New iPad Owner, Some Questions

[i-Want-Apples]

Hey everyone,

I've had my iPad since last Friday (exchanged one already for multiple dead pixels) and I'm absolutely loving it so far. The funny thing is, I bought the iPad to replace my computers on the weekend when I'm rarely home and just want something to surf the web and stuff late at night, without having to use a computer and be stuck at my desk. However, since I started using the iPad, my computer hasn't even been turned on. I'm having a blast and have been happier than I expected with it. I was really pleased with the iPod Touch when I got it as well, but the iPad is more of what I wanted all along. I don't own a Mac yet, but after using the iPad and being so happy with it, I can say a Mac will most likely be my next computer

Anyway, I have had a few things I've noticed while using the iPad and I wasn't sure if it ws normal so I wanted to check.

So, my first issue is when I charge the iPad. I've charged it twice now, the first day when I got it and then one time after running the battery out. Both times (and one time on the first iPad I had to return) when I unplug the charger after the logo changes from charging to just plugged in and it says 100% when I unplug it, it immediately drops to 99%. Now I'm still very happy with the battery life and everything, but I just wanted to know if this is normal or if there could possibly be an issue with my battery.

That is my main question for today. My only issue so far with the iPad has been YouTube videos. One thing I really wanted to use the iPad for was to watch YouTube videos at night before bed and things, but it is so incredibly slow to load that I haven't watched a single one. I tried to watch a 55 second video last night and after waiting five minutes or so for it to load and getting to see about 20 seconds I decided it wasn't worth it.

Also, I'm still in the process of looking for a full body protector for the iPad, if anyone has suggestions I'm very open. It seems Power Support is the top pick from most users, but I would really like to protect the back as well.


Thanks for all your help!

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

YouTube loads slow probably due to your network. It loads fairly quickly on mine.

 

[redscull]

The problem is youtube. It is crap. Sometimes it's going along perfectly fine, then for no reason, it becomes extremely slow. It makes me wonder if they track IPs and "soft cap" people's youtube downloads.

When I've seen youtube unreasonably slow, I check iPad vs. iPhone vs. MBP vs. Windows Desktop. If it's slow, it's slow. It doesn't matter if I switch to another system. And I check my internet speed too. No issues there. I've always got excellent bandwidth to other sites.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Oh and the battery issue is probably a non-issue. Did you try rebooting or cycling the battery?

 

[i-Want-Apples]

@SnowLeopard2008, my network is actually quite quick. I use my laptop and everything wirelessly and have had no issues. My iPod Touch is also very quick for YouTube. I've tried several different things and it is still slow, based on other comments on the forum I don't think it is just my network.

I can never remember what cycling the battery is. Is that when you fully charge it and then completely drain if before charing it again? If so, that is what I do the very first time. What's the easiest/safest way to reboot the iPad? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just extra careful with my iPad

@redscull, I agree, it drives me crazy how slow it is. I haven't watched a completely video from start to finish because it is too annoying. The only reason I turned my computer on today was to get caught up on some videos that I haven't been able to watch because the iPad is so slow. I really hope something gets resolved quickly.

Thanks for the quick comments!

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Hold the on/off button at the top right corner until you see a red slider. Slide it and it should turn off. Then hold that button until it starts up.

Cycling a battery is exactly as you describe. It's healthy to do that once in a while (like once per half year or something) if you don't really use the battery from 100 to 0.

 

[aohus]

The problem is youtube. It is crap. Sometimes it's going along perfectly fine, then for no reason, it becomes extremely slow. It makes me wonder if they track IPs and "soft cap" people's youtube downloads.

When I've seen youtube unreasonably slow, I check iPad vs. iPhone vs. MBP vs. Windows Desktop. If it's slow, it's slow. It doesn't matter if I switch to another system. And I check my internet speed too. No issues there. I've always got excellent bandwidth to other sites.

its not a youtube issue. if that were the case, you'd hear a lot of reports of youtube going slow. its your ISP, coupled with the iPad.

btw. you're crap.

 

[fw221]

Also, I'm still in the process of looking for a full body protector for the iPad, if anyone has suggestions I'm very open. It seems Power Support is the top pick from most users, but I would really like to protect the back as well.

I spent the big bucks on the Otterbox Defender. More than I need perhaps, but I'm trying to keep it protected from a 3 year old who loves mama's iPad.

 

[redscull]

its your ISP

Well, I agree that's a possibility. Maybe my ISP soft caps my access to youtube. But it's not my ISP just in general. When youtube is being slow, I'll go do a speed test and see my expected 25Mbs which is way more than youtube needs.

Why do you assume there'd be a lot of reports? I've found youtube to be randomly slow for years, from varying locations, even varying towns. This is the first time I ever mentioned it on a forum. Maybe because youtube isn't actually important for anything, no one else complains openly either.

And you know, whether youtube is actually slow, or is just soft capping me, or my ISP is soft capping my youtube access, it doesn't matter. My experience when trying to use youtube is often crappy. The reason hardly matters when it's out of my control and not specific to me in any way.

 

[JJPNH]

I've experienced the same concern about Youtube videos but only some of the time. It only seems to happen on higher-quality videos. I just thought that over Wi-Fi, the iPad will always play the video at the highest resolution by default, which is why lesser quality videos (those that max at 480) load immediately whereas movie trailers, and anything that says HD will take several minutes to buffer properly.

Oddly, though, on my iPhone youtube videos always load immediately on 3G, and always take a long time over Wi-Fi at higher quality.

 

[silverblack]

When the iPad is charged to full, the electronics stops passing current through the battery to preserve it's life. The battery goes into the standby mode, and slowly drains on its own. When you disconnect it hours after charging completed, you would see 99 instead of 100%. The electronic won't charge the battery again until it drops at least a few %, like 96 or 95%.

 

[GaresTaylan]

Welcome to the wonderful world of the iPad.

I have found that when a video is loading slow for me on Youtube, you can always try to manually go to youtube's site instead of using the app and that will usually be quicker.

As for the battery... Mine generally stays at 100% for a good duration of time before it drops down.

 

[i-Want-Apples]

Hold the on/off button at the top right corner until you see a red slider. Slide it and it should turn off. Then hold that button until it starts up.

Cycling a battery is exactly as you describe. It's healthy to do that once in a while (like once per half year or something) if you don't really use the battery from 100 to 0.

Okay, I will give it a try and see what happens.

I have heard that running the battery to zero too often can be bad for the battery, so after the initial cycle I try not to do it too often, though sometimes I let it fall below 10% and then start doing things and then it goes to zero anyway.

I spent the big bucks on the Otterbox Defender. More than I need perhaps, but I'm trying to keep it protected from a 3 year old who loves mama's iPad.

I've looked at the Otterbox and it seems like a great case for anyone that travels a lot or needs something that is really heavy duty, but I think it is a little much for me. I like the feel of the iPad without any cases when I'm just using it at home and stuff, which is why I'm thinking a BodyGuardz type cover would be best and then keep it in an Incase slider or something when I'm not using it or traveling.

I've experienced the same concern about Youtube videos but only some of the time. It only seems to happen on higher-quality videos. I just thought that over Wi-Fi, the iPad will always play the video at the highest resolution by default, which is why lesser quality videos (those that max at 480) load immediately whereas movie trailers, and anything that says HD will take several minutes to buffer properly.

Oddly, though, on my iPhone youtube videos always load immediately on 3G, and always take a long time over Wi-Fi at higher quality.

It seems to do it on every video for me. I've tried everything from long movies, to short movies, high quality to low quality, etc. The one video I was watching was under a minute and I know it was a low quality video, but it still did it. I'm just hoping that they can resolve whatever the issue is.

When the iPad is charged to full, the electronics stops passing current through the battery to preserve it's life. The battery goes into the standby mode, and slowly drains on its own. When you disconnect it hours after charging completed, you would see 99 instead of 100%. The electronic won't charge the battery again until it drops at least a few %, like 96 or 95%.

I never leave it plugged in very long. I usually check it once during the charge to see the progress and then check back a little later to see that it is done. The first time I noticed it was after the first charge and I was wanting to go to Barnes and Noble to try their wi fi and I was ready to leave and I checked it at 99% then a few minutes later checked it and it was at 100% and it was no longer charging, so I unplugged it, heard the beep from it being unplugged and then it dropped to 99%.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the iPad.

I have found that when a video is loading slow for me on Youtube, you can always try to manually go to youtube's site instead of using the app and that will usually be quicker.

As for the battery... Mine generally stays at 100% for a good duration of time before it drops down.

Thanks, it is an absolutely amazing place to be I really didn't think I would like it as much as I do, I was expecing to regret it somewhat after I got it because it is more of a toy than something I have to have (at least right now) but I don't regret it at all!

I've tried getting videos on YouTubes website and the app, but they both seem to be pretty slow. I've not tried as many on the website though, so I may give that another go and see how it works.

Thanks for the info about the battery, I have my iPad charging right now and it should be about done so I'm going to see if it does it again. If so, I will try resetting and if it does it again I may contact Apple and see what they say.

Thanks again for all the comments!

 

[i-Want-Apples]

UPDATE

Just a quick update for everyone, first after posting the other day I checked my iPad after it charged and it stayed at 100% when I unplugged it. It remained at 100% for a decent amount of time as well. It seems to have taken quite a bit longer than I remember it usually taking to charge, but it may have just been that I was impatient

Second, I tried watching some YouTube videos the other night and I managed to watch one without any issues. After that, however, they were slow again. So, I tried again last night and was able to watch several videos without any issue, in the app and on the website. I haven't tried it again today because I need to charge the battery, but last night I was very happy with it.

I'm beginning to think I should post all my problems on here since it seems to help

Also, I still haven't decided on a screen protector and stuff for the iPad, but I've been looking into my options. I got an e-mail today from BodyGuardz that they now have a dry apply protector for iPhone 4. I'm really hoping they may release one for iPad as well, hopefully soon, because that is really what I would like to get.... Fingers crossed

Thanks again everyone!

 

[DNAppleGold]

1. If you are looking for cases, I'd strongly reccommend the Yoobao line. I just got the version 4 "magic" case, and will post a very (although not completely) positive review soon. About a 30 page thread below.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/914451/

2. Youtube. A much discussed topic. Search for the word "youtube" in the title of postings. There are some threads where forum readers give very detailed advice what network settings work best. I sometimes have this problem at home, but have been too lazy to try the setting advice but then I'm not a big YouTube person. Best of Luck.

 

[i-Want-Apples]

1. If you are looking for cases, I'd strongly reccommend the Yoobao line. I just got the version 4 "magic" case, and will post a very (although not completely) positive review soon. About a 30 page thread below.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/914451/

2. Youtube. A much discussed topic. Search for the word "youtube" in the title of postings. There are some threads where forum readers give very detailed advice what network settings work best. I sometimes have this problem at home, but have been too lazy to try the setting advice but then I'm not a big YouTube person. Best of Luck.

Thanks, I will check out those cases. I'm kind of on the fence about what type of case I'm wanting and I think I will end up getting several different ones at some point. I have discovered since getting the iPad I really need something like the official Apple case so I can prop it up and stuff, but I've not heard too much good about it. I'm also on the fence about getting the dock keyboard for the iPad or just the regular wireless Apple one, but I think I will have an easier time deciding on that ones I decide on a case.

My biggest concern is still a full body screen protector. I like the Powersupport for the front since you don't have to use water and stuff, but I still need something for the back and paying $30 just for the front seems like way too much, especially since I will most likely have to get one that you use water on for the back anyway.

I've read through all the forums on YouTube and tried several different options, but nothing seemed to help, but then it started working better last night. I had completely forgotten until I tried to watch some on my computer the other day, but YouTube had been acting up for me on there as well for a few days. It seems to be okay today now as well, so hopefully the issue is resolved.

Thanks again for the suggestion!

 

[MrWillie]

I have a leather Fossil case (old style). I use the iPad naked. iPad is tossed (placed) in a canvass messenger bag (also Fossil) along with the laptop, iPod, power supplies, and serial cables. No screen 'protector' . No scrathches or dents. No dust under screen, dead pixels, wifi issues, edge bleeding, or yellow tint. Also no issues with ATT. ( of course it is a wifi only model)

Just take reasonable care of it, and enjoy the thing.

Please send me the $20 - $30 you would have wasted on the screen protector.

 

[i-Want-Apples]

I have a leather Fossil case (old style). I use the iPad naked. iPad is tossed (placed) in a canvass messenger bag (also Fossil) along with the laptop, iPod, power supplies, and serial cables. No screen 'protector' . No scrathches or dents. No dust under screen, dead pixels, wifi issues, edge bleeding, or yellow tint. Also no issues with ATT. ( of course it is a wifi only model)

Just take reasonable care of it, and enjoy the thing.

Please send me the $20 - $30 you would have wasted on the screen protector.

I will look into the Fossil case, I haven't even looked at what they have.

I know the iPad is pretty durable and I'm sure I won't be putting it through 98% of the things other iPads go through. All my electronics always look perfect you can't tell if they are 5 years old or just out of the box because I take extra good care of them. However, I've found with portable devices I like to have a little extra protection just to make it more comfortable to use and so I don't have to worry about it so much. For example, my brother doesn't put anything on his phone and the back ended up getting scratched from sliding it across a table. So its not that I think I have to have one to prevent it from having any scratches and things, I just like the extra protection so I don't have to worry so much when I take it places or if someone else is looking at it, etc.

 

[MrWillie]

I will look into the Fossil case, I haven't even looked at what they have.

I know the iPad is pretty durable and I'm sure I won't be putting it through 98% of the things other iPads go through. All my electronics always look perfect you can't tell if they are 5 years old or just out of the box because I take extra good care of them. However, I've found with portable devices I like to have a little extra protection just to make it more comfortable to use and so I don't have to worry about it so much. For example, my brother doesn't put anything on his phone and the back ended up getting scratched from sliding it across a table. So its not that I think I have to have one to prevent it from having any scratches and things, I just like the extra protection so I don't have to worry so much when I take it places or if someone else is looking at it, etc.

I have a couple of the over 22 crowd on my cell phone plan. When they get their own plans (it's gonna happen sooner than they think), I am going to want an iPhone 4. It will definitely get cased.

If I upgrade my 3rd gen iPod Nano, it will get cased.


I too have noticed that YouTube is sometimes slow. I am not a heavy user, so I have never payed it any mind.

If I am going to be around a power plug, I let my iPad battery run down till the device shuts itself off. I had squirrely battery usage the first couple of cycles, but it settled in to 10+ hours of usage.

 

[ssdeg7]

YouTube loads slow probably due to your network. It loads fairly quickly on mine.

That's not true, the YouTube App for iPad is not good, there's even another thread around this site about many people having the same problem with YouTube on the iPad.

Videos load perfectly on my MacBook Pro but have quite a problem loading on the iPad.