The Silent Battery Drain
Just like the iPhone, watchOS allows installed applications to run invisibly in the background. A feature called “Background App Refresh” permits your weather complications, news apps, and stock tickers to silently wake up, communicate with your paired iPhone via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and download new data even when the screen is entirely black. Because the Apple Watch battery is incredibly small, this constant wireless communication is a primary reason the watch often dies before the end of the day. To maximize your battery lifespan, you must completely terminate this background downloading engine.
How to Turn Off Background App Refresh Globally
You can permanently sever all background network connections via the General settings.
- Open the Settings app directly on your Apple Watch (the grey gear icon).
- Scroll down the main list and tap on General.
- Scroll down and tap on Background App Refresh.
- At the absolute top of the screen, locate the master toggle switch labeled Background App Refresh.
- Toggle this switch to the Off position (the green background will disappear).
On-Demand Updates Only
The change takes effect instantly. The Apple Watch will completely shut down the background scheduling daemon. Your installed applications and watch face complications will no longer be allowed to silently request data from your iPhone. To conserve maximum battery power, data will now strictly load “on demand.” This means your weather complication will only update its forecast at the exact physical moment you tap the screen or raise your wrist to look at it.