You can quickly see if your Apple Watch is running low on battery through its display. A red lightning bolt symbol would appear on the screen to signify that it needs to be juiced up soon. Ideally, your Apple Watch shouldn’t be fully depleted before you charge it again. You can check its battery percentage at the top right corner of the screen. Either that or swipe up to Control Center and you’ll see the battery percentage there.
One of the best ways to prolong the battery life of your Apple Watch is to charge it before the battery completely dies. Using the appropriate charger for this is important, too. Unfortunately, the only way to charge the latest Apple Watch models right now is by using a magnetic charger. So, without a magnetic charger, you currently can’t possibly charge your Apple Watch.
You can choose between the Apple Magnetic Charging Cable or the Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock. Another option would be those Apple-approved portable chargers designed to charge Apple Watches. Here’s how to properly charge your Apple Watch using a magnetic charger:
- Carefully remove your Apple Watch from your wrist.
- Connect the charging cable or dock to a USB adapter.
- Connect the USB adapter to a power source or outlet. If it’s a portable charger, simply connect it to your power bank or any power source with a USB output.
- Place the back of your Apple Watch on the charger.
- Align the magnets of the charger with the Apple Watch to secure it in place. It should start charging once it’s connected properly. A green lightning bolt should appear on the screen to indicate that it’s charging.
- Wait until the battery is fully charged, give or take two and a half hours.
- Once the Apple Watch is fully charged, carefully remove it from the charger.
DIY Apple Watch Docks
On the other hand, if you have the Apple Watch Series 2, there might actually be another way to charge your device aside from using a magnetic charger. Take the bottom band off your Apple Watch Series 2 and you should find a connection slot. Inside it is a six-pin port that can supposedly be used to charge the device.
A company called Reserve Strap actually designed a watch strap that can take advantage of this pinhole. This watch band can be attached to the six-pin port and charge the Apple Watch wirelessly. That means that you can charge it while also wearing it. Isn’t that amazing?
However, this pinhole feature was not acknowledged or addressed by Apple. In addition, they removed this pinhole in the next generations of the Apple Watch. Hence, this watch strap has been discontinued since it can’t be used in the following series anymore.
The Apple Watch also does not support the Qi charging standard. This means that aside from using a magnetic charger, you can’t charge it wirelessly. So even if you have a wireless charging dock or mat, it won’t work with an Apple Watch.
Even though it’s still not possible to charge your Apple Watch without a magnetic charger at present, don’t lose hope! When it comes to technology and innovation, the possibilities are limitless. You may not be able to do so now but the Apple Watch may be upgraded in the future to be compatible with wireless charging, who knows?
Right now, the most important thing is to charge your Apple Watch regularly so that it always has sufficient battery when you use it. Aside from a long time of usage, a fully charged Apple Watch also enables you to maximize its functions and features. Click Here
