Oura Confirms Ring 4 Battery Problems After Massive Warranty Charge
After months of growing complaints from owners, Oura has officially confirmed that battery performance problems affected at least some units of its flagship Ring 4 smart ring. The disclosure came not through a press release or a public apology, but through a securities filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ahead of the company's planned initial public offering (IPO). The filing revealed that Oura recorded an $84.4 million increase in warranty expenses during fiscal 2025, with Ring 4 battery issues cited as one of the main drivers behind that staggering rise.
That figure offers a rare, concrete window into what was previously just a collection of anecdotal reports scattered across forums and social media. While individual complaints from consumers are common in the wearable industry, a multi-million-dollar warranty reserve tells a different story entirely. It signals that the problem was widespread enough to materially impact the company's finances, and that Oura itself has acknowledged the issue at the highest level—even if it has been reluctant to say so publicly in a clear and direct way.
What Oura Hasn't Told Us
The SEC filing confirms that certain Ring 4 units had battery defects, but Oura has stopped far short of offering a full explanation. The company has not revealed what exactly went wrong with the batteries, how quickly they degraded, or whether the issue was related to cell chemistry, power management firmware, or manufacturing inconsistencies. All we know is that the company attributed the warranty increase to “earlier design, manufacturing, and supplier-related factors.” That phrasing suggests a mix of engineering decisions and production quality problems, but it leaves many questions unanswered for current owners.
Most frustratingly, Oura has not disclosed which specific batches of Ring 4 devices were affected. There is no serial number range, no purchase date window, and no size-based distinction. Owners who are experiencing sudden battery drain or unusually fast power loss have no way to determine whether their particular ring is part of the problematic cohort. This lack of transparency has fueled frustration, especially among those who say their rings began to die after only a few hours of use, despite being advertised as lasting up to eight days on a single charge.
Oura's Quiet Replacement Policy
According to the filing and subsequent reporting, Oura has been replacing affected Ring 4 units free of charge. In some cases, the company has even gone as far as to replace devices after the one-year warranty period had already expired. That goodwill effort suggests that Oura recognizes the seriousness of the defect and is trying to minimize backlash, especially with its IPO on the horizon. But the company has not established a clear public policy for how owners should request these replacements, nor has it actively reached out to all potentially affected customers.
The result is an inconsistent customer service experience. Some users have reported successful replacement requests, while others say they were denied or offered discounts on a new ring instead. Oura has not commented on how many rings were ultimately replaced, which only adds to the uncertainty. For a product that costs hundreds of dollars and is marketed as a long-term health companion, this lack of a structured recall or formal replacement program is a significant concern.
What Battery Problems Look Like for Ring 4 Owners
Battery issues on the Ring 4 typically manifest in a couple of ways. Some users report abrupt battery drain—where the ring goes from a reasonable charge to zero in just a few hours, or even minutes. Others describe a gradual but severe reduction in battery life over time, such as going from seven days per charge to less than two without any obvious pattern. In more extreme cases, the ring may fail to hold a charge entirely, forcing it to stay on its charger most of the time.
This is more than just an inconvenience. The Oura Ring is designed primarily for sleep tracking and recovery monitoring. Users put it on before bed and expect it to record data through the night. If the battery dies consistently, that means gaps in the very data they bought the ring to collect. A ring that cannot get through a full night of sleep tracking is effectively useless as a health device, which explains why so many owners have expressed their frustration online.
The charging habit itself also changes significantly. While a healthy Ring 4 should only need to be topped up every few days for about 20 to 40 minutes, an affected unit might need to be charged daily or even more frequently. That added friction makes the device less appealing to wear consistently and undermines one of the key advantages of a smart ring over a smartwatch: the ability to wear it almost constantly without thinking about power.
Oura's Rapid Growth Continues Despite the Setback
Remarkably, this expensive battery issue has not slowed Oura's overall momentum. The company reported that during the nine months ending June 30, 2026, it generated $1.21 billion in revenue, sold 3.1 million rings, and reached five million paying members. Those numbers underscore how dominant Oura has become in the smart ring segment, which was once a niche category but is now attracting major competitors.
The smart ring market has expanded rapidly in recent years. Samsung launched its first Galaxy Ring in 2024, and other companies, such as Ultrahuman, Circular, and RingConn, have also been vying for consumer attention. Despite that increasing competition, Oura has managed to maintain its position as the industry leader—but that leadership also brings greater scrutiny. When a dominant player in a small category makes a mistake, every detail is examined, and consumer trust becomes doubly important.
Oura's growth has also been driven by a shift toward proactive health and wellness tracking, with more people wanting to monitor sleep quality, heart rate variability, body temperature, and other metrics. The Ring 4 was designed to build on that trend, offering improved sensors, slimmer profiles, and better battery life compared to earlier models. That makes the battery defect particularly damaging to Oura's reputation, because battery life was one of the strongest selling points of the Ring 4.
Battery Challenges Are Inherent to Smart Rings
Battery technology is one of the hardest challenges in the smart ring industry. Unlike a smartphone or a smartwatch, a ring has a very limited internal volume, and that volume has to house sensors, processors, antennas, and the battery. The push for smaller, lighter rings means that battery capacity is extremely constrained. Manufacturers have to rely on efficient power management and careful design to ensure that the ring can last for days at a time.
That tight constraint leaves very little margin for error. A minor defect in the battery cell, a software bug that wakes the processor too often, or a supplier’s substandard manufacturing run could all lead to severe battery drain. The fact that Oura mentions “supplier-related factors” suggests that the issue may not be entirely within the ring’s design itself, but rather in the quality of a component received from a third-party manufacturer.
It is not unusual for electronics companies to encounter supplier-related defects. But how a company handles those defects matters greatly. A transparent and proactive recall can preserve consumer trust, while a quiet and partial acknowledgment often makes things worse. Oura’s decision to hide bundled with the SEC filing rather than making a direct consumer announcement suggests that the company is more concerned with investor perception than with the inconvenience its customers are experiencing.
Ring 5 May Not Be Entirely Safe
Oura has since moved on to the Ring 5, its latest wearable, and the company has likely implemented additional testing and quality-control measures to prevent a repeat of the Ring 4 issue. Indeed, the filing notes that Oura has strengthened its testing and control processes to address the battery problem. That is good to hear, but it raises another question: does the Ring 5 itself have any lingering battery issues?
There are scattered reports from Ring 5 owners who claim to be experiencing unusually fast battery drain, though the evidence so far is far less compelling than the mass complaints about the Ring 4. Individual posts on forums and Reddit threads do not necessarily point to a systemic defect. They could be isolated cases, user error, or simply the normal variation that exists with any electronic product. Still, given Oura’s track record with the Ring 4, many consumers are likely to be more vigilant about battery behavior on the Ring 5.
Oura has not officially responded to those Ring 5 complaints, and there is no indication that the company is planning any warranty adjustment for the newer model. Until more data emerges, it is probably too early to claim that the Ring 5 has a battery problem. But the existence of those reports shows that user trust is fragile—once a company has a known defect, every other potential issue is viewed through that lens.
What Should Ring 4 Owners Do?
For anyone who owns a Ring 4 and has noticed that the battery no longer lasts as long as it used to, the most practical step is to contact Oura support. While the company has not disclosed batch identifiers or serial numbers, it has shown a willingness to replace affected rings free of charge, even beyond the warranty period. The key detail is to clearly describe how the battery drain is impacting daily use, and to mention that you are aware of Oura’s confirmation of battery issues in the Ring 4’s SEC filing.
There is no guarantee that Oura will replace every ring that comes in with a battery complaint. Some consumers have had success, while others have been turned away. But the new information from the filing strengthens the case for those who believe their ring is defective. It may be worth trying multiple contact channels, including phone, email, and social media support. Persistence matters, especially when a company is trying to manage its reputation ahead of an IPO.
Owners should also make sure that their ring is running the latest firmware, as Oura may have released software updates aimed at mitigating battery drain. While a firmware update cannot fix a fundamentally defective battery cell, it might improve power efficiency and make the ring usable for a little longer. Checking the battery usage stats in the Oura app can also help identify patterns, such as whether the drain happens at a specific time of day or after certain activities.
If a replacement is not available, some users have found that adjusting the ring’s settings can help extend battery life. For example, turning off continuous heart rate monitoring, disabling blood oxygen sensing, or limiting notifications can reduce power consumption. These are not ideal solutions, since they degrade the experience that the Ring 4 promises, but they can serve as temporary stopgap measures while waiting for a more permanent answer from Oura.
The Bigger Picture for Wearables
The Oura Ring 4 situation serves as a cautionary tale for the entire wearable industry. As more companies jump into the smart ring space, they must confront the technical challenge of putting advanced technology into an extremely compact package. Batteries are a central part of that problem, and there is no easy shortcut to solving it. A substantial increase in warranty expenses is a clear signal that product development and quality control need to be prioritized, rather than rushed to meet launch deadlines.
This episode also highlights the importance of clear communication between companies and their customers. Oura had all the data necessary to issue a formal statement about the Ring 4 battery problems long before the SEC filing. Instead, owners were left to vent on Reddit and other platforms, searching for answers on their own. When a device fails, and when a company profits from its sale, the burden should fall on the company to make things right and inform the public. Oura may be growing in revenue and membership, but it has also learned a painful lesson about what happens when a product’s fundamental reliability comes into question.
For now, existing and prospective customers can only wait and watch. Oura has moved on to the Ring 5, and the older Ring 4 is no longer the company’s flagship, but that does not mean the issue is settled. Consumers who feel burned by the Ring 4 battery saga will naturally be cautious about buying future Oura products. Rebuilding trust requires more than apologies; it requires demonstrable improvements and a transparent approach to honoring warranties. Whether Oura is willing to do that, especially while under the financial pressures of going public, remains to be seen.
In the meantime, if you own a Ring 4 that frequently finds itself on the charger, keep pushing for a solution. The confirmation buried deep in a financial disclosure is the closest thing to an admission that Oura has offered, and it is reason enough to reach out. The stakes are relatively low for making a request—the worst case is no replacement—but the potential payoff is a refund or a new ring that works properly. With a battery problem this serious, no Ring 4 owner should stay silent.
Source: Android Authority News