Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Something is definitely wrong with the iPad 2 battery

jbg232

jbg232

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 15, 2007
1,148
10
I'm totally flummoxed by the ipad 2 battery. When I first got it I used it from 70% to 30% then charged it overnight. The next day I noticed it was only at 85% (after >10 hours of charging!). I spoke with the apple store and they suggested draining it to below 10% then recharging it again. After this conversation I drained the battery from 85%->7% and put it on the charger last night. This morning I went to check on it and it was at 67% and now 9 hours after this (almost 20 hours since originally putting it on the charger) it's only at 74%!!!!

There seems to be something seriously wrong as it can't really take 11 hours to go from 7%->67% and 9 more hours to go from 67%->74%. I fear this thing will never fully charge.

Does anyone have an explanation or suggestion or similar experience?

Some other threads on the issue from my search:
Here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
 
jbg232 said:
I'm totally flummoxed by the ipad 2 battery. When I first got it I used it from 70% to 30% then charged it overnight. The next day I noticed it was only at 85% (after >10 hours of charging!). I spoke with the apple store and they suggested draining it to below 10% then recharging it again. After this conversation I drained the battery from 85%->7% and put it on the charger last night. This morning I went to check on it and it was at 67% and now 9 hours after this (almost 20 hours since originally putting it on the charger) it's only at 74%!!!!

There seems to be something seriously wrong as it can't really take 11 hours to go from 7%->67% and 9 more hours to go from 67%->74%. I fear this thing will never fully charge.

Does anyone have an explanation or suggestion or similar experience?

Some other threads on the issue from my search:
Here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Click to expand...

Make sure you are using the newly supplied charger AND cable. I've found older cables, and some 3rd party cables, seem to charge MUCH slower.
 
Cables connected to a computer will charge the iPad anywhere from not at all to extremely slowly.

Standard USB current is 500mA. High-powered USB ports, such as those on specifically designed computers or motherboards (including Macs made in the last few years), have a 1A current in order to fast-charge higher power devices like iPods and iPhones. Unfortunately, for the iPad, that's still not enough, as it needs 2.1A to draw its fast charge.

When connected to a standard USB port, the iPad will not charge at all while the screen is on (you will see a notification in the battery status bar that says "Not Charging"), and it might actually drain the battery. There's about enough to run the screen or charge the battery, not both.

On high powered USB ports on computers, the iPad will have enough to charge while the screen is on, but it won't be quick about it. The battery is almost the size of the ones put in MacBooks, and you'll be charging it at just about the rate of, if not slower than, an iPhone or iPod. This method will take about as long to recharge the battery as it takes to drain it.

The iPad wall adapter, on the other hand, gives it a full 2.1A current, which gives the battery enough juice to charge fast even while you're using it.

You may also want to condition your battery by draining it to 0% until it shuts itself off and then leave it plugged in until it is fully charged (plug icon instead of lightning icon).
 
i had the same basic issues as the OP too. my iPad was plugged into a surge protector and left over night to charge. in the morning the battery had gone from 24% to 32%, unplugged USB cable from iPad and plugged back in, still no go. swapped USB cable from iPhone 4 and it charged iPad up easily. the next time i charged iPad i tried iPad cable/charger with real slow results again, so i unplugged cable/charger from surge protector and plugged it in directly to wall outlet and iPad charged quick and problem free.
 
Last edited:
No issues with mine, in fact, seems to charge pretty quick with the supplied power cable and transformer.

--Sean
 
I just charged from 30% to 100% in about 3 hours. You have to use the supplied charger and cable. Computer USB ports don't have enough power to fast charge.
 
dacreativeguy said:
Are you charging with 110V? Try 220V. All these new-fangled batteries charge faster with a higher voltage.
Click to expand...


DO NOT TRY THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unless you have the right adapters for overseas current... I can tell you, YOU WILL FRY the ipad if you just try and plug it into a 220v outlet without the proper adapters...


James
 
jbg232 said:
I'm using the apple 10W charger and cable that came with the iPad

I forgot to mention that I did disable Ping but my problem is not so much with battery life per se but with battery charging speed.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a bad battery. My iPad 2 charges up somewhat fast when I use the charger and cable that came with it. Of course, if I just plug the usb into my computer, it says "Not charging" as I guess it thinks my power supply on my PC isn't strong enough.

Anyway, that battery sounds defective. If you're plugging it directly into the wall outlet, it should charge up at a very good rate.
 
JForestZ34 said:
DO NOT TRY THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unless you have the right adapters for overseas current... I can tell you, YOU WILL FRY the ipad if you just try and plug it into a 220v outlet without the proper adapters...


James
Click to expand...

The supplied power adapter automatically handles any voltage from 100-240 volts. You will not fry anything.
 
This might sound like a stupid question, but is your screen off while you are charging it?
 
JForestZ34 said:
DO NOT TRY THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unless you have the right adapters for overseas current... I can tell you, YOU WILL FRY the ipad if you just try and plug it into a 220v outlet without the proper adapters...


James
Click to expand...

won't you just fry your charger?
Once the charger's inside the socket, it's a regular USB port with regular USB voltage, no?
 
Something might be wrong with your iPad 2 battery, but mine is perfectly fine.
 
dacreativeguy said:
Are you charging with 110V? Try 220V. All these new-fangled batteries charge faster with a higher voltage.
Click to expand...

What are you talking about?

There should be no noticable difference in speed from using 110 or 220vac. If you live in America you will find yourseld behind your clothes dryer or stove to find 220vac! LOL!
 
Cables matter on recharging the iPad2...

azentropy said:
Make sure you are using the newly supplied charger AND cable. I've found older cables, and some 3rd party cables, seem to charge MUCH slower.[/QUOTE

Couldn't agree more. I was unhappy with the length of the standard iPad charging cable that came with my iPad2, so I ordered a 6' 3rd party version. Plugged it into the iPad2 wall charger and started working on the ipad. Discovered after an hour or so that despite being plugged in and showing that it was indeed charging, battery level actually *fell.* Concerned that I had some kind of problem, I did a hard reset, shut down my notifications, etc. etc. to no avail. Then I rememebered the cable. Swapped out the new 6' non-Apple cable with the real (alas, too short) Apple cable, plugged it in, and, lo, iPad began charging at its usual clip.

Moral of the story: the cable matters.
Click to expand...
 
Don't plug your iPad into a 220v plug. Seriously, some people amaze me with their misinformation. If your iPad is plugged into the wall using the Apple-supplied cable and charger then there is something wrong with the plug or the iPad. If you use another outlet and it still happens then there is something wrong with your iPad.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back