iPad Shows Charging But Battery Not Increasing – How To Fix It

Last Updated on November 4, 2022 by Ernests Embutnieks and Saad

The iPad has great battery life. But it still needs to charge from now then. Sometimes, you might plug in your iPad with the charging prompt showing up. However, your iPad’s battery won’t increase at all. If that’s happened to you, here’s how you can fix it:

In this article, we’re going to go over all the reasons why your iPad may be showing its charging, but the battery is not increasing

How To Fix iPad Showing Charging But Battery Not Increasing

For all the reasons we’re listing below, we will go from the most common fix to the least common. Depending on what issue you have with your iPad, your battery should start charging in no time by the end of the article!

Here’s a quick table that helps you identify what the most common causes of this issue may be:

Issue	Reason
iPad charging on other cables / chargers	The charger / cable is at fault. The iPad is fine
iPad also shuts down sometimes / has a battery drain	The iPad’s battery is damaged
iPad has glitches sometimes	iPad has software issues
iPad charges fine sometimes, doesn’t do it the other times	Temperature issue

Perform A Restart

If your battery percentage is not increasing, it is often a sign of a simple software bug. Try turning your iPad on and off again. If that seems to be unresponsive, we recommend force restarting your iPad. In either case, you should be able to get your tablet back up and charging if the error was caused due to a simple software bug.

Check Your Temperature

Your battery percentage will not increase if you charge your tablet in extreme conditions. In most cases, you’ll also be greeted with a Temperature Warning. But, if the temperature isn’t high enough to prompt a warning but is high enough for the battery to be damaged if charged – your battery percentage will not increase.

A quick and easy fix is to consider your ambient temperature, if you are anywhere near 45 C (113F), your iPad may not show a warning, but it definitely won’t be charging either. So, take your iPad to a cooler spot, and you should see your battery percentage go up again.

Check Your Wattage

If you have an extremely low-wattage charger, your iPad will consume more battery than your charger can possibly provide. So, what happens is that your battery remains the same even though it is still charging. Think about it this way; if you have an iPad Pro M1 12.9” and you start charging it with a 5 W charger, it’ll take a very long time to charge (above 6 hours!)

Now, couple that with the fact that you start using your iPad too. Now, your battery is simply not getting enough charge to fill up. So, you’ll either end up with your battery percentage slowly going down even though it is being charged. Or, you’ll end up with a battery percentage that’s not increasing at all.

We recommend opting for a 20 W / 30 W charger for your iPad for the best performance possible. 

Check Your Cable

Your cable may be damaged or not fastened to your port properly, which can cause your iPad to not charge properly. Usually, you are met with a Not Charging sign if your cable is faulty. But, if your cable is transferring some charge but not all that it can, your iPad may be tricked into believing that you are getting the proper amount of charge when you really aren’t.

The easiest way to check whether your cable is damaged or not is to plug it into another device. If it is charging that device fine, then your iPad’s to blame. Or, you can use a different cable with your iPad to see if that improves things.

To truly rule out your cable as the suspect, check either end of the cable. If they seem to have visible wiring or bent pins or are black with residue (burn damage), you should replace your cable and then try charging your iPad.

Reset The iPad

Resetting your iPad ensures that no software glitch or bug’s causing your tablet to not charge properly. While this is a rare case, it can happen if you’ve had your iPad recently repaired or if it hasn’t gone through a restart in any memory.

Here’s how you can restart your iPad:

• Open the Settings application on your iPad
• Select General
• Now, select Transfer or Reset iPad
• After doing so, head to Erase all Content and Settings
• Now, follow the on-screen instructions

Check Your Battery

If you’ve tried all these fixes, your iPad’s battery has simply given up. Or is in the pursuit of doing so. Usually, your battery draining quickly or not being able to charge as it once could are telltale signs of your battery failing.

You should not be seeing these issues in an iPad that’s 2-3 years old. However, anything older and you can expect the battery to degrade by now, especially if you have been using it. As I’ve always mentioned, it is severely annoying that Apple does not include a way to find battery health on the iPad, unlike the iPhones.

So, you can never be sure if your iPad’s battery is truly to blame if you run into the battery charging, but battery percentage remains the same error. But, for all intents and purposes, replacing your battery should end up fixing this issue. However, it is a last resort.

Is iPad Battery Percentage Not Increasing Actually An Issue?

Yes, your iPad’s battery percentage not increasing is an issue. This is because while your iPad may remain usable, it is only a matter of time before you start experiencing other, more drastic issues such as your iPad not booting up if it’s a fault of your battery.

Moreover, your battery needs to be charged to full ever-so-often. If that doesn’t happen, your battery’s capacity eventually shrinks permanently as the electrons that are used to being charged up don’t get the current necessary for an extended period of time.

Related Articles:

Do iPads Get Slower With Age?
We Tested iPad Pro Battery – This Is How Long It Should Last
Can You Use iPad Charger For Mac and Vice Versa