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If your Apple Watch is dying before the end of the day, start with the settings that reduce screen activity, cellular use, background work, and intensive workout sensing. The best first test is usually Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On > off. Then use Low Power Mode when you need emergency runtime, disable cellular when your iPhone or reliable Wi-Fi is nearby, and reduce unnecessary screen wakes and notifications.
These changes do not produce a guaranteed number of extra hours. Usage, cellular signal, workouts, apps, battery age, and watch model all matter. If Settings > Battery > Battery Health shows a low Maximum Capacity or Battery Needs Service, configuration changes cannot restore the battery’s lost capacity.
How much battery life should your Apple Watch provide?
Apple’s published battery figures differ substantially by model and are measured under controlled usage patterns rather than ordinary worst-case use. As of Apple’s current August 2026 specifications, the headline estimates are:
| Model | Normal use | Low Power Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Watch Series 11 | Up to 24 hours | Up to 38 hours |
| Apple Watch SE 3 | Up to 18 hours | Up to 32 hours |
| Apple Watch Ultra 3 | Up to 42 hours | Up to 72 hours |
Apple’s battery methodology uses a defined mixture of time checks, notifications, app use, workouts, and—in some cases—sleep tracking. Your result can be much lower with weak cellular coverage, long GPS workouts, frequent screen use, streaming audio, or an aging battery. Older Series models, older SE models, and earlier Ultra models also have different ratings.
#1 Best Overall
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/416RQ0rtsUL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
The eight settings worth changing, ranked by likely impact
| Setting | Likely impact | Main trade-off | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Always On display | Potentially high | The screen goes black when your wrist is down | Best first everyday test |
| Low Power Mode | High | Reduces health measurements, alerts, connectivity, gestures, and background activity | Late-day emergencies, travel, and overnight use when compromises are acceptable |
| Cellular | Medium to high | The watch loses independent connectivity away from your iPhone and Wi-Fi | At home, work, or anywhere your iPhone is nearby |
| Background App Refresh | Low to medium | Some apps may show older information until opened | Restricting rarely used apps |
| Notifications | Low to medium | Fewer immediate alerts | People receiving frequent nonessential alerts |
| Wake gestures | Low to medium | You must tap or press a control to wake the display | Accidental screen wakes |
| Workout power saving | High during long outdoor workouts | Less frequent GPS and heart-rate readings; some metrics disappear | Long runs, hikes, rides, and other GPS activities |
| Watch face and brightness | Low to medium | Less information, customization, or outdoor readability | A low-risk final adjustment |
1. Turn off Always On—or reduce what appears while your wrist is down
Always On is the strongest everyday setting to test because it keeps the display active, albeit dimmed, while your wrist is down. Apple says it can continue showing the time, watch face, complications, Live Activities, notifications, or an open app in this state. On Series 10 and later, information can also update more frequently while the display is dimmed.
On the watch, go to:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Display & Brightness.
- Tap Always On.
- Turn Always On off.
Apple documents the feature and its controls in this Always On support guide. An independent, two-watch comparison involving 46mm Apple Watch Series 10 units found approximately 10 to 12 additional hours with Always On disabled. That is useful evidence that the display can be a major drain, but it was a small, model-specific test—not a promise that every Apple Watch will gain 10 hours.
Keep Always On but reduce its workload: open the Always On settings and turn off unnecessary options such as Show Complication Data, Show Live Activities, Show Notifications, or Show Apps. You can also use a simpler face with fewer updating complications.
The cost is straightforward: the watch face becomes black when your wrist is down, so you must raise your wrist, tap the screen, or press a control to check it. Always On is available on Series 5 and later, Apple Watch SE 3, and Ultra models, but not on every older SE model.
2. Use Low Power Mode when the watch must last
Low Power Mode is the most powerful built-in emergency option because it changes several power-hungry behaviors at once. Apple rates the current Series 11 at up to 38 hours, the SE 3 at up to 32 hours, and the Ultra 3 at up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode. Those figures are controlled estimates, not normal-use guarantees.
To enable it from the watch:
- Press the side button to open Control Center.
- Tap the battery percentage.
- Turn on Low Power Mode.
- Read the information screen, then tap Turn On or Turn On For.
- If offered, choose 1 Day, 2 Days, or 3 Days.
You can also use Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode. Apple’s Low Power Mode documentation lists the model and software requirements and the features that change.
What Low Power Mode gives up
Depending on the model and circumstances, Low Power Mode can disable or reduce:
- Background blood oxygen measurements.
- Background heart-rate measurements.
- Heart data used for hypertension notifications.
- Irregular, high-heart-rate, and low-heart-rate notifications.
- Always On display.
- Double Tap and wrist-flick gestures.
- Start Workout reminders and Time in Daylight.
- Background app refresh, complication updates, Live Activity updates, Siri responsiveness, and animation smoothness.
- Connectivity when the iPhone is not nearby.
When the iPhone is away, Wi-Fi and cellular may be turned off until an app needs a connection. Calls and notifications may be delayed, missed calls or notifications may be retrieved periodically, and emergency alerts may not arrive. That makes Low Power Mode a poor permanent choice for someone who depends on immediate notifications, heart-rate alerts, background health trends, blood-oxygen data, or sleep measurements.
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3. Turn off cellular when your iPhone or reliable Wi-Fi is nearby
A cellular Apple Watch uses Bluetooth to communicate with a nearby iPhone, then known Wi-Fi where appropriate, and cellular when neither is available. Extended cellular use consumes more battery, and weak coverage can make the watch work harder while searching for or maintaining service. Apple specifically recommends using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi when practical.
Rank #2
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 42mm] Smartwatch with Rose Gold Aluminum Case with Light Blush Sport Band - S/M. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31caPPnRysL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
To disable cellular:
- Press the side button to open Control Center.
- Tap the Cellular button.
- Tap Cellular to turn the connection off.
See Apple’s cellular connectivity guidance for signal indicators and behavior. With cellular off, the watch can still use Bluetooth to your iPhone, known Wi-Fi networks, built-in GPS, local workouts, downloaded music, Apple Pay, alarms, timers, and many health features.
The trade-off is that the watch cannot independently make calls, receive data, stream music, or perform other network-dependent tasks while away from both the iPhone and Wi-Fi.
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- At home or work: turn cellular off if your iPhone is nearby.
- On a run without your iPhone: leave it on if calls, messages, streaming, or other connectivity matters.
- In a poor-signal area: use Airplane Mode if you do not need connectivity. Repeated searching for service can be more wasteful than simply being offline.
Wi-Fi is not automatically efficient if the signal is poor. The relevant goal is a stable, useful connection—not merely leaving Wi-Fi enabled.
4. Restrict Background App Refresh
Background App Refresh lets apps check for updates and new content when you are not actively using them. It is a sensible, low-cost adjustment, but it is unlikely to transform battery life for every owner.
On the watch, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. You can turn the feature off globally or leave it enabled and disable individual apps.
A better starting point is to turn it off for news, shopping, social, and rarely used apps. Keep it enabled for apps whose complications or background information you actually need. Apple explains the control in its battery-life guide.
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There is an important exception: apps with complications on the current watch face can continue refreshing even when their Background App Refresh setting is off. If a complication is not useful, remove it from the face rather than assuming this switch controls everything.
In the independent Series 10 comparison, Background App Refresh, app notifications, and irregular rhythm notifications were disabled together and produced roughly five additional hours in that test. The result cannot be assigned to Background App Refresh alone, and the effect will vary with app activity.
5. Reduce unnecessary notifications
Each notification can wake the display, trigger haptic feedback, and sometimes play a sound. This matters most if the watch receives many alerts. Someone who gets only a few notifications should expect a smaller improvement.
Rank #3
![Apple Watch SE 3 [GPS 40mm] Smartwatch with Starlight Aluminum Case with Starlight Sport Band - S/M. Fitness and Sleep Trackers, Heart Rate Monitor, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31YiTby0pOL._SL160_.jpg)
- GET SMARTER HEALTH INSIGHTS—Apple Watch SE 3 is an advanced health tracker that helps you better understand your body. The smartwatch sends alerts for an irregular heart rhythm, or an unusually high or low heart rate.* You can view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app,* track your sleep score, and get sleep apnea notifications.*
- A GREAT FITNESS TRACKER—SE 3 can track your workouts in a healthy number of ways—from running and strength training to simply achieving your 10K steps a day. With real-time metrics and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone,* you’ll hit your goals like never before.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—SE 3 is a smartwatch that can detect a hard fall or severe car crash and automatically help connect you to emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- WOMEN’S HEALTH INSIGHTS—SE 3 has advanced sensors that track your wrist temperature while you sleep. With this smartwatch, you can log your periods and symptoms, get period predictions, and get notified of cycle deviations.*
- GREAT BATTERY LIFE AND FASTER CHARGING—Enjoy a smartwatch with all-day, 18-hour battery life* from sunup to sundown. Then charge up to twice as fast as SE 2* and get up to 8 hours of battery in just 15 minutes.*
Use the iPhone paired with the watch:
- Open the Apple Watch app.
- Tap My Watch.
- Tap Notifications.
- Select an app.
- Choose Custom.
- Select Send to Notification Center or Notifications Off, where available.
For apps under Mirror iPhone Alerts From, turn off the switch beside apps that do not deserve an immediate wrist alert. Apple’s notification guide describes the available choices.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsDo not disable everything by default. Keep immediate alerts for calls, important messages, calendar appointments, reminders, safety needs, and health-related alerts. Send low-priority alerts to Notification Center so they remain available without waking the watch for every event.
6. Disable wake gestures if the display wakes accidentally
Turn off automatic wake behaviors if the screen lights up repeatedly while you move, wear sleeves or gloves, or rotate the Digital Crown by accident. Apple does not publish a universal number of hours saved by these switches, so treat the benefit as an inference rather than a measured guarantee. It is most useful for watches that are visibly waking too often.
On the watch, go to Settings > Display & Brightness, then turn off:
- Wake on Wrist Raise
- Wake On Crown Rotation
The controls are documented in Apple’s display-wake guide. You will need to tap the display or press a button to wake it. This can also make gesture-dependent workflows less convenient, particularly if you rely on the screen waking automatically.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallIf you keep Always On enabled, these controls can reduce transitions from the dim wrist-down state to the brighter active state. If accidental waking is not a problem, the battery benefit may be too small to justify the inconvenience.
7. Use workout-specific power saving for long GPS activities
During a long run, hike, ride, or walk, GPS, heart-rate sensing, cellular streaming, and screen use can matter more than ordinary background settings. Apple Watch supports a more aggressive option called Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings.
On eligible watches, go to:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Workout.
- Tap Low Power Mode if you want workouts to use Low Power Mode automatically.
- Tap Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings.
The watch must be in Low Power Mode for fewer readings to take effect. Apple says this feature is available with watchOS 9.1 or later on Series 8 and later, SE 2 and later, and Ultra and later models. Check Apple’s Low Power Mode guide if your menu differs.
With the reduced-reading option active:
- GPS and heart-rate readings occur less frequently.
- Workout alerts are disabled.
- Splits and segments are not recorded.
- Current pace is unavailable.
That is a meaningful compromise, not a free battery boost. Use it when completing the workout matters more than having every live metric. For context, Apple rates the Ultra 3 for up to 14 hours of outdoor workout with full GPS and heart-rate readings, up to 20 hours in Low Power Mode with full readings, and up to 35 hours in Low Power Mode with cellular and fewer readings.
Rank #4
![Apple Watch SE 3 [GPS 40mm] Smartwatch with Midnight Aluminum Case with Midnight Sport Band - S/M. Fitness and Sleep Trackers, Heart Rate Monitor, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31Gq8SToFJL._SL160_.jpg)
- GET SMARTER HEALTH INSIGHTS—Apple Watch SE 3 is an advanced health tracker that helps you better understand your body. The smartwatch sends alerts for an irregular heart rhythm, or an unusually high or low heart rate.* You can view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app,* track your sleep score, and get sleep apnea notifications.*
- A GREAT FITNESS TRACKER—SE 3 can track your workouts in a healthy number of ways—from running and strength training to simply achieving your 10K steps a day. With real-time metrics and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone,* you’ll hit your goals like never before.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—SE 3 is a smartwatch that can detect a hard fall or severe car crash and automatically help connect you to emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- WOMEN’S HEALTH INSIGHTS—SE 3 has advanced sensors that track your wrist temperature while you sleep. With this smartwatch, you can log your periods and symptoms, get period predictions, and get notified of cycle deviations.*
- GREAT BATTERY LIFE AND FASTER CHARGING—Enjoy a smartwatch with all-day, 18-hour battery life* from sunup to sundown. Then charge up to twice as fast as SE 2* and get up to 8 hours of battery in just 15 minutes.*
For long workouts, also consider leaving the iPhone behind only when you understand the connectivity cost, avoiding music through the built-in speaker, and using AirPods or another Bluetooth audio device. Apple says the built-in speaker can drain the battery faster.
8. Simplify the watch face and lower brightness
This is a lower-risk optimization, especially if you want to keep core health features and notifications. Use a simple, dark face with only the complications you actually check. Remove live or frequently updating complications that add no value.
To adjust brightness, open Settings > Display & Brightness and lower the Brightness control. Apple documents this in its brightness and text-size guide.
Apple does not publish a universal hours-saved figure for face complexity or brightness. Do not assume every animated or colorful face is a major battery drain: the effect depends on the display state, complications, model, and how often you look at the watch. Lower brightness can make the display harder to read outdoors, while a simpler face sacrifices glanceable information and customization.
Settings you should not disable blindly
Irregular rhythm notifications
Turning off irregular rhythm notifications is not a strong battery hack. Apple says the feature checks occasionally, particularly when you are still; it is not continuously searching for atrial fibrillation. The independent Series 10 test also evaluated this setting only as part of a group of changes.
Unless you have a separate medical, privacy, or personal reason to disable it, leave the feature enabled if it is available and medically appropriate for you. Apple says it is intended to identify a rhythm suggestive of AFib, not diagnose every irregularity; it is not intended for people already diagnosed with AFib or people under 22, and availability varies by country or region. It also stops functioning in Low Power Mode. See Apple’s guidance on irregular rhythm notifications and their availability and limitations.
Siri’s voice trigger
You can turn off the voice trigger at Settings > Siri > Listen for “Siri” or “Hey Siri” > Off. Siri remains available through the Digital Crown unless that control is also disabled.
Apple documents the setting, but does not identify it as a substantial battery-saving measure. Do not claim that the watch is wasting significant power by constantly listening without evidence. Treat this as an optional privacy or accidental-trigger change, not one of the highest-value battery fixes. The control is described in Apple’s Siri guide.
Health measurements, heart alerts, and sleep tracking
Low Power Mode can disable background heart-rate and blood-oxygen measurements and irregular, high-heart-rate, and low-heart-rate notifications. It can therefore create gaps in health trends and sleep data. If those features matter to you, use the balanced profile below instead of leaving Low Power Mode enabled permanently.
Best Value
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 42mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - S/M. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41s72HIk5TL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
Be especially cautious about removing safety-related alerts or relying on a maximum-runtime setup while traveling alone. A battery-saving profile that prevents the watch from maintaining a useful connection is not necessarily the safest profile.
Optimized charging
Battery life means how long the watch runs on its current charge. Battery lifespan means how long the battery remains useful before chemical aging reduces its capacity. Optimized Battery Charging and Optimized Charge Limit primarily protect the second—not the first.
Apple says lithium-ion batteries age through factors including charge cycles and temperature history. Permanently disabling charging optimization may give you a fuller charge on a particular day, but Apple warns that disabling Optimized Charge Limit can increase wear and reduce long-term lifespan. If you need 100% for a specific day, use Charge to Full Now from the charging screen rather than disabling optimization permanently. Apple’s charging guidance is available here, and its battery-aging explanation is here.
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Choose a configuration instead of turning everything off
Best everyday compromise
- Turn Always On off.
- Leave cellular on only when you are away from your iPhone and need independent connectivity.
- Disable Background App Refresh for unimportant apps.
- Send low-priority notifications to Notification Center.
- Keep normal workout sensing enabled.
- Leave Siri on if you use it.
- Leave irregular rhythm notifications on if medically appropriate and available.
- Reserve Low Power Mode for late-day emergencies, overnight use, or travel.
Maximum runtime for travel or a long day
- Turn on Low Power Mode.
- Turn off cellular unless you need it.
- Turn off Always On.
- Disable wake gestures if the screen wakes accidentally.
- Use a simple face with few complications.
- Disable nonessential notifications.
- Use Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings for eligible long outdoor workouts.
This profile may stop heart-rate notifications, background heart-rate and blood-oxygen measurements, some gestures, immediate connectivity, and some incoming alerts. It is a deliberate trade-off, not a universally suitable default.
Long-workout profile
- Enable workout Low Power Mode.
- Enable Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings only if you can do without current pace, splits, segments, workout alerts, and frequent readings.
- Keep cellular off if the iPhone is nearby or communication is unnecessary.
- Use Bluetooth headphones instead of the built-in speaker.
- Turn off Always On and unnecessary notifications before starting.
Health-first profile
- Turn off Always On if you want more runtime without reducing health measurements.
- Keep ordinary workout sensing, heart-rate alerts, and appropriate health notifications enabled.
- Use Low Power Mode only when the alternative is the watch shutting down completely.
- Keep the iPhone nearby when possible to avoid unnecessary cellular use.
- Do not disable irregular rhythm notifications solely to save a speculative amount of battery.
If these settings do not fix the drain
Work through the following sequence before erasing the watch:
- Check battery health: on the watch, open Settings > Battery > Battery Health and inspect Maximum Capacity. Apple describes this as the battery’s capacity relative to when it was new. If the watch says Battery Needs Service, contact Apple or an authorized service provider.
- Consider timing: if the drain started immediately after a watchOS update, background update tasks may still be running. Apple recommends waiting a few days and checking again before taking drastic action.
- Check the connection: keep the iPhone nearby, use a reliable Wi-Fi network, and watch for weak cellular coverage or repeated disconnections.
- Review high-activity causes: long GPS workouts, cellular streaming, frequent alerts, an overactive complication, and music through the built-in speaker can explain a sudden drop.
- Restart the watch: hold the side button, tap the power button, drag the Power Off slider, and then hold the side button to turn it on again. If a normal restart is impossible, hold the side button and Digital Crown together for at least 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears. Use a force restart only when necessary.
- Update and retest: after ordinary troubleshooting, use the watch normally for a day or two with one change at a time so you can identify the actual cause.
- Unpair and restore only as a later step: this can address an abnormal software or pairing problem, but it is not a routine battery setting.
Apple’s battery troubleshooting guidance covers battery health, signal strength, update-related drain, and service considerations. Restart instructions are in Apple’s restart guide.
Why a factory reset is not one of the eight settings
A factory reset erases content and settings; it does not directly reduce power consumption. It may help if a software or pairing problem is causing abnormal drain, but there is no strong evidence that resetting a healthy watch routinely extends battery life.
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If you eventually need to erase it and have the paired iPhone, Apple’s preferred process is:
- Keep the iPhone and watch close together.
- Open the Apple Watch app on the iPhone.
- Tap My Watch > All Watches.
- Tap the information button beside the watch.
- Tap Unpair Apple Watch.
- Keep the cellular plan if you will pair the watch again.
- Enter your Apple Account password and finish unpairing.
Unpairing erases the watch, restores factory settings, and removes Activation Lock. If you erase the watch directly through Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings, Activation Lock remains. Back up and understand the cellular-plan consequences before proceeding. Apple’s full unpairing and erasing instructions should be followed.
Model, software, and regional limitations
Menu names and available features depend on the watchOS version, model, region, carrier, and setup. Always On is not available on every older SE. Fewer GPS and heart-rate readings require watchOS 9.1 or later and supported Series, SE, or Ultra models. Cellular depends on a cellular model, a supported carrier, and regional availability. Irregular rhythm notifications are also unavailable in some countries and regions. Family Setup can present different controls and health-feature behavior from a normally paired watch.
The safest approach is to change one or two settings, observe the result for a day, and preserve the features you genuinely use. Start with the display and cellular connection; use Low Power Mode and reduced workout readings only when their functional costs are acceptable.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe Bottom Line
Bottom line: Turn off Always On first, then limit cellular use and unnecessary screen wakes. Use Low Power Mode strategically rather than permanently, and use reduced GPS and heart-rate readings for long outdoor workouts when you can accept fewer metrics. Restrict background refresh and notifications selectively. If battery health is poor or the watch reports that service is needed, the real solution is battery service—not eight more switches.
