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How to maintain ipad (3rd) battrey LIFE SPAN

tsmrg

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Hie guys i charge my ipad to full capacity once everyday (after school), and i am beginning to feel its too much and may reduce my battrey LIFE SPAN greatly. I would want some tips on how often i should charge it and maybe to how much so that my life span becomes longer since its not easy to replace these battreis. The battrey life is currently okay, its in the range of 10 hours 's apple claim.

Thanks in advance.
 

KevinJS

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Nothing you do will reduce the lifespan of the battery. Charging from 50% to 100% twice is the same as charging from 0 to 100% once. Your battery will last for several years so best advice is just enjoy your iPad and charge it as you need to.
 

AQ_OC

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Yes, KevinJS is correct. I would suggest not to worry about battery life...the worry will impact your life more than anything you can do about the battery.
 
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tsmrg

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Ok, thanks guys. I appriciate.
 

NickyD

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tsmrg try not to discharge the battery all the time, read an article on gizmodo - they were basically saying just let it drain till it reaches 30-40% then charge it to 80-90%
 

Dagwood

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And yet I'm sure I read somewhere, possibly the iPad manual, that you should allow it to discharge to 10% before charging and that doing so will help prolong it's life?
Dagwood
 

The OB

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And yet I'm sure I read somewhere, possibly the iPad manual, that you should allow it to discharge to 10% before charging and that doing so will help prolong it's life?
Dagwood

Hi Dagwood. Apple recommend that you should let your iPad run down to approx 10% periodically, say once a month (when the charging icon will show a red band). This is not to improve the health of your battery, but to recalibrate your iPad's percentage meter up top to ensure accurate display.
As KevinJS and AQ_OC above imply, in the usage and recharging of your iPad's battery do it like that song "don't worry, be happy". It doesn't really matter how you recharge that machine. That great battery is built to last for at least 2 1/2 years, by which time there would have been a number of new iPads with new apps for them which you may be tempted to get. Or you may decide to spend a not-unreasonable $90 or so for a new battery. Whatever way you charge that battery, you are not really going to affect its operating life by anything significant.
Regards, Andrew



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Gabriel1

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Hi Dagwood. Apple recommend that you should let your iPad run down to approx 10% periodically, say once a month (when the charging icon will show a red band). This is not to improve the health of your battery, but to recalibrate your iPad's percentage meter up top to ensure accurate display.
As KevinJS and AQ_OC above imply, in the usage and recharging of your iPad's battery do it like that song "don't worry, be happy". It doesn't really matter how you recharge that machine. That great battery is built to last for at least 2 1/2 years, by which time there would have been a number of new iPads with new apps for them which you may be tempted to get. Or you may decide to spend a not-unreasonable $90 or so for a new battery. Whatever way you charge that battery, you are not really going to affect its operating life by anything significant.
Regards, Andrew

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I hate to disagree......but I'm going to anyway!

I've not seen this fabled 10% mentioned at all by Apple however, in terms of calibration Apple do recommend that you run a full cycle once a month, that is running it all the way dwn and a full charge.

As for battery life and how to maximise it, Apple themselves provide some great advice here.....

http://www.apple.com/uk/batteries/

http://www.apple.com/uk/batteries/ipad.html

The Archangel
 

Kaykaykay

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I'm a battery abuser -- I just use any gadget as I like, without care for battery lifespan, because for me convenience doesn't mean curtailing what I want to do just to protect the battery. All I'd have to do if I killed the battery is replace it, I figure. Despite that, my battery life and capacity on iPad have been great. For instance, I bought an iPad 1 3G on debut day and used it like a maniac (especially the first year, when I was taking a year off to travel and relax). That iPad battery was still going strong after two-plus years, at which point I gave the iPad to a family with kids who now abuse it, lol.

I regularly ignored battery guidance -- used without care, often using till the battery shut off the device at 1 or 2 percent, charging at my convenience -- and iPad's battery has still held up. By comparison, my others devices' batteries (Kindle Fires and Samsung Galaxies) have not performed nearly as well.

My thinking is, just relax and use your iPad. Worst-case scenario, you replace the battery.
 
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The OB

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I hate to disagree......but I'm going to anyway!

I've not seen this fabled 10% mentioned at all by Apple however, in terms of calibration Apple do recommend that you run a full cycle once a month, that is running it all the way dwn and a full charge.

As for battery life and how to maximise it, Apple themselves provide some great advice here.....

http://www.apple.com/uk/batteries/

http://www.apple.com/uk/batteries/ipad.html

The Archangel

Yes, I would tend to think now that the "fable" about Apple's recommendation may have developed gradually in my mind. I also agree that in your two links Apple is saying that you should run a full cycle once a month and, as you have quoted, "Running it all the way down", presumably to zero flat charge.

But Apple's advice IMO has not kept up with latest research, which is now generally indicating that it is not good for the overall life of the battery, to run it down to zero. In fact I believe Apple's advice goes right back to the iPad2 and has not changed since then.
There are now a number of authorities, this is one I could quickly find, who clearly say:
1) It's good to recharge the iPad often without having taken it down to completely empty.
2) It's not good to completely discharge the battery to absolute flat.
Here's one quote I could quickly find (TechRepublic) which seems indicative of the latest expert thinking.

1: Keep your batteries at room temperature
That means between 20 and 25 degrees C. The worst thing that can happen to a lithium-ion battery is to have a full charge and be subjected to elevated temperatures. So don’t leave or charge your mobile device’s battery in your car if it’s hot out. Heat is by far the largest factor when it comes to reducing lithium-ion battery life.

2: Think about getting a high-capacity lithium-ion battery, rather than carrying a spare
Batteries deteriorate over time, whether they’re being used or not. So a spare battery won’t last much longer than the one in use. It’s important to remember the aging characteristic when purchasing batteries. Make sure to ask for ones with the most recent manufacturing date.

3: Allow partial discharges and avoid full ones (usually)
Unlike NiCad batteries, lithium-ion batteries do not have a charge memory. That means deep-discharge cycles are not required. In fact, it’s better for the battery to use partial-discharge cycles.

There is one exception. Battery experts suggest that after 30 charges, you should allow lithium-ion batteries TO ALMOST (my emphasis) completely discharge. Continuous partial discharges create a condition called digital memory, decreasing the accuracy of the device’s power gauge. So let the battery discharge to the cut-off point and then recharge. The power gauge will be recalibrated.

4: Avoid completely discharging lithium-ion batteries
If a lithium-ion battery is discharged below 2.5 volts per cell, a safety circuit built into the battery opens and the battery appears to be dead. The original charger will be of no use. Only battery analyzers with the boost function have a chance of recharging the battery.

Also, for safety reasons, do not recharge deeply discharged lithium-ion batteries if they have been stored in that condition for several months.

5: For extended storage, discharge a lithium-ion battery to about 40 percent and store it in a cool place
I’ve always had an extra battery for my notebook, but it would never last as long as the original battery. I know now that it’s because I was storing the battery fully charged. That means oxidation of lithium-ion is at its highest rate. Storing lithium-ion batteries at 40 percent discharge and in the refrigerator (not freezer) is recommended

It is this TO ALMOST discharge, say after 30 charges (about monthly for most busy users), coupled with my other reading about Lithium Ion batteries, that has helped to build up that "minimum 10%" in my mind. Seems a reasonable figure to me though, as it does not mean completely dead flat discharge as implied by Apple.
But yes, I seem to have incorrectly quoted Apple.
Regards, Andrew




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Gabriel1

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I feel so bad but.....I'm going to have to disagree again lol!

If you read point 3 in your post it confirms what Apple are saying. The battery in an iPad is controlled by it's on board circuitry and what is a complete discharge to us may still have a few % of charge remaining (an analogy to this is running your motorbike fuel tank to empty, is that a complete discharge or is a complete discharge when you have run it to empty then flicked the valve to the reserve tank and then run that to empty?). So a complete discharge to calibrate the battery does not necessarily mean that there is zero charge in the battery. Therefore, a complete discharge once a month seems for calibration purposes only is accepted by both Apple in my links and and your quoted article.

The Archangel
 

The OB

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I feel so bad but.....I'm going to have to disagree again lol!

If you read point 3 in your post it confirms what Apple are saying. The battery in an iPad is controlled by it's on board circuitry and what is a complete discharge to us may still have a few % of charge remaining (an analogy to this is running your motorbike fuel tank to empty, is that a complete discharge or is a complete discharge when you have run it to empty then flicked the valve to the reserve tank and then run that to empty?). So a complete discharge to calibrate the battery does not necessarily mean that there is zero charge in the battery. Therefore, a complete discharge once a month seems for calibration purposes only is accepted by both Apple in my links and and your quoted article.

The Archangel

Well as an old biker I can certainly relate to that reserve fuel tank.;)
Andrew


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Kaykaykay

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I've been committing the same kind of battery abuse on iPad 4 as I did on iPad 1 and 2, so we'll see how things go. I've noticed no difference so far, except the battery taking longer to charge, which is as spec'd.

The point about completely draining the battery isn't possible since the battery is built to shut down before it's drained. The reserve 1 or 2 percent will hold you fine till you plug in again to charge.

What I've noticed about battery warnings is guidance is closer to paranoid than not, probably so users won't come crying to manufacturers in case of variance. I've had two netbooks from Lenovo for instance that I've not used for more than three years (since iPad debut). I recently charged them both up to see whether they were still alive despite having gone three years+ without charges. They charged up just fine and are holding charges. They might not be up to out-of-box condition (I don't know those specs), but if I followed standard battery guidance, both of them should be dead after three years of neglect. And that's just not the case.
 

Dagwood

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I appreciate all the replies and suggestions re use and abuse of the battery. I've learnt a lot from you guys,especially not to worry about when and how often my iPad needs charging.
Not sure where I got the 10% from, probably reading too much of Aesop's works!
Thanks again
Dagwood
 

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