How to Extend Battery Life on Any Wearable

In the age of fitness trackers, smartwatches, and smart rings, wearables have become essential companions for our daily health and productivity routines. But even the best device is only as useful as its battery life. Whether you're smashing step goals, checking heart rate, or simply glancing at notifications, nothing puts a damper on your day like a dead device.

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The good news? You don’t need to be tech savvy to squeeze out more juice from your wearable. From settings tweaks to habit shifts, this guide gives you practical, actionable tips to extend the battery life on almost any wearable, so you can focus on smashing goals, not charging cables.

1. Turn Down the Screen Brightness

Let’s kick off with the most obvious, and often most overlooked fix: the display. Many wearables come with vibrant AMOLED or OLED screens that look amazing but guzzle power.

If your wearable has brightness settings, switch off auto brightness and manually drop it down a few notches. You’ll still see everything you need in most lighting conditions, but your battery will thank you.

Pro tip: For outdoor workouts, you can momentarily raise brightness and drop it back again once you're indoors.

2. Disable Always On Display (AOD)

The always on display looks sleek, especially when your watch face mimics an analogue dial, but it’s a major battery drain. Consider disabling it completely, or set it to time out quickly after checking.

Some devices offer a gesture based wake up (like raising your wrist). Use that instead for better battery efficiency.

3. Turn Off Notifications You Don’t Need

We’re talking group chats, random app pings, or notifications from apps you never open. Each time your wearable vibrates or lights up, it uses energy.

Dive into your wearable’s companion app and customise which notifications come through. Prioritise essentials like calls, texts, and health alerts. This not only extends battery life, it gives you mental space back too.

4. Limit Background Health Tracking

Continuous heart rate monitoring, SpO2, stress detection, and sleep tracking are fantastic features. But do you really need all of them running 24/7?

Many fitness trackers allow you to adjust tracking frequency, such as checking your heart rate every 10 minutes instead of every second. For metrics like SpO2 (blood oxygen), daily or nightly tracking is often enough.

Charles’ Take: I turn off stress tracking unless I’m actively experimenting with new breathwork techniques. It saves 10 to 20% battery daily on most wearables.

5. Use Battery Saver or Low Power Mode

Most modern wearables include a Battery Saver Mode, which can disable non essential features (like WiFi or advanced sensors) while keeping the core functions intact.

Use it when:

• You're travelling

• Battery’s dipping below 20%

• You don’t need extras like GPS or music controls

Some devices let you automate this mode at a specific battery level. Do it, set and forget.

6. Disable Unused Features

If you’re not using:

• Voice assistants (Alexa, Google Assistant, etc.)

• WiFi or cellular (for LTE capable wearables)

• Music syncing or streaming

Then turn them off. These background processes quietly munch away at your battery. Disabling them when not in use can double your wearable’s uptime between charges.

7. Be Strategic With GPS Usage

Love going for long outdoor runs or hikes with your wearable? Then GPS is your device’s biggest battery hog. If your wearable supports connected GPS (which uses your phone’s GPS instead of its own), use that instead. It reduces drain significantly.

Alternatively, record your route with lower frequency (every 30 seconds instead of every 5) if your app allows for that many platforms like Strava or Komoot support this.

8. Keep Your Firmware Updated

Manufacturers are constantly improving how efficiently devices use their batteries. Firmware updates often bring battery optimisations, so make sure you’re running the latest version of your wearable’s software.

Check for updates every couple of weeks via the companion app.

9. Opt for Simpler Watch Faces

It might sound petty, but dynamic or data heavy watch faces with constant animations or frequent updates can zap your battery faster. Switch to minimalist or static watch faces. They not only save power but often look sleeker too.

Try This: Choose a digital face with only time and steps shown. Skip animations, second hands, or live weather widgets.

10. Don’t Overcharge Overnight (and Watch That Charger)

Constantly keeping your wearable at 100% overnight can affect long term battery health, especially with lithium ion cells. Instead, charge it up to 80 to 90% and top it off during the day if needed.

Also, avoid cheap third party chargers. While tempting, they can deliver inconsistent power, leading to overheating or even long term battery damage. Stick with manufacturer recommended cables and docks.

Bonus: Invest in a Power Bank or Charging Dock for On the Go

If you travel often, or you’re always training, a wearable compatible power bank or portable charging dock can keep your device topped up without needing a wall socket. Look for ones that are pocket sized and have magnetic connectors.

Some even double up as nightstands, brilliant for tracking sleep while charging.

What Battery Life Should You Expect?

This varies wildly depending on your wearable:

• Basic fitness trackers (e.g., Xiaomi Mi Band, Fitbit Inspire) can last 7 to 14 days.

• Smartwatches (e.g., Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, Pixel Watch) need charging every 1 to 2 days.

• Premium fitness watches (e.g., Garmin, Polar, Suunto) may stretch 7 to 21 days, especially in low power mode.

If you're consistently getting less than 50% of the advertised battery life, it might be time to:

• Factory reset

• Check for software bugs

• Or, if the device is a few years old, consider an upgrade

Final Thoughts

Battery life might not be the flashiest feature when buying a wearable, but it’s definitely one of the most important. With a few smart tweaks, you can keep your device going longer, whether you're halfway through a marathon or a lazy Sunday recharge.

Let’s face it: the less time you spend tethered to a charger, the more time you spend crushing your fitness goals.

So next time your battery dips low, don't panic. Just tweak, adjust, and keep moving forward.

— Charles Cooper, Wearables & Fitness Tech | The Tech Advisor