Watch 7 LTE Ultra - battery drain and feedback

[Richard-Tx]

First, I have had/used every Galaxy Watch (i.e. S3 Gear thru Watch 6 Classic).  Very familiar with using the features and removing unwanted apps and disabling unused features.  My only purpose for these watches are the health apps, LTE (enabled via TMobile), step counter.  Do a lot of running in hot/cold weather.

Last year, I had to return the Watch6 LTE classic due to logistical and technical issues and went back to my Watch 5 Pro LTE (W5P).  Have had the W5P since day 1 and the battery is rock solid, even after almost 2 years.  I look at two major areas of a watch.  Battery life and how it handles very hot weather.  Watch 5 Pro was perfect in both areas - Never a complaint from me.  However, I decided to get the new Watch 7 Ultra (W7U).  Even though I was not very impressed by the specs, I figured it was time to upgrade and that I got a great trade-in value for the W5P.  In addition, it had a 590maH battery - same as the W5P.  My display is never on unless I tap screen.  (i disabled "Always On").

So, getting to the point on my W7U experience after using it so far:

-  Ordered on Day1, received on July 19.  (faster than what was originally stated - good).

- Watch is a bit thicker and seems heavier.  Marine band is a bit wider.

- These are newer style quick-release bands.  Can't use previous bands (pin style).  These are not D-Buckle bands.  I really liked the original D-Buckle bands because I could get an exact fit/adjustment on my wrist.  In addition, with the D-Buckle, very quick to put on/take off the watch.  W7U bands take extra time now to put on / take off.  😞

- Speaker/Sound more powerful than W5P. - Great improvement over W5P.

- Titanium casing, just like the W5P.  This is good for better heat dissipation.  I have not had a change yet to try the W7U in >100 degree weather, whereas we have not seen the high tempt this year (yet).  The W5P easily handled 100+ weather.  Just don't make LTE phone calls in 100+ degree or else the watch will overheat.

- Quick button has very limited usage.  Why Samsung????  Anyways, I set it for the water lock feature.

- You can't place the W7U flat on a charging pad because the band prevents the watch from sitting flat on the pad.  However, once you place the W7U flat on the pad, you can put something on top of the watch to keep it flat.  Then it will make electrical/magnetic contact with the pad and start charging.

- Touch screen very responsive.  No delay in scrolling thru each menu.

- Screen very bright.

- The home and back buttons are directly on the side, which is different from the W5P which had the button on the side as well, but at a slight angle.  The W5P made it easier to press those two buttons.  When the buttons are directly on the side, you have to torque your finger/hand slightly to make contact with those buttons.  (of course everyone will have a different opinion on this button placement.

- Samsung still has NOT fixed the infamous problem where when you swing your arm, the display screen turns off.  WHY SAMSUNG??  Why do you turn off the screen when you swing your arms?  Didn't you learn/listen at all from all the complaints us runners informed you since the W5P.   Leave the display on and rely on the screen timeout to turn off the display when not in use.

Anyways I could go on-on, however, there is one item that I take the most concern with now is the battery life on the W7U.  As previously stated, my W5P battery life has been perfect from day 1 and still is solid after more then 1.5 years.  My W5P and W7U settings are manually set by me to be identical. 

However, I have noticed that the W7U seems to drain the battery by 35-40% faster than my W5P.  Yes, you read correctly.  I have watched my battery usage like a hawk on the W5P and it has aways been consistent and sturdy.  Never had a concern even as I speak now.  But, on the W7U, the battery drain is excessive.  As an example, while sleeping,  the battery went from 66% to 44% over a 7-hour period, as compared to my W5P that would go from 88 - 82% over that same period.  It's not clear to me why the excessive drain on the W7U, but even with power management turned on, the drain is still excessive. 

The only two items that could cause this are maybe the LTE signal or the health sensors.  Will soon experiment by turning these off to see if this makes a difference.

Overall, the W7U does not really offer any more "exciting" as compared to my W5P, but I really need to see what is happening to this battery.  Not happy about this battery drainage.   Curious if other W7U (LTE) users have the same battery issue.

[userDxVBZwUxUw]

I am assuming your battery issues could be  since the battery is still in the learning stage- But I will not be surprised if the drain is real!. I agree will all the good stuff on the ultra. However,  I can add 2 more items to the list of for  Samsung to fix . Ultra being the top of line for their wearables. They can not give excuses. 

1) Currently only some mobile carriers work with the LTE.  Samsung, please make LTE work on ALL mobile carriers from day1. PLEASE FIX IT!!

2) Wireless charging does not work for Watch ultra if you plan to use the Samsung Wireless charging docks. interestingly, the old version of the cradle works. THIS IS A BUMMER!! PLEASE FIX IT!!

[Richard-Tx]

On the battery "learning", I really don't think that this comes into play.  The drain is too excessive.  In addition, I have never believed that "learning" does anything useful other than fool people into thinking that your real battery drain issues will get better as time, goes on.  In other words, it is meant to deflect from the truth.  (just my opinion - of course, I could be wrong).

One thing I noticed a bit ago was that my "mobile networks" settings was set to "Always On".  This is odd because it should default to Auto.  With it set to "Always On", the watch is always using the LTE signal as opposed to using phone via blue-tooth to your cell.  This will definitely cause drain.  Will watch battery drain now with that setting change.

BTW:  On your wireless charging issue, My Watch 7 Ultra does successfully charge with a Wireless charging pad.  I have a Samsung Wireless charging pad that I got back then when Samsung gave it for free (bonus) when I ordered the Watch5 Pro 1.5 years ago.  However, the caveat here is that when you place the Watch Ultra on the charging pad, it will not make contact with the pad because the band prevents it from sitting flush on the pad.  So, I just place a light object on top of the watch to push it downward to make contact.  The pad LED comes on and the watch shows that it is charging.

[Home_in_BKK]

No problem with wireless charging with Samsung duo charger.  This is the one I've been using with bud 2 pro and the phone.

[Richard-Tx]

In my case, I have the Marine band.  I can't bend it that far back.  Instead,  I can easily place something on top of the watch to push it downward, then it starts charging.  But still, I just use the charger that comes with the watch.  Good enough.

BTW:  I have the same wireless charger as you do.  It was the freebie that Samsung have out two years ago with the Watch 5 Pro. 

[Samsung_Moderator · Accepted solution]

Hello, Thank you for being part of the Community. I understand how frustrating it is for the battery to drain on your Galaxy Watch Ultra. Give these troubleshooting steps a try for battery drain and help determining what is causing the battery drain:

1. Go to the Samsung members app and open the app

2. Tap on the support section at the bottom of the screen

3. Your Galaxy Watch Ultra should be listed

      A. If your watch is not listed please make sure the software is up-to-date on your watch.

4. Install should be selected, tap on install

5. Tap on get started when it appears

6. Tap on battery status in the top left corner

There are several reasons why your Galaxy Watch may be experiencing battery drain or have decreased battery life. For example, certain apps can increase battery consumption. Keep reading to learn more about how to increase your watch's battery life. Give these links a try for some troubleshooting steps for reduced battery life on your watch: https://www.samsung.com/us/support/troubleshooting/TSG0100323/ and https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00078033/

You can also try to change the mobile network connection to auto. 

Just Swipe down > Settings > Connections>Mobile Networks > Auto

Last step would be to verify the software is up-to-date and try doing a factory reset, https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00084702/.

We also recommend submitting an error report through the Members app. Members app>Support>Connected device diagnostics>select your watch

If the issue continues, the watch will need to be serviced. For service options, you can use the following link: https://www.samsung.com/us/support/service/  or by contacting customer service directly at 1-800-726-7864.

If you are using an international watch, we would recommend reaching out to the service team in your area using the following link: https://www.samsung.com/us/common/visitlocationsite.html

[Geeyanna]

The battery life of the Galaxy Watch 7 is terrible. I regret the purchase.

[Home_in_BKK]

I have the Ultra and battery life is better than my 5 pro.  I'm getting 2 days plus so I charge it every 2 days.  I have AOD on, and health monitors are always on.  I also track workout daily, at least 1 hour.  I would check your background app's to see if they are draining your battery.  I always clear un-used app's.

[ChaosSaber]

https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsungs-working-on-a-fix-for-galaxy-watch-7s-battery-problem/

[Srb79]

Disabling wake on voice, helps a lot. I disabled it and getting close to 30% more battery life