iPad mini in death throes?

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My wife's elderly iPad mini (MD529BA - 9.3.5) is failing to charge - it gets to about 15% and that's it. Are there are any fixes or are we, like Private Frazer, simply DOOMED?
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Raz0rEdge

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This must be one of the earlier iPad Mini's and as such the battery is likely shot (totally normal and expected). You are now faced with the choice of replacing the battery in that thing (a couple hundred bucks) or purchase a new iPad Mini.

My recommendation is to put the money against a new iPad Mini since the updates (to hardware) are quite significant and the battery replacement is likely half the cost of a new one.
 
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Thanks for the reply and the advice - we'll surely follow that route.
But wait a minute. I found another cable and the patient is responding to treatment - now at 70% and rising!
So could it be a duff or a dirty contact at one end or the other?
Living in hope for now ...
M
 
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Raz0rEdge

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The true test is going to be (assuming it charges to 100%) is how long it takes for it to diminish. If it's fast, then it's still a bum battery.

Also, you can use Coconut Battery to get an idea of the health of the iPad (when connected to your Mac) and that will be the definitive answer on whether you have a bad battery or just bad contacts.
 
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Thanks for the reply and the advice - we'll surely follow that route.
But wait a minute. I found another cable and the patient is responding to treatment - now at 70% and rising!
So could it be a duff or a dirty contact at one end or the other?................

Hi Mike - Ashwin has already provided you the information needed, but let me just reinforce those comments: 1) You own the 1stG iPad Mini (introduced in 2012 - not sure when you bought one?) which is updated to its maximum iOS, i.e. 9.x - see first pic below from HERE; 2) Regardless of whether your different cable can charge the device to 100%, the battery is still likely 'old' - if you have an Apple computer, download Coconut Battery (see 2nd pic below) - connect the Mini, pick the 'iOS Device', and view the results - the important numbers are 'Cycle Count' (above 500 is potentially bad) and Battery Health (ratio of 'Full Charge Capacity' to 'Design Capacity') - if the latter is down to 50%-60% or less, then the battery is dying (I just replaced an old iPad Air 2 that was at 60% which gave me just a couple of hours of run time).

As to your options - Apple will replace your battery (or give you a likely 'refurb' model) for $99 (look HERE), but your iPad Mini is OLD! Invest your money in a new model. Dave :)

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