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iPad New iPad 3 not performing as expected - is this normal?

A

addictive

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 6, 2008
375
357
I purchased a refurbished iPad 3 in the middle of August and I would say i've used it lightly since then largely due to what i perceive to be poor battery life. However, as this is my first iPad this could be the standard performance hence why i'm trying to find out by posting.

I generally use my iPad for browsing (Zite and Safari) and email but i've got a long overseas trip coming up lasting six weeks where the iPad 3 is going to be my main machine. I have a bluetooth keyboard and the new version of Pages and I'm going to be needing to write for around five hours a day at least. This is on top of heavy browsing, email and the videos i'll have stored on there for the six weeks. I'm going to be in remote and rural areas in the developing world where I might not have constant access to electricity to charge the iPad.

I find if i'm touching the display that the iPad battery reduces quite rapidly and without measuring/timing how long each charge lasts I get around seven hours from 100% to 0%. It also seems to take at least seven hours to charge. I did not expect this before I purchased it (naivety on my part?).

Can someone tell me whether this is normal/standard or should I be looking at speaking to Apple about it.

As i purchased it from the official store refurbished I know i have a one year warranty. Essentially i've had it for 10 weeks.

My main concern of my upcoming trip is productivity. Does the new iPad Air have far greater battery life than i'm experiencing? If so then i'm going to have to consider purchasing an iPad Air even though that is going to involve buying new lightening cables and a new smart case.

Perhaps i'm experiencing standard issues of other iPad 3 owners, i just don't know. Thanks in advance.
 
Those sound about right as far as use & charging.


I probably average closer to 9 hours on my iPad 3 doing just web surfing, throw any music/movie watching/gaming into the mix & it will go down faster.

As far as charging goes, it does typically take a complete over night cycle to fully charge from 0 to 100%. The retina iPads have huge batteries & they take a bit to juice up.

I just upgraded to an iPad Air & it seems the same battery life wise to me & charging even seems to take a smidge longer as it has only been to about 98% when I've gotten up the last 2 mornings.

There are ways to help extend battery life, turn down brightness makes a pretty big difference & turning off all wireless communications when not needed.

In short, sounds like typical performance in my opinion.
 
Unfortunately, the iPad 3 is a bit of a battery hog. It was the first iPad with retina display, so the power management wasn't quite up to snuff yet.

I would return it and see about getting an iPad 4, if long battery life is absolutely necessary. Or, get an external battery pack.
 
If you feel you're not getting the performance you think you paid for return it. I've never had major power issues with my 3 but maybe you got a dud.
 
I remember the iPad 3 being a bit disappointing on battery life compared to my iPad 2. Not terrible, but what you're saying sounds about right. I also found it to be a bit underpowered for more demanding tasks--which also hurts battery life.

I'd suggest upgrading to a newer ipad that can handle what's being thrown at it a little better. I know you just bought it, but it's an old model at this point. You can probably recoup some of your cost with a trade in, or contact Apple and see if they'll let you exchange for another model. I doubt it, but it's worth a try.

If you don't want to do that, you can buy the 12A power adapter from Apple that is used with the new iPads. That will at least reduce your charging time pretty significantly and make recharging or working while charging a bit less of a burden.
 
herdnerfer said:
I just upgraded to an iPad Air & it seems the same battery life wise to me & charging even seems to take a smidge longer as it has only been to about 98% when I've gotten up the last 2 mornings.
Click to expand...

That will be because it discharges a few % to stop battery damage, not because it's taken that long to charge. If you have an Air that is taking as long or longer to charge than the third or fourth gen iPad, you absolutely have a defective device or, perhaps, charger.
 
addictive said:
I find if i'm touching the display that the iPad battery reduces quite rapidly and without measuring/timing how long each charge lasts I get around seven hours from 100% to 0%. It also seems to take at least seven hours to charge. I did not expect this before I purchased it (naivety on my part?).
Click to expand...

Seven hours of battery life seems a little short, just barely within expected range for iPad 3 battery life. Needing seven hours to charge, however, doesn't seem right. Are you using the power adapter that came with the iPad? Seven hours charging time is what I get when I use an iPhone adapter or try to charge from a computer USB port. When I use the iPad power adapter, it charges in about four hours. And if you get the new 12A adapter, as another poster suggested, it should charge even faster.
 
Thanks

Thank you to all those board members for their help and suggestions.

I am slightly surprised about the battery life but I can see why the iPad 3 has been discontinued. I've learnt a little about the iPad since getting one 10 weeks ago, i'm still not totally sold on them as the most useful/productive device but my five year Macbook is too heavy and battery life is unreliable for a six week trip so I guess it will be an iPad I take away.

I'll check out the new iPad Airs in the :apple: store this week and if I think they are a huge upgrade then i'll probably purchase one and sell my iPad 3. I should be able to get some money for it. If not i'll keep my iPad 3 for another 11 months.
 
The iPad 3 is not the best iPad out there but in no way it will only have 7 hours of battery life.
 
On iPad 1 and 4, the battery lost about 10% in a hour. Usage like yours. Your device is losing it's charge way too fast! Either, there is something wrong with your device' battery - or the iPad 3 in general is really a not-so-perfect product. Give the thing back and go for an iPad 4.

addictive said:
I purchased a refurbished iPad 3 in the middle of August and I would say i've used it lightly since then largely due to what i perceive to be poor battery life. However, as this is my first iPad this could be the standard performance hence why i'm trying to find out by posting.

I generally use my iPad for browsing (Zite and Safari) and email but i've got a long overseas trip coming up lasting six weeks where the iPad 3 is going to be my main machine. I have a bluetooth keyboard and the new version of Pages and I'm going to be needing to write for around five hours a day at least. This is on top of heavy browsing, email and the videos i'll have stored on there for the six weeks. I'm going to be in remote and rural areas in the developing world where I might not have constant access to electricity to charge the iPad.

I find if i'm touching the display that the iPad battery reduces quite rapidly and without measuring/timing how long each charge lasts I get around seven hours from 100% to 0%. It also seems to take at least seven hours to charge. I did not expect this before I purchased it (naivety on my part?).

Can someone tell me whether this is normal/standard or should I be looking at speaking to Apple about it.

As i purchased it from the official store refurbished I know i have a one year warranty. Essentially i've had it for 10 weeks.

My main concern of my upcoming trip is productivity. Does the new iPad Air have far greater battery life than i'm experiencing? If so then i'm going to have to consider purchasing an iPad Air even though that is going to involve buying new lightening cables and a new smart case.

Perhaps i'm experiencing standard issues of other iPad 3 owners, i just don't know. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
 
I used my iPad 3 every day for 5+ hours each day longer on the weekends. Battery life was easily 9+ hours with wifi on, bluetooth off.

Charging, yes it takes the longest of any iPad, the battery is huge in the iPad 3. Should take 6+ hours from 0%. Make sure you use a 12W charger instead of a 10W to help speed things up a bit.
 
The charge time is about 6 hours but as far as usage, I regularly got over 10 hours a day browsing the web and watching Netflix. This is coming from a 19 month iPad 3 owner with an older battery.
 
Reading the comments... gives the impression, that the thread starters refurbished device does have an aged battery.
 
Just curious if you have optimized the settings of the device for battery life? What features do you have turned on? How bright do you run the screen at? Is bluetooth always on? Is backgrouund app updates on(if you have iOS7)?

Let us know, its worth verifying anyways.
 
you could look at a solar charger such as the Freeloader. It won't charge the iPad as you use it but you can charge it during the day then plug it into the iPad to charge at night if you are without electricity.
 
Actually, if it's a refurbished iPad purchased from Apple, and you are not getting decent battery life, you might want to contact Apple. They might swap it for another unit

The 3 does have a weaker CPU than the 4, but it works perfectly fine for most tasks -- you only get problems when playing graphic intensive games. But that was with iOS 6. I haven't put 7 on mine, so I have no personal experience, but some people report their 3s have slowed down on iOS 7, while others claim it is fine on 7.

In any case, the Air is a huge upgrade from the 3. If you can afford it, I'd definitely go for the Air.
 
Screen brightness setting will have a huge effect on battery life. If you are at 100% you will get pretty terrible battery life.
 
addictive said:
Thank you to all those board members for their help and suggestions.

I am slightly surprised about the battery life but I can see why the iPad 3 has been discontinued. I've learnt a little about the iPad since getting one 10 weeks ago, i'm still not totally sold on them as the most useful/productive device but my five year Macbook is too heavy and battery life is unreliable for a six week trip so I guess it will be an iPad I take away.

I'll check out the new iPad Airs in the :apple: store this week and if I think they are a huge upgrade then i'll probably purchase one and sell my iPad 3. I should be able to get some money for it. If not i'll keep my iPad 3 for another 11 months.
Click to expand...

Whether you keep your 3 or get an Air, you should definitely purchase one of these for your travels (I have an older model and its excellent):

http://www.newtrent.com/store/ipad-external-battery/nt135t.html

They are great on an airplane (in the event your seat doesn't have power) and they hold charges for a long time. Perfect for your remote areas (charge before you get to the remote area). The older new trent model that I own basiscally doubles the time that my iPad can be used.
 
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