iPad 3rd Generation Battery behavior

chscag

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Being new to the iPad I don't know whether or not its battery behavior is normal. I noticed that when charged to 100% and you put the iPad into sleep mode or shut it off, the battery will continue to draw down. For example: In 48 hours without using it and shut off, the battery drew down from fully charged at 100% to 67%.

I'm using the Apple magnetic cover to shut it or sleep it (I don't know if there is a difference?). The same thing happens though if I use the on off switch to turn it off. Any guidance for a new iPad user?

Thanks.
 

dtravis7


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I have the 1st Gen iPad and that does not sound right at all. With mine, if I just sleep it, I can check it a week later and its' still in the around 90% area. I will let someone else respond with a new one.

Also I have a friend with a new iPad with that same cover. Will be seeing him Friday and will ask him about his battery life.
 
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chscag

chscag

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I just got off the phone with an Apple Care iPad senior genius and he tells me the new iPad battery usage I reported is normal. He had me send him a diagnostic packet and it reported all is working as it should including the battery. He also said all the new 3rd Generation iPads act the same way.

All I have to say Dennis, is if I ever have to take a long trip by air or bus, I better take along my car battery and a set of jumper cables. :p

Seriously, I'm now looking at getting a car charger for it.
 

dtravis7


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Charlie, I did notice on Anandtech's test of the new iPad and comparing it to the 2 and 1, the new one does not get quite the life of the older ones. I seriously in Standby can weeks before the % drops a lot.
 

pigoo3

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For example: In 48 hours without using it and shut off, the battery drew down from fully charged at 100% to 67%.

This seems pretty strange to me. I wouldn't expect this sort of battery drain in sleep mode from a laptop in just 48 hrs.

Unless the iPad "3's" are seriously less efficient (during sleep) than the 1's and 2's.

Is your iPad "3" a 3G model? Maybe the 3G is active like in a smartphone...and that's causing "extra" sleep drain (just a thought).

- Nick
 
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I have all 3 versions of the iPad and I don't really see this draw down. I use the magnetic cover to sleep it. Generally I plug it in at night - but I just came back from camping - and I didn't have it plugged in. If I wasn't using the New iPad - then the battery never really dropped.

That is a good question that Nick asked - but the New iPad is also capable of 4G. I don't have one of those but I know if you are in a spotty area this can really draw down your battery.

The second question is are you connected to Wifi? Is there something running that is always looking for data - or Maps - is there anything using location services.

I do have secondary batteries that I keep around. I like Zagg's because it is compact.
ZAGG | Portable Battery Charger | iPad, iPhone, Tablet, Phone | ZAGGsparq
I have had trouble with the prongs breaking - but if it is within a year Zagg will replace it.

I just got this isound one. It is a lot bigger but it has twice the charge of the Zagg.
Amazon.com: i.Sound Portable Power Max with 16,000 mAh for iPod, iPad, iPad2, iPhone, DROID, and BlackBerry: MP3 Players & Accessories
I just got it - but read the reviews. Some people have had trouble with it.
 
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chscag

chscag

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Yeah, my model is the Verizon 4G cellular model. The iPad senior genius said the new ones suck up battery power even when they're turned off or in sleep mode. He actually said it didn't matter if they were sleeping or off, they still drained the battery at the rate of around 20 to 40% per 24 hours.

He also said you can't compare the 3rd Generation iPad to a MB or MBP or even the iPad 1st or 2nd Generation. Anyway, I'm glad I bought Apple Care +. I have a feeling I'm going to be playing "musical batteries" over the life of this gadget. :p
 
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Even with 4G turned off? I would call B.S. - because then it would be like the Wifi model and it shouldn't suck down much battery at all. In reality - I am getting similar battery life with the New iPad vs the iPad 2 - when I turned down the brightness - so I don't know why you couldn't compare the iPad 3 to older iPads?
 
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chscag

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To answer Ivan's questions...

I do have location services turned on and of course WiFi here at home. But I'm not using GPS or maps. I wouldn't think that if the iPad is turned off or in sleep mode, it should be scanning for location? As far as using 4G, I can see the Verizon signal strength meter all the time but I'm not using cellular, just WiFi.
 
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Well, I guess I really don't know how to operate this thing....

I just checked "Settings" and I had 4G cellular services turned on and also location services and maps. I turned it all off. However, it gave me a warning that I would not be able to locate my iPad when location services are turned off.
 

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I have a feeling Ivan is correct on this and something is wrong somewhere. Could be a setting. Try it now with that turned off and get back to us.

I will like I said check with my friend. He has a 32-GB Wifi model. 40% in 24 hours in standby just sounds wrong.

I know mine is a 1st gen but I have WiFi on all the time and location services on also.
 

pigoo3

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The iPad senior genius said the new ones suck up battery power even when they're turned off or in sleep mode. He actually said it didn't matter if they were sleeping or off, they still drained the battery at the rate of around 20 to 40% per 24 hours.

I gotta tell ya...if this is true...this would be a BIG negative for me to purchase an iPad "3". 20-40% battery drain per 24 hours while sleeping is insane!

- Nick
 

pigoo3

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That is a good question that Nick asked - but the New iPad is also capable of 4G. I don't have one of those but I know if you are in a spotty area this can really draw down your battery.

Sorry...I meant 3G or 4G! I was mainly thinking maybe the cellular package was "sucking" up extra juice while sleeping.

- Nick
 
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chscag

chscag

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Well, I turned off the cellular radio and location services. Will see if that makes a difference.
 
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I know one of the big differences with the Cellular iPad - is that the GPS is an actual GPS chip - vs the Wifi location services of the "just wifi" version. If it is anything like the iPhone - any time I have LBS on - the iPhone drains down in the same manner. (i.e. google maps, tom tom navigator, motion gpx, etc) I know stuff like Tom Tom can run in the background because I will get voice instructions even when I am at my home screen.
Apple - The new iPad - View all the technical specifications.

Anyway - when my iPhone is behaving It can go most of the day - when I forget about LBS or am using a lot of cellular data - I see similar draws - hopefully turning that stuff off helps your battery life.
 

pigoo3

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I think one way to help determine if this battery drain while in sleep mode is "normal" or not (for an iPad "3")...and if it makes any difference whether it's a WiFi + 3G/4G or WiFi only...is have some folks respond to this thread who have an iPad "3" (new iPad).

So please...calling all "New" iPad (iPad 3) owners...

What sort of battery drain do you see if you don't use your iPad "3" for 24 or 48 hours (and it's in sleep mode)? Also please indicate if you have a WiFi only or a WiFi + 3G/4G.

Thanks,

- Nick

p.s. Remembering that the Apple folks told "chscag" that 20-40% battery drain in 24 hours was normal.
 
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chscag

chscag

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@Nick:

Well, so far so good since I turned off the cellular radio and location services. Battery still at 100% since it was fully charged yesterday. I'm not sure which is the culprit but I suspect the location services is active whether or not the iPad is sleeping or even turned off, although I don't know that for sure. It could also be the cellular radio sucking up the battery. I'm going to experiment a bit more and will let you and folks here know what I find.
 

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@Nick:

Well, so far so good since I turned off the cellular radio and location services. Battery still at 100% since it was fully charged yesterday. I'm not sure which is the culprit but I suspect the location services is active whether or not the iPad is sleeping or even turned off, although I don't know that for sure. It could also be the cellular radio sucking up the battery. I'm going to experiment a bit more and will let you and folks here know what I find.

Sounds like you may be onto something.:)

Still sort of puzzling what the Apple Folks told you about 20-40% battery drain/24hrs being "normal". And even if it is normal...they should have picked up on your concern...and mentioned turning off the cellular stuff (when not needed) to conserve battery life.

I'm interested in hearing how things turn out. And of course if something interesting is learned...I'm sure we'll get questions from someone eventually who will be "in the same boat"...and then we'll have a good answer!:)

- Nick
 
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48 hours now since I charged it to 100%. I downloaded one app today and played around with a game of MahJong for a bit and still have 97% of the original charge.

This weekend I'll turn on location services and the cellular receiver to see how fast the battery dwindles down. I'm also beginning to wonder if the senior tech I spoke with at Apple care is aware of all the circumstances under which the new iPad can be used. Like battery usage when location services and the cellular receiver is on.
 

dtravis7


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Charlie, try it with just location services enabled first and see how it fares. Talked to my friend today with iPad 3. He has Location on but no cellular and gets days before it goes down below 90% unless he really uses it a lot.
 

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