iPad Battery Draining Fast

15 solutions to address sudden iPad battery drainage issues, along with step-by-step guidance on implementing each solution effectively. At the bottom you will find FAQ's!

Your iPad’s battery may be draining quickly due to several common reasons. High screen brightness, background app activity, and frequent use of power-intensive apps can all contribute to faster battery depletion. Additionally, outdated software, settings like push notifications and location services, or a battery that is nearing the end of its lifespan can also cause rapid battery drain.

Your iPad will get slower with years; that’s natural, and the battery will start to drain faster as well. Your iPad battery will degrade; that’s natural. That’s the life of lithium batteries. But if you adjust the right settings and make some compromises, you can improve your iPad’s battery life. To mitigate this issue, try out all the solutions listed below.

15 Solutions To Stop iPad Battery From Draining So Fast

Several effective solutions exist to extend iPads battery longevity and optimize performance. By implementing these strategies, you can enhance battery efficiency and ensure your device lasts longer between charges. Here are 15 solutions to help you tackle the issue of rapid battery drain on your iPad.

1. Start by Soft Resetting the iPad

To perform a soft reset on your iPad and potentially resolve battery drainage issues, follow these steps:

  1. Press and hold the volume button and power button: Press the volume up and power buttons together and hold them.
  2. Release the Buttons: Release the buttons when you see the Apple logo.

A soft reset helps with iPad battery drainage by closing any running apps or processes that may be causing excessive battery usage due to glitches or background activity. It’s a quick way to refresh the device’s system without affecting your data or settings. Performing a soft reset can often resolve temporary software issues that could be contributing to battery drain, allowing your iPad to operate more efficiently afterward.

2. Update Your iPad To Latest iPad OS

To update your iPad to the latest iPadOS, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings: Open the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. General: Tap on “General” in the settings menu.
  3. Software Update: Select “Software Update” to check for available updates.
  4. Download and Install: If an update is available, tap “Download and Install” and follow the on-screen instructions.

After you download the latest iPadOS and install it your iPad will automatically reset.

Updating to the latest iPadOS can help improve battery life by optimizing system performance, fixing bugs that could be causing battery drain, and introducing power management enhancements. Newer versions often include optimizations that make the iPad more efficient in managing background processes and overall power consumption.

3. Turn On Low-Power Mode on Your iPad

Low power mode on iPads is available since iPadOS 15 or newer. When you turn it on, you notice your battery icon turns yellow, and your screen goes a bit dimmer. Relatively new feature and here’s what it does:

  • Reduces Display Brightness
  • Auto-Lock set to 30 seconds
  • Display refresh rate limited to 60Hz (iPad Pro, by default, has a 120Hz refresh rate)
  • iCloud Photos gets paused
  • Visual effects
  • Automatic downloads paused
  • Email fetch
  • App background refresh stopped

Using Low-Power Mode can significantly extend your iPad’s battery life during periods of heavy usage or when your battery is running low.

4. Check Your Battery Usage

To check your battery usage, navigate to Settings and tap on “Battery.”

Here, you’ll see which apps are consuming the most battery power. While some apps, like games or video/photo editing tools, naturally require more energy due to their intensive nature, monitoring usage helps you understand where your battery is going. This awareness allows you to take steps to optimize your iPad’s battery life, such as closing unnecessary apps running in the background, adjusting settings to reduce power consumption, or using Low-Power Mode when needed. By managing app usage based on battery consumption data, you can effectively prolong the time between charges and ensure your iPad performs optimally throughout the day.

ipad battery usage

5. Delete All The App On Your iPad That You Are Not Using

To delete unused apps from your iPad, follow these steps:

  1. Tap and Hold: Press and hold any app icon on your iPad’s home screen until all the icons start shaking.
  2. Tap on ‘X’: Tap the ‘X’ icon on the app you want to delete.
  3. Confirm Deletion: Tap “Delete” in the confirmation dialog box that appears.

Deleting unused apps helps reduce battery drain in several ways:

  • Background Activity: Even when not in use, apps may run background processes that consume battery power. Removing them stops these processes.
  • Storage Space: Freeing up storage space can improve overall iPad performance and efficiency, indirectly affecting battery life positively.
  • Notifications: Apps with active notifications can wake your device and drain battery. Removing unused apps reduces unnecessary notifications.

6. Disabled Background App Refresh

To disable Background App Refresh on your iPad, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings: Tap on the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Go to General: Scroll down and tap on “General”.
  3. Select Background App Refresh: Tap on “Background App Refresh” near the top of the screen.
  4. Turn Off: Toggle the switch next to “Background App Refresh” to the off position (white).
disable background app refresh on ipad

Disabling Background App Refresh helps with iPad battery drainage by preventing apps from refreshing their content in the background. This feature allows apps to update their content even when you’re not actively using them, which can consume significant battery power over time. By turning it off, you conserve battery life by ensuring apps only refresh when you open them, rather than continuously running background processes. This adjustment is particularly effective for apps that don’t require constant updating, such as social media or news apps.

7. Reduced The iPad Screen Brightness

To reduce the screen brightness on your iPad and conserve battery life, follow these steps:

  1. Open Control Center: Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen (or swipe up from the bottom of the screen on older iPad models) to access Control Center.
  2. Adjust Brightness: Slide the brightness slider to the left to decrease brightness. You can also adjust brightness in Settings:
    • Open Settings.
    • Tap on “Display & Brightness.”
    • Use the brightness slider to adjust the brightness level.
reducing screen brightness on ipad

Reducing iPad screen brightness helps conserve battery life by decreasing the power needed to illuminate the screen. Since the screen is one of the most power-consuming components of the device, lowering brightness can extend battery runtime significantly, especially in low-light environments where high brightness isn’t necessary. Adjusting brightness to a comfortable but lower level can effectively balance usability and battery conservation throughout the day.

8. Limit Apps Accessing Location Services

To limit which apps can access Location Services on your iPad and conserve battery life, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings: Tap on the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Privacy Settings: Scroll down and tap on “Privacy.”
  3. Location Services: Tap on “Location Services” to view apps that have requested access to your location.
  4. Choose Apps: Review the list of apps and select each app to choose its location access:
    • Never: Prevent the app from accessing your location.
    • While Using the App: Allow access only when the app is actively being used.
    • Always: Allow continuous access to your location even when the app is in the background.
location services on ipad

Limiting apps’ access to Location Services helps with iPad battery drainage by reducing the frequency of GPS usage and location updates, which can consume significant battery power. Apps constantly using location services in the background, such as navigation or weather apps, can contribute to faster battery drain. By selectively enabling location access only when necessary or while using the app, you can extend battery life and maintain better control over your iPad’s power consumption throughout the day.

9. Stop Sharing Analytics

To stop sharing analytics data and potentially conserve battery life on your iPad, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings: Tap on the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Privacy Settings: Scroll down and tap on “Privacy.”
  3. Analytics & Improvements: Tap on “Analytics & Improvements.”
  4. Disable Share iPhone & Watch Analytics: Toggle off the switch next to “Share iPhone & Watch Analytics.”

Disabling the sharing of analytics data helps with iPad battery drainage by reducing background processes related to data collection and transmission. Analytics data includes usage patterns and diagnostic information that apps and the system use to improve performance. While this data collection is typically minimal, disabling it can save some processing power and battery life, especially if you are concerned about maximizing efficiency and minimizing background activity on your iPad.

10. Limit App Notifications

To limit app notifications on your iPad and potentially improve battery life, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings: Tap on the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Notifications Settings: Scroll down and tap on “Notifications.”
  3. Choose App: Select the app for which you want to limit notifications.
  4. Adjust Notification Settings: Toggle off “Allow Notifications” to disable notifications for the selected app completely, or customize notification settings:
    • Lock Screen: Choose whether notifications appear on the lock screen.
    • Notification Center: Decide if notifications appear in the Notification Center when you swipe down from the top of the screen.
    • Banners: Select if notifications appear as banners at the top of the screen.
    • Badge App Icon: Toggle to show or hide the app’s badge icon with notification counts.
    • Sounds: Enable or disable sounds for notifications from the app.

Limiting app notifications helps with iPad battery drainage by reducing the frequency of device wake-ups and screen activations caused by incoming notifications. Each time a notification arrives, it triggers your iPad’s display and potentially activates other system processes, consuming battery power. By selectively disabling notifications for less essential apps or adjusting notification settings to reduce their frequency, you can conserve battery life and optimize your iPad’s performance for longer use between charges.

11. Change Auto-Lock Timing

To adjust the Auto-Lock timing on your iPad and potentially save battery power, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings: Tap on the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Display & Brightness Settings: Scroll down and tap on “Display & Brightness.”
  3. Auto-Lock: Tap on “Auto-Lock.”
  4. Choose Timing: Select a shorter time interval for Auto-Lock (e.g., 2 minutes)
make your ipad fall asleep faster

Adjusting Auto-Lock timing helps with iPad battery saving by minimizing the amount of time the screen remains active when not in use. A shorter Auto-Lock interval ensures that the iPad screen turns off promptly after a period of inactivity, reducing unnecessary battery consumption from the display being on. This adjustment is particularly effective in preventing accidental battery drain when the iPad is left idle or unused for extended periods, thereby extending battery life and optimizing overall power efficiency.

12. Managed Connectivity

To manage connectivity settings on your iPad and optimize battery usage, follow these steps:

  1. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Settings: Open the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Wi-Fi: Tap on “Wi-Fi” and disable it when not actively using a Wi-Fi network to prevent your iPad from constantly searching for and connecting to networks, which can drain battery.
  3. Bluetooth: Similarly, tap on “Bluetooth” and turn it off when not using Bluetooth devices to conserve battery power.
  4. Cellular Data: If your iPad has a cellular data option, you can manage it under “Cellular” settings. Disable cellular data when Wi-Fi is available to reduce battery drain from constant cellular network connectivity.

Managing connectivity settings helps save iPad battery by preventing unnecessary power consumption from Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular data connections that are not actively in use. Each of these connectivity options can contribute to battery drain when enabled but not actively utilized. By toggling them off when not needed, you can prolong battery life and ensure efficient use of power for essential tasks and activities on your iPad.

13. Delete Unnecessary Widgets

To delete unnecessary widgets on your iPad and potentially improve battery drainage, follow these steps:

  1. Edit Widgets: Swipe right from the home screen or lock screen to access the Today View.
  2. Scroll Down and Tap Edit: Scroll to the bottom and tap on “Edit.”
  3. Remove Widgets: Tap the red minus (-) button next to the widget you want to remove, then tap “Remove” to confirm.

Deleting unnecessary widgets helps with iPad battery drainage by reducing the background activity associated with updating and refreshing widget content. Widgets can periodically fetch data and update their information, which can contribute to battery drain over time. By removing widgets that you don’t frequently use or need immediate updates from, you reduce unnecessary background processes and conserve battery power. This optimization is particularly effective for widgets that display dynamic content, such as weather updates or news feeds, which can periodically refresh and consume battery resources.

14. Turn On Reduce Motion

To enable Reduce Motion on your iPad and potentially save battery:

  1. Open Settings: Tap on the Settings app.
  2. Accessibility: Scroll down and tap on “Accessibility.”
  3. Motion: Tap on “Motion.”
  4. Reduce Motion: Toggle on “Reduce Motion.”

Reduce Motion helps save iPad battery by reducing the amount of animation and visual effects displayed on the screen, which can consume processing power and battery resources. By minimizing these dynamic elements, such as parallax effects on the home screen and app transitions, Reduce Motion decreases overall system workload and contributes to extended battery life between charges.

15. Nothing Works? Try Factory Reset

If other methods haven’t resolved your iPad’s battery issues, a factory reset may help:

  1. Backup: First, backup your iPad using iCloud or iTunes to avoid losing data.
  2. Settings: Open Settings, tap on “General,” then “Reset.”
  3. Erase All Content and Settings: Select “Erase All Content and Settings” and confirm.

A factory reset can resolve persistent software issues causing battery drain. It clears out unnecessary data, resets system settings, and may improve overall performance, including battery life. After resetting, set up your iPad as new or restore from backup to continue using it efficiently

Will The Factory Reset and Delete All Content and Apps?

Yes, performing a factory reset on your iPad will erase all content and apps from the device. This includes your personal data, settings, apps, and any media stored locally on the iPad. Therefore, it’s crucial to backup your iPad beforehand using iCloud or iTunes to ensure you can restore your data after the reset if needed. A factory reset returns the iPad to its original factory condition, which can often resolve persistent software issues but requires setting up the device again from scratch afterward.

What’s the average lifespan of an iPad Battery?

The average lifespan of an iPad battery depends on its usage and charging habits. iPads typically use lithium-ion batteries, which have a finite number of charge cycles.

A full charge cycle refers to using the battery’s entire capacity, which can accumulate through multiple smaller charges (e.g., 40% + 50% + 10%). Generally, an iPad battery should retain about 80% of its original capacity after approximately 1000 complete charge cycles.

While the battery won’t abruptly fail, its capacity naturally diminishes over time. Factors like usage patterns, charging frequency, and environmental conditions can affect how quickly this degradation occurs. Regular maintenance, such as avoiding deep discharges and extreme temperatures, can help prolong the battery’s lifespan and maintain optimal performance over the years.

FAQ’s

How Much Does It Cost to Replace iPad Battery?

The cost to replace an iPad battery varies depending on the model and where the service is performed. Typically, it ranges from $99 to $129 USD for iPads not covered under warranty or AppleCare+. For newer models or if the iPad requires additional repairs, the cost may be higher. It’s recommended to check with Apple or an authorized service provider for specific pricing based on your iPad model and location.

How can I check what apps are draining my iPad battery?

You can check which apps are draining your iPad battery by going to Settings, then tapping on “Battery.” There, you’ll find a list of apps and their battery usage over the last 24 hours or 10 days. This information helps identify apps consuming the most battery power so you can manage them accordingly.

Does screen brightness affect iPad battery life?

Yes, screen brightness significantly affects iPad battery life. Higher brightness settings consume more power, while lower settings can help conserve battery. Adjusting brightness to a comfortable but lower level can extend the time between charges.

Will updating my iPad to the latest software version improve battery life?

Yes, updating your iPad to the latest software version can improve battery life. Updates often include optimizations that enhance power management and efficiency, potentially reducing battery drain caused by software issues or inefficiencies in earlier versions.

How often should I charge my iPad to prolong battery lifespan?

To prolong your iPad’s battery lifespan, charge it regularly but avoid letting it fully discharge. Aim to keep the battery level between 20% and 80% for optimal longevity.

Founder & Chief Editor | ernests@wolfoftablet.com

I'm a writer and editor in iPads & Android Tablets, Windows Tablet section. I'm passionate about technology, especially about tablets. I'm on a mission to assist people in discovering their ideal tablets. In addition, I'm dedicated to producing helpful how-to guides and sharing top-notch tips and tricks. In my early carrier I founded and became and editor at worldoftablet and have been a guest author at many other tech blogs. In wolfoftablet I'm focusing on iPads, Tablets, Apple Pencil, Apps, Reviews, Buyers Guides and Tablet Accessories. In free time I like to play games on my PS5 or iOS.