If you see a red lightning bolt symbol on the screen, that means your Apple Watch battery is running low. It is recommended that you should not wait for your Apple Watch to go fully depleted. Make sure that you charge it right away and with the appropriate charger as well. 

When charging your Apple Watch, it is best for you to use the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) charger. You can use the Apple Magnetic Charging Cable. Or perhaps the Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock. And whenever you are out traveling, you can use portable iWatch chargers, which you can carry with you. 

How to Charge Your Apple Watch 

You will find that the interface of all Apple Watch chargers is the same. Due to that, you can use the same charger for the original Apple Watch as well as other series up to the latest. 

The following are the steps to charge your Apple Watch: 

1. First, handle your Apple Watch and accessories safely. Always take off your Apple Watch before charging it. 

2. Next, plug the Apple Magnetic Charging Cable or Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock into a USB power adapter. 

3. Then, plug the adapter into a power outlet. You can also plug the charging cable into a USB port. 

4. After that, position the back of your Apple Watch on the charger. You see, the charger's magnets align your Apple Watch. Then, you will see the battery charging icon on your watch face. 

5. You should give your Apple Watch time to charge. While your wearable is charging, your Apple Watch actually goes into Nightstand mode. 

Can You Charge Your Apple Watch without the Charger? 

Did you forget your charger and now your Apple Watch battery is slow? Wondering if there are any alternative solutions you can use to charge your Apple Watch battery? 

• Reserve Strap Charger 

When the first version of the Apple Watch was released, people found out about a hidden port. This hidden port is located where the bottom band is attached to the body of the Apple Watch.

When you remove the little cap, you will find a six-pin port that you might think doesn't serve any purpose to you. However, it actually does have a use. Especially to the Apple experts who fix your Apple Watch when it runs into issues. This hidden port is actually the diagnostic port of the Apple Watch. This is where Apple connects to configure and optimize the device software. 

But it was in 2015 that some people discovered that this port has other uses. It was believed that the port could actually be used to charge your Apple Watch. The company Reserve Strap took this concept into mind. They thought of coming up with a battery band. An Apple Watch band that would connect to this port and be able to charge your device on the go and while your watch is on your wrist. 

Reserve Strap was able to create a prototype of this accessory. They were able to demonstrate its charging ability as well. It actually charged the watch six to seven percent more than a regular Apple Watch charger did in the same amount of time. 

However, Apple immediately shut this product down. The tech giant also suspended the usage of the diagnostic port for charging purposes. According to Apple, there are risks associated with wrist charging. These risks involved burns due to overheating and electrical sparks. 

• Batfree Power Strap by Togvu.

In 2019, a company called Togvu announced that it will create a charging band. This charging band is that it would continue to charge your Apple Watch as you wore it on your wrist. The charging band was referred to as the Batfree Power Strap. Unfortunately, there are no updates on the progress of the development of the chargers. 

How to Preserve the Battery Life of Your Apple Watch

Do you want to preserve the battery life of your Apple Watch? You can see the time on your Apple Watch while preserving the battery life with Power Reserve. You can press the side button of your Apple Watch to show the current time while it is in Power Reserve. 

Keep in mind that when it's in Power Reserve, your Apple Watch and iPhone won't communicate. As such, you can't access other watch features. 

Your Apple Watch will alert you when its battery drops to 10 percent. It will ask you if you want to use Power Reserve. And when the battery gets too low, your Apple watch will automatically enter Power Reserve. Next time, the low battery icon will appear. 

Here's how to turn on Power Reserve: 

1. First, swipe up on the watch face of your Apple Watch so you can open the Control Center. 

2. Next, tap the battery percentage. 

3. Then, drag the Power Reserve slider. After that, tap Proceed. 

Here's how to turn off Power Reserve: 

1. First, press and hold the side button of your Apple Watch. Do this until you see the Apple logo. 

2. You should wait for your Apple Watch to restart. It is advisable that you charge your Apple Watch first before turning off the Power Reserve. 

What to Do if You Can't Charge Your Apple Watch? 

Are you using a third-party charging stand? You should use the charging cable that shipped in the box with your Apple Watch. 

What to do if your Apple Watch won't charge? Or if you see a message on your watch that charging with this accessory is not supported? Here's what you should do: 

• You have to make sure that you plug the Apple Magnetic Charging Cable all the way into the USB Power Adapter. Then, you should make sure that you plug the adapter all the way into a power outlet. 

• You have to make sure that you are using the Apple Magnetic Charging Cable that came with your Apple Watch. 

• You should completely remove any plastic wrap from both sides of the charger.

• You have to make sure that the back of your Apple Watch and the magnetic charger are clean. 

• You should position the back of your Apple Watch on the charger. You see, the charger's magnets align your Apple Watch. You should see a green lightning bolt on the watch face. 

• If your Apple Watch still won't charge, you should force it to restart. To do that, press and hold the side button and Digital Crown for at least 10 seconds. Or until you see that Apple logo. 

• You can also try a different Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Cable and a different USB Power Adapter. If your Apple Watch is out of power, you will find that you might need a few minutes for the green lightning bolt to appear. Especially after you start charging your device.