iPad Air Heat spots? On back of iPad Air 2

O

OSXphoto

macrumors 6502
Hey all, I have had this iPad Air 2 in a Sena folio leather case for nine years. Today I thought I’d take it out of the case. I see round spots. See picture. What could that be?
 

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Okay, thanks for having a look, much appreciated.
Do these heat spots point to overheating? If so, could it be caused by having the unit in the case?
 
So if it heats up while charging, maybe the heat is unable to dissipate, i.e. is contained within the case. Might be better to "un-case" it while charging.

Still my iPad Air 2 has a pretty good battery life, considering its age, so I suppose the heat spots haven't done serious damage.
 
Looks like physical damage to me, especially since it's a leather case. There's no way the iPad would heat up that much. The A8X processor maxes out at about 3W. Charging maxes out at 12W.
 
JPack said:
Looks like physical damage to me, especially since it's a leather case. There's no way the iPad would heat up that much. The A8X processor maxes out at about 3W. Charging maxes out at 12W.
Click to expand...
Thanks for weighing in. I see your reasoning, though I don’t see how physical damage could have come to exist, given the case is always around the unit.
Also, the spots are aligned perfectly.
 
OSXphoto said:
Thanks for weighing in. I see your reasoning, though I don’t see how physical damage could have come to exist, given the case is always around the unit.
Also, the spots are aligned perfectly.
Click to expand...

The case you mentioned is made of leather rather than a rigid material. It seems far more likely the damage is from impact rather than heat. Also, the "heat" would have to be high enough to discolor aluminum, but not leather or fabric? That doesn't seem plausible.

Those impact points don't seem to be aligned a straight line. In addition, the uppermost mark has no components behind the chassis. The logic board is empty space.

In short, there's no possible way this is due to heat from the iPad Air.

1727115704231.png
 
Those definitely look more like impact points than heat related. Charring typically has a radiant very dark to light pattern. Those spots look like dents with chipping(?) in the center.

With that said, iPads and other devices can become toasty in certain areas, even uncomfortably so for some people. However, the temp would need to be truly scorching hot, which would cause permanent component damage, probably even a device failure (i.e., “bricked”).
 
okay @JPack that sounds and looks convincing. Thank for taking the time and trouble to draw me a picture. I absolutely really appreciate that.

So even though I must assume it’s damaged by impact, I can’t get my head around how that would have come to be. The leather case has a very thick and rigid layer of leather.

It will remain a mystery until the unit breaks and I open it to see what’s inside.
 
I went to check the outside of the case and specifically the area where the spots are.

It just doesn’t add up. There are no impact marks on the outside of the case. Moreover, there is a metal layer between the soft inside of the case (the side that touches the device) and the outer sheet of leather. So it’s impossible to hit the outside of the case and damage the iPad, without leaving marks on the case and in particular one would expect to see deformation of the metal layer. None of that is the case.
 
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Also, the spots have circles around them in different colour tones. When I reverse the angle to the camera the light circles become dark and the dark become light.
 
To me this looks like the result of a chemical process.

When looking at your picture of the inside of the iPad I’m pretty sure the location of the spots is where the battery edge is, not next to the battery.
 
I’m not all too anxious about this iPad as it’s 9 years old and soon to be retired. What I was wondering is whether or not a case such as this could accumulate heat, prevent heat dissipation and cause overheating of internals.

Because if this is what’s happened, when I get my next iPad, I wouldn’t want to make a mistake twice.
 
IMG_9060.jpeg


A new spot appears to be on its way.
Could it be that the battery is leaking chemicals?
 
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Another thought I originally had...

Are these spots where you hold the iPad (i.e., frequently have finger/palm pressure)?

I’m wondering if… Maybe… these are slow chemical reactions due to whatever material is used on the interior side of the leather case. Perhaps the reaction is caused in part by environmental factors (e.g., humidity).
 
Okay I will do that, but it may take some time. Even if I buy a new iPad I will pass this unit on to the kids to watch videos in the car
 
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