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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > iPhone, iPad & iPod > Dying battery

Dying battery
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Thorzdad
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Apr 22, 2018, 10:35 AM
 
It looks like the battery in my iPad Air is starting a death spiral. It drains pretty fast anymore. The most annoying issue is that it will often drain down to, say, 20%, and then, in the space of less than a minute, drop to near zero and shut itself off.

Is Apple's $99 iPad battery replacement pretty much the best deal going? I mean by a service that actually knows what it's doing. There are plenty of fixit shops around me that claim to do the service, but, I've looked at the tear-down required to replace the battery, and I definitely want someone who knows what they're doing to open it up.
     
Chongo
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Apr 22, 2018, 11:31 AM
 
I thought it was $79, or is that for the iPhone? That is $49 after the the PR fiasco a few months ago. My Air is showing signs as wel. The 128GB non pro wifi only iPad is $429. That is half of what I paid for my wifi only 128GB Air. I guess it depends on if you are content with the Air, or you want to be able to use the newer iOS features the Air does not support, like Pencil. I’m debating battery replacement vs a new iPad.
45/47
     
Thorzdad  (op)
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Apr 22, 2018, 11:38 AM
 
As much as I'd love to snag a Pro (and Pencil) for myself, our financial situation is pretty tight right now, so a battery replacement is about as much as I can swing. The Air may not support Pencil, but it does support a good many 3rd-party styli. I use 53's stylus (also called Pencil) for drawing on the Air.
     
Chongo
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Apr 22, 2018, 06:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by Thorzdad View Post
As much as I'd love to snag a Pro (and Pencil) for myself, our financial situation is pretty tight right now, so a battery replacement is about as much as I can swing. The Air may not support Pencil, but it does support a good many 3rd-party styli. I use 53's stylus (also called Pencil) for drawing on the Air.
The Pencil is now supported by the “air 3”. My Air’s home button is trying to pop out, another sign I need to hand it down to my sister. She is using a a windoze tablet.
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P
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Apr 23, 2018, 05:24 AM
 
Originally Posted by Thorzdad View Post
It looks like the battery in my iPad Air is starting a death spiral. It drains pretty fast anymore. The most annoying issue is that it will often drain down to, say, 20%, and then, in the space of less than a minute, drop to near zero and shut itself off.
The last battery cell in your iPad is broken and cannot support the iPad on what voltage it can supply, so yes, replacement.

Originally Posted by Thorzdad View Post
Is Apple's $99 iPad battery replacement pretty much the best deal going? I mean by a service that actually knows what it's doing. There are plenty of fixit shops around me that claim to do the service, but, I've looked at the tear-down required to replace the battery, and I definitely want someone who knows what they're doing to open it up.
I didn't like the results of when I had my old iPad mini fixed at a third-party store, so i would go to Apple.

You could get a powerbank with enough power to keep the iPad limping along a while longer, and then upgrade when you have funds and keep the powerbank for emergencies. It would certainly be cheaper than Apple, but it depends on your situation, if carrying an external battery is workable.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
andi*pandi
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Apr 23, 2018, 11:44 AM
 
My ipad is in a similar state, the last 10% goes in a flash. I am frequently near a power outlet though, so not too worried... with my phone I had a case with an extra battery in it. do they make those for ipads?

Do not mail it off to get the battery replaced.
     
Chongo
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Apr 23, 2018, 09:04 PM
 
Question: the latest version of iOS appeared to activate auto brightness. When I went in to turn it off the screen says turning it OFF will affect battery life. Is this correct? I thought it used less battery when off, not on. I had it turned off prior to the latest update.
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subego
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Apr 23, 2018, 09:42 PM
 
It get the impression it depends on...

1) How relatively low you like it
2) Whether that’s so low you need to adjust it for daylight
3) How often you can’t be arsed to change it back

With some sets of answers, it’s better, with others, it’s worse.

I keep it on, more for the convenience of not having to mess with it between indoor and outdoor.
     
P
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Apr 25, 2018, 03:55 AM
 
Originally Posted by Chongo View Post
Question: the latest version of iOS appeared to activate auto brightness. When I went in to turn it off the screen says turning it OFF will affect battery life. Is this correct? I thought it used less battery when off, not on. I had it turned off prior to the latest update.
Auto brightness will reduce brightness when in a dark room, and never raise it above the max you set with the slider. In a vacuum, this means that auto brightness will reduce power consumption, but you can also get the same effect by turning it off and reducing the manual brightness.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
subego
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Apr 25, 2018, 04:08 AM
 
Is that right?

I set my slider low, but it goes to max in daylight.
     
P
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Apr 25, 2018, 05:00 AM
 
That's how it used to work, anyway. I haven't touched that setting in years, maybe they changed it?
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Thorzdad  (op)
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Apr 25, 2018, 07:37 AM
 
I'm not able to find any control for auto-brightness on my iPad. Just the normal brightness controls.
     
subego
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Apr 25, 2018, 09:01 AM
 
Now that I look at it, I don’t have an auto-brightness switch either. I know it used to be there.

I’m still on 11.3.
     
Chongo
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Apr 25, 2018, 11:19 AM
 
Originally Posted by Thorzdad View Post
I'm not able to find any control for auto-brightness on my iPad. Just the normal brightness controls.
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Now that I look at it, I don’t have an auto-brightness switch either. I know it used to be there.

I’m still on 11.3.
for both:
General>Accessibility>Display>Accommodations
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Thorzdad  (op)
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Apr 25, 2018, 03:44 PM
 
Ah! Thanks.
Now, the big question...does turning it off hurt battery performance, or help it? I assume, with it on, the system is constantly measuring ambient light (I guess via the camera) so that would seem to be an extra drain. On the other hand, if it lowers the illumination of the screen, that would reduce the drain. Seems like a toss-up to me.
     
subego
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Apr 25, 2018, 03:51 PM
 
My guess is powering the screen takes way more than taking a light reading.
     
BLAZE_MkIV
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Apr 25, 2018, 06:01 PM
 
The back light actually uses allot of power, even now that its LEDs. The analogy is CPU throttling. If you don't need full bright, turn it down. The camera uses a trickle of power by comparison. Not counting the "flash" LEDs.
     
   
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