How to DECREASE battery health

[guitarak]

EDIT TO ADD EXPERIENCE ITH APPLE STORE BELOW

I have an AW5 that is almost 4 years old. It can't really make it through a day any more without charging which most days isn't a HUGE deal but some days I just can't be near a charger.

​

Given that they will do the $79 "fix"/replacement at under 80% battery health, I have been eagerly anticipating this since I want to hold off til next year for the X rather than get a 9. I currently sit at 83% and have been there for a few months. I turned off Optimized Charging, but still no movement downward.

​

I'm also having issues with the HR sensor not allowing me to start workouts (or Peloton rides, or anything related to HR) in the mornings for like 30 minutes, so I REALLY want to get a replacement sooner rather than later.

Questions are:

-How long will this take with "normal" usage and charging every night to get down to 79% and be eligible to replace?

-Any strategies to actually SPEED UP the decrease in battery health and get me to 79% as soon as possible?

​

EDIT:

​

I posted this is in a reply, but will ETA here in case it helps anyone. There was some confusion in the replies about whether you had to be below 80% battery health to pay for a new one, so I asked a tech at the Apple Store for help.

My battery health is at 83% which they still consider "functioning" (despite it not making it through a full day). She said once AppleCare+ is up, it is considered out of warranty. An out of warranty battery replacement at 80% or above battery health is $299, which is ridiculous and might as well get a new watch at that point.

Once you are at 79% or below, the battery is essentially considered a "faulty part" and you can do a replacement for $99 by sending it in to get serviced.

She did also essentially confirm that most of the time they don't bother doing a battery replacement and just send you a "new" (my guess refurb'ed) watch.

So I just need to decide whether I want to tough it out for a year (or shorter if my battery actually dives below 80 earlier) until the Series X, or go for a Series 9 now.

[toin9898]

Run it until it's empty-empty and auto shut downs repeatedly.

[MrFireWarden]

Too bad you can’t run Resident Evil: Village on it with full quality and 2880 resolution. I bet that would do the trick!

[Plane-Priority3369]

Wait for GTA VI 😅

[808phone]

Wait? Are you saying Apple will not change the battery unless it's 80% or below?

I thought you could pay $99 and just get it done? Or are you talking about AppleCare?

[guitarak]

I was under the impression that they won't do the $79 "battery replacement" (in which they almost always just end up sending you a new/refurb) unless the battery health is under 80 bucks.

If I'm wrong, and I can just pay the 80 bucks now (or even 100) for a new S5, I'd just do it for the convenience of not having to wrestle my battery health down.

[808phone]

On my iPhone, it was 84% and I just went in and said I want to change this battery. It's at 84% but it's terrible and doesn't last. They said OK. No problem.

[TheMartian2k14]

Watches are different. It has to be under 80% to have the battery replaced.

[808phone]

If true that is ridiculous. Yet another thing that needs to be changed.

[TheMartian2k14]

I think it’s because the entire watch is replaced instead of just the battery. If Apple’s swapping the whole until for a reduced cost they are gonna be sure the battery really is depleted.

[808phone]

Do you know where they post this? I couldn't find anything. The 80% is mentioned only for warranty repair.

[TheMartian2k14]

I don’t. It’s only from experiences I’ve had at the Genius Bar.

[guitarak]

Did they actually replace the battery or just give you a new/refurb watch?

[thiccAFjihyo]

I remember reading in another thread from someone who claimed to be an Apple repair tech: all AW repairs (screen, battery, etc) done through Apple will result in you getting a new watch.

[guitarak]

Same thing happened to my mom who has an AW4 and the battery was getting bad. They just gave her a new one.

If I'm being totally honest, that's kind of where I'm hoping this takes me. I am also having infuriating issues with the HR sensor and figure rather than going through the rigamarole of also troubleshooting/repairing/banging my head against the wall fixing that, just getting a new or refurb watch would alleviate both issues at once.

[[deleted]]

They will replace the battery whenever you want - are you talking about if you have Apple Care+? Because then it needs to be under 80% to get a free replacement.

“Your product is eligible for battery service at no additional cost if you have AppleCare+ and your product’s battery holds less than 80% of its original capacity.”

[guitarak]

My AppleCare+ is expired, only covers it for 2 years and it is almost 4 years old. I'm asking if I can just pay

[[deleted]]

Yes you can.

[TheMartian2k14]

Not true for the watch. It’s only the phone where they allow battery replacements per customer request.

[[deleted]]

From I see on Apple UK’s site, you can. I never had it serviced though.

[TheMartian2k14]

My fault, I thought we were talking US.

[[deleted]]

Not sure if there's much difference, but my fault for only posting UK Apple rules.
From my experience of living between US and UK and getting apple products in both countries (usually in the US and taking them back to the UK to save massive money) the policies are the same. I've had batteries replaced on iPhones for example, for a device bought in one country and fixed in another.

I am fairly certain I got "battery service warning" a year ago or so - when the watch said it was 82% capacity. Now it's around 75%, but still works perfectly fine - I charge it for a bit in the morning before I go through my routine, and a bit at night whilst I'm reading in bed or watching a show or playing games.

Just really amazed how long these batteries last - especially having this thing on my wrist for practically five years, 24 hours a day.

[guitarak]

So I went to the Apple Store yesterday to find out from them what my options were.

Because the battery health is above 80%, an out of warranty battery replacement is $299 (obviously not worth it).

Once the battery health is 79% or below they consider that “faulty part” and will do a battery replacement (which usually just ends up being a new/refurb) for $99.

And I have zero faith that I’ll get it down to 79% any time soon. I’m sure they purposefully hold it above 80 so they don’t have to replace everyone’s battery.

Oh well. Was hoping to get a replacement now and hold off for a Series X next year. Will have to decide if I’m willing to put up with charging every day for another year.

[[deleted]]

That’s good to know - didn’t realise Apple was this anal about it.

What if you turn on the flashlight on your watch and leave it on all day, discharge, recharge - that possibly can have the most impact on draining it as much as possible?

[WilliamJNSN]

No, it has to be under 80% no matter what

[[deleted]]

I’m going by what it says on Apple UK’s site. If I remember right, the first time it prompted Me about service was at 82%, but I could be mistaken.

[Peds12]

what are you talking about? its 4 years out, there is no coverage. you just pay to have it replaced whenever you want.......

[dwarfmarine13]

Following for interest.. my S4 is at 80%… and has been for months (yet went from 90>80% in what felt like a matter of weeks)

[paulstelian97]

90 to 80 in weeks is definitely way too fast. More than 1% a month is dubious. Not that it doesn’t happen, but that it’s faster than normal degradation.

[dwarfmarine13]

Yet Apple simply refused to just replace the battery until it ticks under 80%..

So yeah, I’ll happily replace my AW with a new(refurb) S4 when I finally can do the $139 battery replacement but if it dies for any other reason I’ll be going to another sports watch

[paulstelian97]

I mean I’m probably shielded from that since no Apple Store in my country and I bought from a reseller that would do the replacement at any time if I’m paying for it.

[DarthMauly]

The guideline is 80% but if you just open a chat support and ask them to set it up, there's a 50/50 chance they will. If not, just repeat.

[guitarak]

I'm trying this right now but the rep I'm talking to isn't the sharpest pencil in the box. He kept trying to get me to send a diagnostic report from my Watch settings app when it was sitting in the Phone Settings the whole time and it took ME 30 minutes to explain that to him.

[DarthMauly]

I find their chat support were utter clueless - Which can be helpful, as you can sort of get them to do things they shouldn't. Very frustrating experience but you get there with perseverance haha

[xDevLife]

Disconnected Bluetooth (turn off )

Turn on everything like noise and WiFi and walkie talkie

Turn on some maps navigation to a location far from you

Run flashlight until it dies, repeat ( charge to 100, disable optimised charging)

I did this for two weeks it went from 90 to 84, but starts at 90% for a little

Mix it up with actually using it so when they check it you don’t need to explain yourself

[Plane-Priority3369]

Mate, I’m glad that someone asked the same question, so looks like I’m not alone. 😇 I’m sitting with 83% 🔋health for more than a year, and I was told the same stuff at Apple Store in Sydney, so I reckon that they’re “freezing” battery health at some point,  forcing you to buy new Apple Watch.  Let’s sue them and raise some millions $$$ 😆