ipad air losing power

[sam66]

hi i have an ipad air ios 10.3.2 my problem is after recharging the battery shows 100% but
after 20 minutes this drops to 65% and after another 1/2 hour this drops to 45/35% this is a recent
occurence and the ipad is 2 years old any help appreciated sam66

 

[Brian 244]

Check your screen brightness (set it to about half brightness) and if it is in a smart case or any kind of case,remove it and see what happens.

 

[giradman]

hi i have an ipad air ios 10.3.2 my problem is after recharging the battery shows 100% but
after 20 minutes this drops to 65% and after another 1/2 hour this drops to 45/35% this is a recent
occurence and the ipad is 2 years old any help appreciated sam66

Hi Sam.. - welcome to the forum! The iPad Air was released in the fall of 2013, so the first models are pushing 4 years of age (not sure if your device @ the 2 years mentioned above means that you bought a 'used' device); but, if so the battery may be the issue - in addition to the comments already suggested, 'Reset' the iPad & charge fully to see if there is a difference (the maneuver is done by holding down both the ON-OFF & HOME buttons until the Apple logo appears which may take 10 secs or so - then release and allow the iPad to reboot).

If of no help, download Coconut Battery if you own a Mac computer - the app will determine your 'battery health' and 'cycle count' (see pic below) - if your cycle count is 500 or so, then your battery health should be 80+% - if your battery health is a lot lower, then that may be the issue. Dave
.

 

[Jupiter7]

Have you by any chance intentionally or otherwise turned on Bluetooth. That can really use a lot of power when searching for a device.

 

[sam66]

Hi Sam.. - welcome to the forum! The iPad Air was released in the fall of 2013, so the first models are pushing 4 years of age (not sure if your device @ the 2 years mentioned above means that you bought a 'used' device); but, if so the battery may be the issue - in addition to the comments already suggested, 'Reset' the iPad & charge fully to see if there is a difference (the maneuver is done by holding down both the ON-OFF & HOME buttons until the Apple logo appears which may take 10 secs or so - then release and allow the iPad to reboot).

If of no help, download Coconut Battery if you own a Mac computer - the app will determine your 'battery health' and 'cycle count' (see pic below) - if your cycle count is 500 or so, then your battery health should be 80+% - if your battery health is a lot lower, then that may be the issue. Dave
.
View attachment 78208

 

[sam66]

no just found receipt 2 years is right and its definately new looks like a trip to the workshop

 

[sam66]

Have you by any chance intentionally or otherwise turned on Bluetooth. That can really use a lot of power when searching for a device.

 

[sam66]

funny thing you said that i have had blue tooth turned on since day 1 but i did turn it off couple of hours ago and it seems to have slowed the usage down
fingers crossed until tomorrow

 

[JezzerP]

Another thing to look at would be individual app battery usage. Some apps consume battery faster than others, particularly if they use functions such as Location Services and Push Notifications etc. This can also be happening in the background even if the app is not active. Have you recently installed some new apps? If you go to Settings > Battery it will list the most battery hungry apps of the last 24hrs or the last 7 days. I'm not sure how accurate the figures are, but it will give you an idea of what's going on if you monitor it.

 

[Thomas1977]

I was told to never let your battery run all the way to zero before you recharge.

 

[giradman]

I was told to never let your battery run all the way to zero before you recharge.

Hi Thomas - Lithium Ion battery technology is complicated and a number of contradictory comments have been made regarding charging schedules, discharge levels, storage, etc. - below is a listing that I put together a while back from a number of sources (much from HERE).

Just to emphasize a few points: 1) Charge holding - the reason in the last half dozen years or so that I replaced all of my old cordless woodworking tools w/ older battery technology w/ those using Li-Ion batteries; 2) No memory effect - thus, partial discharges/recharges are fine; 3) Cycles (see my post previously on cycles and battery health) - Apple's batteries can handle 500 - 1000 complete discharge cycles while maintaining 80% or so of their health (NOW - I've had a few duds, so do not trust those numbers w/o reservation); 4) Needs computer for management - about once a month, a Li-Ion battery should be nearly completely discharged (I go down to 5%-10% charge left), then recharged to reset the battery monitoring technology for more accurate reporting on the battery's stats; and 5) Prefers partial to deep discharge - as you state, discharging the battery completely should not be done - this will shorten and degrade the battery.

Now there are plenty of articles on battery management, if those interested want to do some googling - Apple has many KB articles - we've also had a LOT of threads in this forum on battery management (a number of which I've left posts). Hope this helps - Dave
.
************************************************************************************
Lithium Ion Battery Technology

Pros

• Much higher energy density (i.e. lighter)
• Hold their charge (lose 5%/month vs. 20 NiMH)
• No memory effect (complete discharge not needed)
• Handles hundreds charge/discharge cycles

Cons

• Degrade as soon as made (not based on use)
• Sensitive to high temperatures
• Ruined if completely discharged
• Needs on-board computer for management
• Small chance of bursting into flames

Prefers partial to deep discharge - don’t go to zero DC
Age from start even if unused (manufacturing date!)
Avoid heat

 

[Thomas1977]

Thank you for that post Dave.

 

[ipadairunhappyuser]

Not sure if this thread is too old but it seemed to be the most recent one related to battery life for iPad Air. Thought I'd try this before starting a new thread. My Air is first generation bought new about 3 yrs ago. For the last 4-5 months my battery life and indicator have been acting very weird. Initially, battery charge level would seem to drop randomly from some midpoint to very low and then device would die. I'd plug in and it would immediately jump to some intermediate level. The amount of time I could run without charging continued to drop very quickly. I currently can run about 5-10 minutes on battery and it dies (battery shows 100% the entire time). It will last maybe 30-60 minutes on battery in standby mode. I basically have to run connected to power to use the device.

To avoid some questions I saw in other posts. I'm on 10.3.3 and have installed updates soon after they became available. Screen is kept at low brightness, Bluetooth is always off, I have email set for manual updates. I have almost all notifications turned off. I basically have done everything I could find/think of to reduce battery consumption. I don't have a Mac so I can't get coconut battery to check health and I can't find anything that runs on the ipad or on my Win PC to look at the ipad battery the way coconutbattery does. I tried to practice good battery charging hygiene but am sure it went dead a few times while I was using while traveling and also am sure I kept it connected to charger after it reached 100% many times - life gets in the way

My key questions:

1 - is this normal expected life for this device and its battery (all my other devices have gotten much much longer life following the above practices). This is my first Apple product and I can't say I'm impressed with a 3 year planned obsolescence for an expensive device like this.
2 - Are there any known issues for this generation of Air? My searching is inconclusive.
3 - is there any reason to think Apple would stand behind their product for something 3 yrs old if this is not expected life for the battery?

 

[J. A.]

Welcome to iPad Forums!

There shouldn’t be a problem when you run down the battery completely, if you don’t wait too long to charge it. Also, keeping it connected after it’s charged completely doesn’t reduce battery life.

I’ve owned an iPad Air (1st generation) until last year. Then I gave it to my daughter, and she still uses it. It’s battery life is nowhere near your experience, and I can assure you that she’s not really one of those who take great care of her devices.

Afaik, there are no known issues for this device.

To find out what’s wrong with it, take it to the next Apple Retail Store. Diagnosis is free. They will tell you exactly what’s causing your problem, and if it has to be repaired, they’ll also tell you how much it will cost.

 

[ipadairunhappyuser]

Welcome to iPad Forums!

There shouldn’t be a problem when you run down the battery completely, if you don’t wait too long to charge it. Also, keeping it connected after it’s charged completely doesn’t reduce battery life.

I’ve owned an iPad Air (1st generation) until last year. Then I gave it to my daughter, and she still uses it. It’s battery life is nowhere near your experience, and I can assure you that she’s not really one of those who take great care of her devices.

Afaik, there are no known issues for this device.

To find out what’s wrong with it, take it to the next Apple Retail Store. Diagnosis is free. They will tell you exactly what’s causing your problem, and if it has to be repaired, they’ll also tell you how much it will cost.

Thanks for the quick response. Glad your daughter's experience is better than mine. Will try to get to a store when I'm in a town that has one ... and I don't feel like sending it in for diagnosis. I may be at point that it would be good money after bad.