Sleep seems to work, but doesn't

[bhowell]

For years, my iPad 2 has gone nicely to sleep whenever I close the magnetic cover. (It's a Yoobao cover.) Battery wouldn't run down while it was asleep, and all was well.
Now in the past couple days, although it seems to go to sleep when I close the cover (I need to type my passcode when I re-open the cover, even if the cover was closed just 5 seconds ago), still the battery runs down. If I leave it overnight, charge will go to zero.
It doesn't seem like the battery is dying, because if I turn the iPad completely off and leave it off for a number of hours, there's no appreciable loss of charge.
Any ideas what I can do about this?

 

[scifan57]

Go to Settings>Battery and check the list of apps that have used battery power in the last 24 hours or 7 days. If you tap on one of the apps in the list, the whole list will show how much time was used by each app in the foreground and background. If you discover an app or apps that are using an inordinate amount of battery power, force close them by double clicking the home button and swiping up on the thumbnail for each app that's using too much power. Then put your iPad to sleep by closing the Smart Cover and waiting a few hours to see if the battery is still losing power at an excessive rate. If this experiment works, you can make a habit of making sure the troublesome apps are closed before putting your iPad to sleep.

 

[bhowell]

Thanks so much, scifan57. As you suggested, I went to Setting>Battery and saw that zinio was using 99% of the power. (Ironically, Macworld is my only subscription.) I thought, Eureka! So I followed your instructions and swiped it off. I thought surely your idea would be the solution. Unfortunately, the excessive battery power loss persists. And now it won't give me usage stats by app, either.

Any other suggestions?

 

[scifan57]

Try going to Settings>General>Reset>Reset all Settings.
This won't delete any data but will restore all settings to factory default and could help if an inadvertent setting change is responsible for the battery drain.

 

[twerppoet]

Try going to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn off Zinio.

Hold in mind that magazines willl only download when the app is open after you do this.

I'd forgotten Zinio existed. I've re-installed it and will keep an eye on the battery usage for a while. Who knows, maybe I'll see a magazine I'm willing to pay for again (though I doubt it).

 

[Brian 244]

Couple of things to check::
1) Check the screen brightness , make sure it isn't set to max.
2) it is possible that you r cover is repeatedly triggering your sleep wake sensor. Remove th ecase for a couple of days. See if it makes a difference.
3) check your charge port for debris or damage. A short circuit could drain your battery.
4) The iPad 2 is 5 years old at this point , it could be a worn battery (unlilely , but possible).
5) if none of this works, it could be a software issue,( but again , not likely)

 

[bhowell]

Thank you, all you generous people, for helping out with this.

I did "Reset All Settings," but there was no change.
I took off the cover, but no change.
I've rebooted multiple times, but no change in behavior—even without having launched anything but Settings.
I checked the charge port, but nothing seems amiss (hard to tell for sure, of course).
Screen brightness has been set in the exact middle all through this, and anyway, charge is getting drained while the screen is completely dark.

I think there is a bit of battery degradation, in that it loses 3% of its charge when shut down overnight; in the past, it would lose 0% when shut down. The bigger problem, however, is that it loses more than 30% of its charge when it (supposedly) sleeps for 8 hours — not good, and not normal.

All I can think of is (a) new battery, (b) restore to factory settings, or (c) both of those.

Any better ideas out there?

 

[Brian 244]

Battery replacement is the most likely scenario. If you have access to an Apple Store, take it there , they may be willing to swap it out with a replacement for about $100 ( I think that's the battery replacement fee these days).

 

[scifan57]

The diagnostic that the Apple Store Genius Bar can run would be able to pinpoint any unusual power drain on your iPad.

 

[bhowell]

Thanks, Brian and scifan. Looks like a trip to the Genius Bar is needed, and I'm reconciled to $100 for a battery replacement. Oh well, as Brian pointed out earlier, it is a 5-year-old iPad, and batteries don't last forever.