Your Apple Watch battery lasts about 18 hours on a full charge depending on use. However, if your device runs on watchOS 8 and earlier, you can put the watch into ”Power Reserve” mode to extend this battery life. But how do you turn the battery mode off or on?
Power Reserve disables all smartwatch features, only displaying the time, preserving your battery life until you can charge the watch. To turn it off, press the side button until you see the Apple logo. Wait for the Apple Watch to restart, and you may need to charge the gadget first.
Apple Watches running on watchOS 8 or earlier alert you and ask if you would like to use Power Reserve if the smartwatch drops to 10 percent. This feature reduces battery performance and can extend the watch’s run time to 72 hours. It shuts down apps, texts, calls, and music functionalities.
How to Turn off Apple Watch Power Reserve
Power Reserve mode reserves the essential function of an Apple Watch but locks other smartwatch features.
How to Activate Apple Watch Power Reserve
It can be activated automatically, through battery settings, or by pressing and holding the side button until a Power Reserve slider button appears. Drag the Power Reserve slider button to the right to turn on this battery mode
You can also put your watch into Power Reserve mode using the ”Glances” feature. Do this by swiping up on the main watch face and swiping sideways until you locate the Battery glance, then tap the Power Reserve button.
To extend the battery life on your Apple Watch:
- You will get an alert when the battery drops to 10% requesting your permission to switch on Power Reserve mode.
- After tapping the Power Reserve button, the screen will display a confirmation request to proceed.
- Tapping Proceed will activate the Apple Watch Power Reserve mode.
- Once you turn on Apple Watch Power Reserve, viewing time is the only functionality the smartwatch retains. It will display the time in green when you press the side button.
Turning Off Power Reserve Mode on Apple Watch
Having your Apple Watch (on Amazon) function normally after activating the Power Reserve mode is a simple task.
Power Reserve mode transforms your smartwatch into a basic watch. When in Power Reserve mode, there are some functions that standard watches can tackle that the Apple Watch can execute.
Follow the steps below to turn off Power Reserve mode:
- First, connect the watch to a charger to ensure it has enough battery power.
- Next, press and hold the side button for 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears on the watch screen.
- Finally, wait for the watch to restart.
The watch may take a while to restart, but it will boot into normal mode.
Why Won’t Your Apple Watch Turn off Power Reserve?
Although the Power Reserve mode aims at conserving power, it has its share of setbacks. For example, the Apple Watch may sometimes refuse to charge, leaving you stuck in the Power Reserve mode.
This may cause a lot of frustration because the watch loses crucial functionalities like tracking your heart rate and workouts or checking your messages.
The main reason why your Apple Watch may fail to disable Power Reserve mode is because of low battery power.
- Connect your watch to an Apple Watch charger (on Amazon) and wait two to three hours for it to charge fully before attempting to disable Power Reserve.
- If you cannot wait that long, charge it for at least 15 minutes to allow rebooting, then you can charge it later after the Apple Watch resumes normal functioning.
- A red lightning bolt symbol on the screen next to the time indicates your watch is low on power, so charge the watch before restarting.
- If there’s no red light and your phone is on Power Reserve, pressing and holding the side button until the phone reboots should solve the problem.
What to Watch for
If the watch is still stuck in Power Reserve mode, here are several things to look out for:
- Make sure you use the original USB-C charger or an Apple magnetic cable that came with your Apple Watch.
- Confirm that your charger is plugged into a socket or a USB port.
- Confirm that the back of your watch and magnetic charger is clean without dust particles and grime.
- Ensure the magnetic charger and the watch align directly.
- Try restarting the Apple Watch while charging.
- Rebooting the watch may take a while, so press and hold the side button for a little longer.
Contact Apple Support for assistance if the watch is completely stuck in the Power Reserve mode.
What Does Power Reserve Do on Apple Watch?
Power Reserve mode conserves battery charge by rapidly decreasing power usage on your Apple Watch. It extends the most straightforward function of the watch for more time until there is an opportunity to have the watch charged again.
When the watch is in Power Reserve mode, the low battery icon appears alongside the time display.
Besides the essential function of time display, all other functionalities of your Apple Watch are disabled by Power Reserve mode. As a result, the time only shows for 6 seconds after you press the side button.
You cannot track fitness activity, heart rate, or blood oxygen levels when the phone is on the Power Reserve. You’ll also be unable to communicate via text or call, listen to music, or access emergency contacts.
Power Reserve mode is beneficial in extending battery time but transforms your powerful smartwatch into a basic watch.
Low Power Mode
Apple has developed a ”Low Power” mode feature in their recent watches with watchOS 9 to save battery life.
The Low Power mode limits power usage, lengthening battery life. In addition, it allows you to use some smartwatch features, only disabling the most advanced ones. Enabling and disabling Low Power mode is simple, which maximizes battery performance enhancing the Apple Watch activity.