i pad battery

[Av Gorritt]

Hi all , the battery of my i pad (I think it's an i pad air ) seems to be deteriorating somewhat . For what I use , it used to last ages , but it goes from 100% charge down to 20 or 30 in a couple of days , it wouldn't update the OS tonight because of low battery , until I put the charger on it . Question , is it economic to send it in for a new battery , AFAICS about £80 to £100 ish . or would I be better to trade it for a new / refurb one . (I've looked at you tube demos changing one , and I'm absolutely sure I won't go down that route !.

 

[J B]

Why not just charge it more often?

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

For what I use , it used to last ages , but it goes from 100% charge down to 20 or 30 in a couple of days , it wouldn't update the OS tonight because of low battery , until I put the charger on it

A couple of days is fine honestly. Had you said a couple of hours, like 2-3 hours then just maybe - although I can wreak havoc with mine in less time than that.

 

[Woolgatherer]

Do you clear any apps running in the background? To do this press twice on the home button. It’ll come up showing all the apps you’ve been looking at. If you clear these by swiping them to the edge of the screen you’ll get more out of your battery. I also clear my browsing history on safari and cookies now and then too. Decluttering!

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Do you clear any apps running in the background? To do this press twice on the home button. It’ll come up showing all the apps you’ve been looking at. If you clear these by swiping them to the edge of the screen you’ll get more out of your battery. I also clear my browsing history on safari and cookies now and then too. Decluttering!

Sounds counter-intuitive, but sometimes closing apps (only to open them again later on) actually uses more system resources (clearing and then reloading everything into memory again, using more processor cycles etc) than to actually leave them be. iOS is actually remarkably good at memory and power management, hibernating apps when they’re in the background, etc basically left to do the housekeeping...

Sometimes a little too much decluttering can be counterproductive

 

[Philip Watkins]

It's actually better to leave apps open on apple mobile devices. What will help is go though settings and turn off "background app refresh" for those apps that use it.

 

[Av Gorritt]

Well TBH , I'm a bit of a wonk when it comes to ios, being an Android person at heart . I don't find it in the least intuitive to use . I regularly go through my desktop using msconfig to untick the startup items that some programmes seem to slip in un-noticed . And I've never sussed out the ios "back" button satisfactorily. As I say , I'm never completely at home with it . But I manage , one way or t'other - I suppose I'm the "silver surfer " that everybody knows about . Thanks P.W. - I didn't know about background app refresh - I'll look into that shortly , and whilst I'm happy (and capable) of de cluttering my PC , I'm a bit lary of doing that to the i pad . Perhaps I'm scared of pressing the wrong button , and doing a works re set , or summat like that ! Funny really , I accept that I need to charge my mobile - a Galaxy S7 daily , but not the i pad . Perhaps I'll JFDI all - I haven't really got anything that I'd be devastated to lose . Thanks everybody - I'm always a bit surprised that people on this forum are so patient with others troubles .

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

If you go into Settings -> Battery you can see what’s using your battery the most.

 

[Av Gorritt]

Thanks all , I'll try the settings bits . But could it be simply that the battery just isn't holding charge ? Or could it be that using a 1.5 amp charger might damage it ?

 

[Philip Watkins]

..... But could it be simply that the battery just isn't holding charge ?.....

Possibly but don't worry about it till it only lasts a couple of hours.

...... Or could it be that using a 1.5 amp charger might damage it ?

Highly unlikely they have built in charge management and will only take what they need.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

I’ve got an iPad Air 2 here which is about three years old. Just run some battery diagnostics (Battery Life app) on it and the useable capacity of the battery has dropped roughly 10% from new (6600 mAh versus 7340 mAh capacity). It’s rated as “average” battery wear level apparently. Still totally fine really.

@Av Gorritt try installing this app, Carat, to run a multi day analysis of your battery and app usage. Co-developed between UC Berkeley and Uni of Helsinki.

It looks to be a better actual analysis tool than many of the freeware “battery” apps which are just a front for advertising. Just be aware it’s not instantaneous and takes several days of analysis before any verdicts and recommendations on battery “hogs” and “bugs” are given. I’m going to try it myself.

 

[Av Gorritt]

Thanks Ph. S I'll certainly try that . I've done a bit more looking at it , and I half think that perhaps an app wasn't shutting down properly - one I use quite a bit as an e pub reader , so last night I shut down with the "Off " button , rather than just closing the case . The battery %age hasn't moved since I shut down last night , so perhaps we're on the winning side - hope so !

 

[A1an]

Sometimes a little too much decluttering can be counterproductive

Could you tell this to my wife please.

I can't find bugger all in my house.

 

[Mur Huwcun]

My iphone battery was worst than usual and would switch off at 20%. A bit of tinternet search found some usefull advice. Best being thath the battery indicator can be faulty or out of sync. I followed the instructions and let the phone switch off, charge it till it recovered and switch off charger, let it switch itself off again and kept repeating till the end I got 1% battery back on the screen. Has been much better since.

One other thing I’ve noticed with phone and Ipad is that battery life is better when they’ve been charged with original apple charger and lead. A quick boost in the car or off one of those multi plug chargers off the computer usb does not last as long I’m convinced.

 

[Cowabunga]

Not had any problems with iPad batteries, and there's three in the household, the eldest being an iPad2, so bought either late 2011 or very early 2012. So its got to be six years old and works like new. Used every day by my daughter.

I have problems with iPhone batteries though. My iPhone 4s has failed due to wi-fi connection failure, which is a common fault. I then inherited a 5S from daughter which had a speaker issue plus a battery that didn't hold its charge well and would cut out at 35%. Took it to Apple shop and they replaced it for £60 with a brand new one, which I was very happy with. My wife has inherited that new 5S but now, 14 months later, the same battery issue has afflicted this one. The damned thing cuts out at 35%!! Obviously another common fault.

 

[Av Gorritt]

Just downloaded "Carat " to my i pad . I'll give it a few days to gather it's own info , and see where that leads . Having said all that , I've checked the battery "age again just now , and it hasn't lost any charge since yesterday . Hope it was just me being a dick , and not shutting down properly .

 

[J B]

The damned thing cuts out at 35%!! Obviously another common fault.

I've been reading about that somewhere (can't remember where sorry) that you could re-train it.
It was an iPhone specific issue

 

[Philip Watkins]

I've been reading about that somewhere (can't remember where sorry) that you could re-train it.
It was an iPhone specific issue

Could it have been post #14 above?

 

[J B]

Could it have been post #14 above?

Doh!
Indeed it was