What's Making Your iPad Battery Die So Quickly, and How Can You Fix It?

Nothing’s worse than having your iPad die at the most inconvenient moment. You’re not alone – rapid battery drain is a common headache for iPad users. It interrupts your tasks, stops your entertainment, and basically brings your iPad to a useless halt.

But don’t panic or fret that your device is broken just yet. The battery drain issue is usually easily diagnosable and fixable. In this article, we’ll uncover insider tips to boost your iPad’s battery life, keep it running longer, and get back to uninterrupted usage.

With some simple adjustments to your settings, habits, and battery maintenance, you can squeeze every last drop of power out of that lithium-ion battery. Read on to give your iPad battery a new lease of life!

Understanding Your iPad Battery Life

According to Apple’s user guide, an iPad battery is designed to last up to 10 hours. But as any seasoned gadget user will tell you, that’s a best-case scenario. How you interact with your iPad plays a significant role in its battery performance.

If your iPad sits idle without any active usage, you’ll find that the battery life considerably surpasses the claimed 10 hours. Conversely, if you’re a power user who often streams videos, plays games, and keeps multiple social media platforms open, your iPad’s battery might hit rock bottom within just two or three hours, if not less.

It’s a cause for concern if your iPad’s battery life rapidly decreases even when you’re not employing battery-hogging functions. For instance, if you notice a drastic drop from 100% to 50% or less after merely browsing news on Safari for an hour, it’s time for some troubleshooting.

What Drains an iPad Battery?

There could be several culprits behind your iPad’s battery drain. Some of them are glaringly obvious – like if you’ve left your screen to remain active indefinitely, a long idle period can significantly deplete your battery.

However, the solution isn’t always so straightforward. If you can’t pinpoint the issue immediately, start by investigating which apps are guzzling your battery the most. Regularly used apps are usually the primary offenders. You can mitigate their battery consumption by closing them properly. Use the home button or the swipe-up feature to ensure they’re not running in the background.

What if that still doesn’t resolve your battery issue? Let’s dive deeper.

Examining iPad Battery Health

Understanding your iPad’s battery health can go a long way in preserving its longevity. To gain insight into your iPad’s battery usage, navigate through: Settings > Battery > Battery Settings > Show Detailed Usage > Last 7 Days. This will bring up a series of graphs showcasing your iPad usage patterns that exert the most pressure on your battery.

Fixing iPad Battery Drainage

Now that we’ve identified the factors that could be draining your iPad battery, let’s explore some simple solutions to halt this energy leak.

Disable Background App Refresh

Remember those energy-hungry apps we talked about earlier? They’re your first port of call. While deleting them might seem like the simplest solution, you don’t necessarily have to go down that route. If you need these apps, or you’d rather keep them, you can still curb their battery usage. The key is to disable Background App Refresh.

What is Background App Refresh? It’s a feature that allows apps to check their servers for updates, so you’re always in the loop. For instance, your email app uses this feature to alert you when a new message lands in your inbox. While it’s super convenient, it’s also a notorious battery killer.

Many apps might be refreshing in the background more frequently than required, slowly chipping away at your battery life. To restrict apps from making these background checks, go to: Settings > General > Background App Refresh. From there, you can turn off this feature for any apps that are unnecessarily draining your battery.

Rebooting Your iPad

One of the tried-and-true methods to resolve most tech glitches is the classic “turn it off and turn it back on” approach. To restart your iPad, follow these steps:

For iPads without a Home button: Simultaneously press and hold the Top button and the Volume button until you see the Power Off slider. Drag it to the right to turn off the device. For a force restart, briefly press and release the Volume Up button, do the same for the Volume Down button, and finally, press and hold the Power button until your device restarts.

For iPads with a Home button: Press and hold the Top button until the Power Off slider appears. Slide it to the right to turn off the device. To force restart, press and hold the Home and Top (or Side) buttons together until your device restarts.

Updating Your iPad

Sometimes, the cure to your battery woes lies in keeping your iPad updated with the latest iOS version. Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update, and install the update if one is available.

Restoring Your iPad to Factory Settings

If disabling the background app refresh, restarting, and updating your iPad haven’t worked, it might be time for a more drastic measure: a factory reset. Head to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings > Erase iPad, then tap Erase iPad again to confirm.

Bear in mind, a factory reset will erase all data and revert your iPad to its original settings, so use it as a last resort. Before you proceed, ensure that you’ve backed up your important files and made a copy of your device’s data, either on a computer or iCloud.

Replacing Your iPad Battery

Every rechargeable battery has a life cycle, after which its capacity to hold a charge gradually diminishes. If you’ve been using your iPad intensively for several years, your device may simply need a new battery.

Changing an iPad battery requires specialized tools and is not a straightforward task. You need to carefully open the iPad, remove the old battery, and install a new one. However, if you’re not confident in your technical abilities, it’s best to leave this to the professionals.

You could hire a third-party technician to replace your iPad’s battery, a service fee ranging from $50 to $100.

Apple’s Battery Replacement Service

If your iPad is still under the original warranty or you have an extended AppleCare warranty, you’re in a favorable position. You can schedule an appointment at an Apple store and have your entire iPad, including the battery, replaced for fee. But be aware that Apple will verify if the battery problem falls under warranty. If it doesn’t, you’ll be charged a $99 fee for a battery replacement.

Even without a warranty, you can engage Apple’s services to replace your battery. Make an appointment, drop your iPad off, and expect to have a repaired device within three to five business days.