Cause of iPad 3 sleep/wake problem with 3rd party cases

[Rgladman]

Wrong. It's polarity, not the number, of the magnets.

Fully understand it is polarity.

I beleive there are only two possibilities for why there covers are still working.

1. They built all of the smart covers with the polarity of all the magnets facing the same direction and they knew that when they developed the new iPad.

2. The more magnets in the cover the better the odds one is facing the correct direction.

Apple is great at planning every detail but I don't know if they are that good.

 

[Mark Booth]

I have seem many posts asking why the Apple Smart Covers still work on the new iPad.

I remembered seeing a tear down of the smart cover last year and I believe it is related to the number of magnets in the smart cover as compared to third party cases.

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/03/14/ipad-2-smart-cover-teardown-reveals-21-magnets/

Only ONE of the magnets in the Apple Smart Cover is the magnet that triggers the sleep/wake function on the iPad. This photo shows that magnet circled.

The above photo is from iFixit's Teardown of the Apple Smart Cover.

In the photo, you can clearly see the circular magnet for the sleep/wake function and the rectangular magnets that are designed to hold the Smart Cover closed against the iPad. Some of these rectangular magnets are also installed with a specific polarity so that they match up with their twin rectangular magnets embedded in the iPad (shown next to the cover in the photo). The alternating poles of the magnets is what allows the Smart Cover to align perfectly every time it is placed onto the face of the iPad.

Click over to the iFixIt Teardown to read/understand how it all works.

Mark

----------

Apple is great at planning every detail but I don't know if they are that good.

Apple IS that good. Their Smart Cover was designed with SPECIFIC polarity orientations. See the iFixit Teardown.

Mark

 

[glen e]

Bunping as it should be a sticky for a while

 

[Mark Booth]

Participants over on Apple's Support Forums have confirmed that OLDER genuine Apple Smart Covers might also have problems with the sleep/wake on the iPad 3! Late last year, Apple apparently changed the design of their Smart Cover (obviously, to make sure that one little magnet was oriented correctly) and issued new part/model numbers.

So, if anyone has an older Apple Smart Cover and the sleep/wake feature is not working properly with your new iPad (3), the Apple Support Forum members are reporting that Apple is exchanging any older Smart Covers for the newer one. Just visit your local Apple Store.

Mark

 

[jcsantana]

Fix for 3rd party cases

Hi i just wanted to post this little fix I came up with, its not very hard and you don't have to cut your case like I've seen in other fixes, you just need:
1. Glue debonder (to soften the glue that holds the top and bottom layers)
2. sharp hobby knife similar to the ones used in surgeries
3. Small magnet to insert.

I just made a hole between the two layers carefully with the debonder and the knife separating both layer until i had enough space to place the magnet where i wanted. The polarity worked no matter what side it was with the iPad but with one of the side when flipped to the back it would also put it to sleep so thats something to consider, after you insert it, the glue will just start "functioning" again when the debonder dries so you don't even need to apply more glue... ill post a couple of pictures.

 

[class77]

There have been lots of issues with the iPad 3's Smart Cover feature not working with some third-party cases. Maybe the placement or alignment of the little magnet in the cover is the problem with some of those cases, but that's certainly not what I discovered when I investigated with our Maroo Moko II case.

It's the POLARITY of the magnet!

The story and HD video demonstration can be found at my blog:

iPad 3 Smart Cover Sleep/Wake Feature Not Working

Mark

Nope, this is not always the case. My case worked perfectly with the iPad 2, so it's not a case of the polarity being reversed, it's just a case of all the magnets not aligning

 

[TSloper]

Nope, this is not always the case. My case worked perfectly with the iPad 2, so it's not a case of the polarity being reversed, it's just a case of all the magnets not aligning

No... it's a polarity issue. It would be expected that your case works with the iPad 2. The iPad 2 isn't polarity specific. The new iPad is.

 

[class77]

No... it's a polarity issue. It would be expected that your case works with the iPad 2. The iPad 2 isn't polarity specific. The new iPad is.

You learn something new every day....Seems like Apple just made it hard on case makers by doing that. Was there a reason for Apple to need make it polarity specific? Just curious

 

[rgarjr]

You learn something new every day....Seems like Apple just made it hard on case makers by doing that. Was there a reason for Apple to need make it polarity specific? Just curious

I think Mark explained that the reason apple changed the sensor was because... when u flip the smart cover back and put it flat on the back of the iPad, it would at times trigger the sensor and put it to sleep. Polarity triggered resolves this.

 

[Mark Booth]

You learn something new every day....Seems like Apple just made it hard on case makers by doing that. Was there a reason for Apple to need make it polarity specific? Just curious

rgarjr explained it correctly.

I've received a lot of emails and comments about my article and video (linked below in my signature). With the iPad 2, people have claimed that they had first-hand experience with opening up a Smart Cover or third-party case cover and swinging it around flat to the back of their iPad 2, only to have the iPad go to sleep. The presence of the magnet on the BACK of the iPad was triggering the sleep/wake function. It happened with the iPad 2 because the sleep/wake sensor in the iPad 2 is not polarity specific. Either end or side of a magnet can trigger the iPad 2's sleep/wake sensor.

That simply must be the reason that Apple chose to go with polarity specific sleep/wake sensor for the new iPad (3). With that type of sensor, if a user swings the cover around to the back of the iPad it will be the incorrect polarity against the back of the iPad and the sensor won't be tripped.

Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

BTW, my thanks to everyone for visiting my blog and watching my video. The last few days have been pretty amazing. My blog article has received more than 12,000 views and it's been mentioned and linked in articles at Mashable, CNN, Yahoo, Huffington Post and dozens of others, not to mention being linked at sites in Canada, France, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand and (a few hours ago), the Ukraine!

Fun stuff!

Mark

 

[glen e]

bumping this as its why all cases will have problems now...

 

[davedvdy]

bumping this as its why all cases will have problems now...

Interesting, does that mean that the same cases must have inconsistent polarity issues, some switched?

 

[celly]

Interesting, does that mean that the same cases must have inconsistent polarity issues, some switched?

The Beyza Executive II for the iPad 2 works without a hitch on the iPad 3. I was relieved, because I ordered the case before these magnet stories started to materialize.

 

[Mark Booth]

The Beyza Executive II for the iPad 2 works without a hitch on the iPad 3. I was relieved, because I ordered the case before these magnet stories started to materialize.

And I hope EVERY Beyza Executive II case works with the iPad 3 and that nobody purchasing that case has any problems.

But just because you aren't having problems doesn't mean someone else might not have a problem with the exact same case. It all depends on whether the little round magnet is positioned with the same (correct) polarity for EVERY case they make.

That's the devil of this whole thing. I purchased two identically constructed cases from the same manufacturer. The only difference was the color. Yet, one works find for sleep/wake and the other doesn't work at all for sleep/wake.

Happily, it appears that the case manufacturers are doing the right thing and replacing cases (that have wrong-way magnets).

Mark

 

[kodeman53]

Hi i just wanted to post this little fix I came up with, its not very hard and you don't have to cut your case like I've seen in other fixes, you just need:
1. Glue debonder (to soften the glue that holds the top and bottom layers)
2. sharp hobby knife similar to the ones used in surgeries
3. Small magnet to insert.

I just made a hole between the two layers carefully with the debonder and the knife separating both layer until i had enough space to place the magnet where i wanted. The polarity worked no matter what side it was with the iPad but with one of the side when flipped to the back it would also put it to sleep so thats something to consider, after you insert it, the glue will just start "functioning" again when the debonder dries so you don't even need to apply more glue... ill post a couple of pictures.

I bought the magnets mentioned earlier in this thread (Click Here) and used a seam ripper to open up two stitches on the inside cover on my Incase Leather Portfolio, which did not come with any magnets.

I used the seam ripper to open up a little pocket to hold the magnet, even though the material was glued to the stiffener, the seam ripper did a nice job. I used a toothpick to push the magnet into the pocket then sowed the seam up again. Only the magnet on the right is needed to turn the iPad on and off.

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