple Watch Dies to Charge It?

According to Apple, you should not wait until your Apple watch dies to charge it. You can charge it whenever possible since you cannot overcharge it. There’s no need to wait for the battery to be completely depleted before charging it. It’s worse for lithium-ion batteries.

Do you hate waking up with a half-charged Apple Watch? Unfortunately, it isn’t enough to last the day, so the best time to charge your Apple Watch is overnight so you can start your day fully charged.

Regular charging will not cause any harm to the battery, as charging stops automatically when the device is fully charged. It will resume charging only when needed to match your estimated battery usage using Apple’s optimized battery charging feature.

The following are some safety guidelines to follow when charging your Apple devices:

  • It’s normal not to be able to turn off your smartwatch while it’s charging or connected to a power source.
  • When the charging cable, power adapter, and Apple watch are connected to a power source, it’s also normal to become warm.

It normally takes 90 minutes to charge your smartwatch from 0% to 80%. In addition, you can continuously use your watch for up to 18 hours with normal use. So make sure to charge your device for 60 to 90 minutes daily. It will give you 24-hour wearability for daytime and bedtime usage.

In my experience, charging my Apple watch for an hour and a half every night before I go to bed is important. I usually sleep at 10 p.m., so I charge my smartwatch an hour before going to bed.

That way, I can use it to track my sleep and count my steps during my morning walk.

Or you can be like my friend, sleep without your Apple Watch, and leave it charging as you sleep.

Do you find your Apple Watch always dies early? See my top tips to maximize your Watches battery, so it lasts all day in my helpful article.

Should I Charge My Apple Watch Every Night?

Apple recommends charging your Apple Watch overnight, so it lasts 18 hours after an overnight charge. Charging every night is good for the watch’s lithium-ion battery. It’s the way Apple designed the watch’s battery. 

Making a habit of charging your watch at a particular time in the night is a good way to keep your Apple watch ready to use.

You can charge it before bedtime and be able to wear it again and track your sleep. For example, some users charge their watches for 30 minutes while showering, getting ready for the day, and another 30 minutes before bedtime.

The memory percentage of your smartphone doesn’t affect your Apple watch battery life. On the other hand, battery life may vary depending on certain factors and usage. 

According to some tests, the Apple Watch battery can last up to 18 hours with 30 minutes of workout sessions, including music playback via Bluetooth, 45 minutes of app usage, 90 notifications, and 90-time checks.

If your smartwatch experiences shorter battery life, you can do these tips:

  • Update your Apple Watch and iPhone to the latest software.
  • Restart your watch and your smartphone, but close the open applications first on your phone.
  • Unpair your iPhone and re-pair your smartwatch.

To unpair and re-pair an Apple watch, here’s the best step to follow:

The Apple Watch application on the phone backs up the watch when unpairing it through the app. To re-pair, tap on the Restore from Backup. Settings and data will mostly be restored except ApplePay cards and passcode.

Users experience battery life issues when using Exchange Calendars and corporate profiles under previous versions. If you’re also using Exchange Calendars, here are some helpful tips to avoid battery life issues:

  • Archive all previous items in your Exchange Calendar.
  • Delete old messages connected to your calendar invites and accept or decline notifications.
  • Move all accept and decline replies from your Outlook Mail immediately upon receiving to another mail folder that doesn’t sync with any of your Apple watch or phone.
  • Check for some errors on your Exchange Calendar.
  • Remove any third-party apps from your Apple watch and Dock. Add them back one by one and check the battery performance.
  • Remove your watch faces and check the battery performance after adding them back.

After a day-long of usage, it’s important to give your fitness band a rest. Unfortunately, this means you need to recharge it every night to ensure it will function well the next day. While it’s okay to charge your watch overnight, it would be better to avoid charging it for a long time. I suggest charging your smartwatch an hour before going to bed every night.

Sometimes does your Apple Watch take TOO long to update? Learn why it might be happening and how to fix it in my helpful article.

Should I Charge My Apple Watch Fully?

The Apple Watch lithium-ion batteries cannot be damaged by charging too long. It will automatically stop charging when it is fully charged. It is most convenient to charge your Watch nightly, overnight. It is impossible to overcharge your Watch, and the battery cannot suffer any harm from regular charging.

Of the most common battery issues that Apple watch users encounter is their watches only charging 80%. If you’re also experiencing this, do the following:

  1. On your Apple Watch, go to Settings.
  2. Tap Battery, and then choose Battery Health.
  3. Tap Optimized Battery Charging and turn off this feature.

After performing these steps, your Apple watch should now charge fully to 100% again. To ensure your watch is charging to its full capacity without overcharging the battery, consider how many minutes or hours it takes to recharge fully. For example, Apple Watch Series 3 and 4 need up to 90 minutes to reach 80% charge and around two hours to completely charge.

The best advice I could give you is to charge your Apple watch in a limited time to a certain battery percentage. That way, you can prolong your smartwatch’s battery lifespan and use it for up to 18 hours every day.

If your Apple Watch is getting hot when charging, read my article on how to keep it cool

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