How To Fix Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Battery Drain Issue
Are you experiencing battery life issues on your Samsung Galaxy Watch 5? there are several factors that can cause this such as too many apps running in the background, outdated software, or a lot of health trackers running. To fix this you will need to perform severral troubleshooting steps.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is the latest premium smartwatch available in the market that’s an upgrade over last year’s model. It uses a much tougher sapphire glass and comes with a bigger battery as well as a powerful processor.
Technical Specifications:
- Display: 1.19″ Sapphire Crystal Glass AMOLED 396 x 396px (40mm) or 1.36″ Sapphire Crystal Glass AMOED 450 x 450px (44mm)
- CPU: Samsung Exynos W920
- RAM: 1.5GB
- Storage: 16GB
- Battery: 284mAh (40mm) or 410 mAh (44mm)
- Connectivity: NFC, GPS, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi (2.4Gz & 5Ghz), LTE (optional)
- Durability: IP68, Waterproof to 50m (5ATM), MIL-STD-810H
- Software: One UI Watch 4.5 atop Wear 3.5
- Health sensors: Optical Heart Rate, Electrical Heart Sensor (ECG), Bioelectrical Impedance (BIA), Continuous SpO, Skin Temperature Sensor
- Mobile payments: Samsung Pay, Google Wallet
Why is my Samsung Galaxy watch losing battery so fast?
One of the issues that you might experience with your new Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is when it has decreased battery life. This can be an annoying experience as you will need to constantly connect the watch to its charger.
Here’s what you can do to fix the battery drain issues you are experiencing.
Solution 1: Check for new software updates available for you Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
In order to prevent any battery drain issues on your Galaxy Watch 5 you need to make sure that it is running on the latest software update. The latest software update will have several performance tweaks that will improve the battery life of the device as well as have several bug fixes.
In order to check for a new software version your Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 must be connected to an updated version of the Galaxy Wearable app which should be installed in your android phone or iOS device.
Make sure the watch has a good charge on it before starting the update process. You may not be able to update without at least a 30% charge.
Updating Watch 5 software
Navigate to and open the Galaxy Wearable app from the connected smartphone.
Tap Watch settings.
Tap Watch software update.
Tap Download and install.
After the newest update has been installed try checking if your Galaxy Watch 5 now has improved battery life.
Solution 2: Turn off unused health trackers on your Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Your Galaxy Watch 5 health sensors contribute a lot to battery consumption which is why you need to turn off sensors that you don’t need.
Turning off health trackers
Sleep: Tap Settings at the bottom of the menu, turn the switch off, and then tap OK to confirm.
Heart rate: Tap Auto HR Settings from the bottom of the menu, and then tap Never.
Stress: Tap Auto stress settings from the bottom of the menu, and then turn the switch off.
Solution 3: Close background apps on your Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
One of the best ways to increase the battery life of your Galaxy Watch 5 is by closing any apps that might be running in the background.
Close background apps
Swipe up from the bottom of your watch face and tap Recent apps.
Swipe to the lest until the end.
Tap X (Close all) to close all running apps.
Solution 4: Restart the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Sometimes a software glitch will cause the Galaxy Watch 5 to have battery drain issues. To fix this you should try to do a restart. When you restart your watch it refreshes its operating system and removes any corrupted temporary data that could be causing the watch to have a decreased battery life.
Restart
Press and hold the Power button and Back button for approximately 7 seconds or until the watch power cycles.
Your Samsung watch should start rebooting.
Once the Reboot is complete, your Samsung watch should start up as normal.
After the watch restarts you should check if its battery life has improved.
Solution 5: Turn off network connections on your Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
One of the factors that can cause your watch battery to drain quickly is an active network connection. This can either be the GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or even mobile data feature. If you want to have a much longer battery life on your Watch 5 then you need to turn these features off. when not in use You can turn them back on at a later time when needed.
Turn off connections
Press the Home key (Power key) on your watch, and then tap Settings from the Apps screen. Tap Connections, and then turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. For LTE or 3G watches, turn off Mobile networks.
Take note that with Bluetooth off your watch will disconnect from your phone.
Try to check if the battery life of the watch has improved.
Solution 6: Turn off always on display of Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Having the always on display feature activated will generally consumer more battery life compared to when this feature is off. You should consider turning this setting off if you want to have an extended battery life on your watch.
Turn off Always on display
Press the Home key (Power key) on your watch, and then tap Settings from the Apps screen. Tap Display then turn off the switch for the Always On display feature.
Solution 7: Turn off voice wake-up in Bixby on your Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
The Bixby personal assistant is a feature available on your Galaxy Watch 5 which can be useful however it’s voice wake up setting can cause the battery drain problem on your watch. You should consider turning this feature off.
Turn off Bixby voice wake-up
Press the Home key (Power key) on your watch then swipe up.
Tap on Bixby.
Tap Settings.
Tap Voice wake-up.
Turn off the Voice Wake-up switch.
Solution 7: Customize the notifications on your Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Are you constantly getting notifications from certain apps on your watch? This can reduce your watch battery life. Try turning off the notifications of some apps that you don’t need to be notified for.
Turn off notifications
Open the Galaxy Wearable app on the connected device.
Tap Watch settings.
Tap Notifications.
Turn off the notifications for selected the apps.
Solution 8: Turn on power saving mode on your Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
The power saving mode is one of the best ways to extend your watch battery life. Take note that when the power saving mode is turned on, your watch’s Home screen will be displayed in grayscale and all functions will be turned off, except calls, messages, and notifications that use Bluetooth. Wi-Fi and mobile data will also be turned off, and performance will be limited.
Turn on power saving mode
From the watch Apps screen, open Settings
Tap Battery.
Tap the Power saving slider to turn on or off.
Tap Watch only to get even more battery life.
Solution 8: Do not expose the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 to hot temperatures
Exposing your watch to very hot temperatures will have a negative effect on its battery. The battery life could be shortened or worse it could be damaged.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to setup GPS in Galaxy watch device?
On your watch, navigate to and open Settings.
Tap Location, and then tap the switch next to Location to turn it on.
Tap the switch next to Improve accuracy to increase the location accuracy.
Next, swipe to and tap Permissions. From here, you can choose when your watch’s location will be used.How to install apps on Galaxy Watch 5?
Open the Galaxy Wearable app on the connected phone. Swipe to and tap Store to open the watch version of the Play Store.
Find the app you want, tap it, and then tap Install. It will automatically install on your watch.How to uninstall Galaxy Watch 5 apps?
Open the Galaxy Wearable app, and then tap the Home tab.
Tap Apps, and then swipe to and tap Manage apps.
Tap the Delete icon (the trash can), select the app(s) you want to delete, and then tap Uninstall. Tap Uninstall to confirm.How to uninstall apps using the Galaxy Watch 5?
Navigate to the Apps screen that has the app you want to uninstall.
Touch and hold the app.
Tap Uninstall, and then tap OK.How to close recent apps in Galaxy Watch 5?
Navigate to the Apps screen on your watch, and then tap the Recents icon.
Swipe left and right to view your recently opened apps. To close an app, swipe up on it.
To close all of your apps, swipe all the way to the right, and then tap Close all. On previous watch models, simply tap Close all at the bottom.
I have always worn a Garmin and the sales person at the Verizon store talked me into this piece of junk. I just put it back on this morning because my Garmin wrist band broke and within 5 hours the battery is half drained. I keep it on power saving mode, but now it looks like I have to turn off all of the features that make it more than a timex watch. Sad thing is I am still paying on it on my Verizon bill. Next watch will be a GARMIN at least the battery lasts for 5 days instead of 5 hours!
Was going to buy a 6. Looking at how many people are complaining about battery draining (as they have for every iteration of this watch) I conclude that the best way of avoiding battery draining is to turn all the features off. Since that is the equivalent of not owning the watch I will take the cheaper course and just not buy one.