If you don’t wear your Apple Watch while sleeping and are wondering whether you can turn off your Apple Watch at night to save the battery, you are at the right place. While some users wear their Apple Watches to bed to record their sleep metrics, others charge them overnight.
But should you turn off your Apple Watch at night?
It is not necessary to turn Apple Watch off overnight. It is better and more convenient for the watches’ lithium-ion batteries to be charged every night, overnight. You cannot overcharge the batteries, and starting the day with a fully charged Apple Watch is better.
I never turn off my Apple Watch. Either I wear it to track my sleep (it isn’t the best at this), or I charge it overnight, ready to start the day with a fully charged watch.
Read on to find out why you shouldn’t turn off your Apple Watch and whether turning off your Apple Watch saves battery.
Why You Shouldn’t Turn Off Your Apple Watch
Turning off your Apple Watch every night would affect its battery life in the long run. So you should not turn off your Apple Watch at night with hopes of saving its battery because they use very little battery at night. Instead, it’s better to leave them on and connected to the charger overnight.
Many users say leaving your Apple Watch to charge overnight is much better than turning it off at night. Leaving your watch to charge overnight will not harm its battery because your Apple Watch lithium-ion battery stops charging once it reaches 100. It cannot overcharge.
On the other hand, if you turn off your Apple Watch every night, it will harm its battery life in the long run because turning your Apple Watch off and on repeatedly damages its battery life as turning off puts a lot of stress on the device. So it’s better to leave it connected to the charger.
Depending on your Apple Watch, it won’t have the best battery life. If you need it for work, waking up to a 30% charged watch that will die in a couple of hours is not good, especially as the batteries do not like being undercharged.
Does your Apple Watch battery drain too fast? To solve this problem, I wrote a helpful guide on maximizing your battery life. Check it out.
Some people also turn their Apple Watches off, worrying that leaving them on will expose them to harmful radiation. That’s not the case with today’s advanced smartwatches because the Apple Watch is safe to wear. According to researchers, they do not emit harmful radiation at night, so you don’t need to turn them off.
Does Turning off Apple Watch Save Battery?
An Apple Watch uses a 2% charge every hour when not in use. You can save more battery by turning off the always-on display at night or by keeping your Apple Watch charging overnight.
I took my Apple Watch off my wrist, and it went from 95% to 93% charge in one hour. Assuming you sleep 8 hours a night, you will only save a 16% charge.
Modern batteries are designed to stay on and constantly charge. In addition, they have very light usage during the night when you are not interacting with the Watch, so the battery will barely drain.
If you want to conserve your battery at night, you can consider turning off the always-on display to save your Apple Watch’s battery life.
To turn off the Always-On display on your Apple Watch, go to the Watch app on your iPhone and go to General > Display & Brightness. Next, unselect the “Always On” option.
You can also try the following tips to make your Apple Watch’s battery last longer:
- Turn off the “Wake on Wrist Raise” option.
- Put your Apple Watch in Sleep mode when you are sleeping.
- Minimize the display brightness.
- Use a dark watch face that consumes less power.
- Reduce notifications by only allowing notifications from important apps.
- Avoid taking calls from your Apple Watch if possible.
- Use the Power Saving Mode when working out.
Following these tips ensures that your Apple Watch consumes less power. You can also check Apple’s official guide on Apple Watch battery and charging.
Are you still confused about why you can charge your Apple Watch all day without issue? To understand, I suggest you read my helpful article on why you cannot overcharge an Apple Watch.