A number of users have issued complaints related to third-party Apple Watch chargers, stating that these devices no longer work to charge their Apple Watches.
Per Reddit:
Updated my watch last night to 8.3, set it on my 3rd party charger this morning, came back after an hour and it had gained maybe 2 percent?
Tried the same thing with my spouse’s watch and her 3rd party charger with the same result.
Put them on the official charger, zoom, done charging in no time. Argh!
The reports seem to focus on multiple third-party chargers, as the issue seems to be a widespread problem affecting several different models rather than an issue with a few select chargers. Many of the complaints are about the affordable third-party chargers that come from Amazon, and there are fewer reports about brands like Belkin being non-functional.
According to several reports, the Apple Watch will charge for a few minutes, and then cease charging. Restarting the device can help jump start charging, but this does not seem to be a permanent fix, as the charging issues resume later.
A smaller number of users are also having issues charging with Apple-supplied Apple Watch charging pucks, and still others are seeing very slow charging speeds or the Apple Watch battery draining while on the charger.
There have been complaints about Apple Watch Series 7 charging issues since early November, and Apple initially addressed a problem that was causing slow charging speeds in the watchOS 8.1.1 update.
It’s unknown as to whether a more reliable fix is in the works over at Apple and exactly how this is being addressed.
Most of the affected models are Apple Watch Series 7 devices, but there have also been a handful of charging complaints from Apple Watch Series 6 owners.
If you’ve seen this issue on your end, please let us know in the comments.
Via MacRumors, Reddit, and discussions.apple.com