Short after it launched, iPad named the most world’s popular tablet. But the fans of this admired gadget sometimes complain that its battery drains fast. could be this the result of progressive wear out in the battery?
Does an iPad battery lose capacity over time?
The trust is that batteries don’t last forever. Every time you charge or discharge your battery, it wears out gradually. Since the battery degradation process is very slow, you won’t necessarily notice that until you realize your iPad battery doesn’t hold the charge as before or the worst, it is going to die.
You can do your best to take care of your gadget battery and prolong its life, but you can’t avoid battery replacement forever. Even if you don’t use your iPad, the capacity of its battery will decrease after a while.
Every battery has a certain life span usually measured in recharge cycles. When the maximum charging cycle of a battery is reached, no one can revive it. the only solution is to have it replaced with a new battery.
The reason is explained by chemistry. When you charge a lithium-ion or newer lithium-polymer battery, ions travel from the cathode (positive electrode) to the anode (negative electrode), using a battery reverses the flow. Over time, the repeated cycle of charging and discharging wears out the cathode which leads to reduced capacity.
How long does an iPad battery last before replacement?
The answer depends on how heavily you use your iPad and how you take care of it. Like most top devices manufactured by Apple, the iPad features a lithium-ion polymer battery, often called a LiPo battery. Typically, A high-end polymer-ion battery loses 20% of its capacity after 1000 charge cycles. So, it can be estimated that it will probably die after approximately 5000 full recharge cycles.
Apple claims that the iPad battery will be in a good condition for 400 to 500 recharging cycles and should last for a couple of years. If you usually fully charge your tablet every two or three days, this time is in agreement with our theoretical estimations. Please notice that every time you plug your iPad to the charger it is not considered as a full recharge cycle for which your battery should go from 0% to 100%. For example, if you change your iPad every day from 50% to 100%, you fully recharge it once every two days. So, if you use your iPad in this way your iPad battery should keep going for at least two years.
However, if you are an all-time user of the iPad you need to charge it more often, resulting in shorter battery life. when you use your tablet in a warm climate or it is covered by a casing that prevents dissipating the heat generated during the battery recharge the life span of your iPad would be even shorter.
Apple offers a limited one-year warranty for defective batteries. They will replace your iPad battery free of charge if their tests show that it holds less than 80% of its capacity. Out-of-warranty battery replacement for all iPad models costs $99.
how to test your iPad battery health?
The quickest way to check your iPad battery health is going directly to Settings > Battery on your device. If your battery needs replacement you can find a warring here. If you don’t see anything, it means that your iPad battery is in good condition. However, this won’t provide you the details about battery status.
You can get more details about your iPad battery health using third-party apps. For example, CoconutBattery is a great free app typically used for Macs but supports all iOS devices. After launching the app, connect your iPad to the PC via the lighting cable. It will show you tones of information about your device battery such as its full charge capacity, cycle capacity, cycle count, etc.
Every time you charge your iPad, you bring it closer to death. Unless you are a heavy user of iPad, your tablet battery should endure for at least 5000 recharge cycles or two years.
References:
- https://www.howtogeek.com/216934/how-do-you-know-when-its-time-to-replace-your-battery/
- https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/how-to/a7432/why-your-gadgets-batteries-degrade-over-time-6705747/
- https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1596392/apple-replace-ipad-batteries
- https://support.apple.com/ipad/repair/battery-power