There’s nothing worse than an iPad that runs out of battery quickly. As most iPad owners know, as the device gets older, this problem gets worse. If you’re in this position, don’t despair – there are steps you can take to make your iPad battery last longer.
In this guide, we’re going to look at eight different ways to make a single charge last longer. These steps should also extend the overall lifespan of your iPad battery (especially limiting the charge to 80% full).
1. Reduce the brightness of your screen
Dimming your iPad screen means it uses less battery power. To reduce the brightness, simply go to Settings, tap on Display & Brightness, then adjust the brightness bar to the level you want. You can also toggle the “auto-brightness” switch to the off position, which will stop the brightness from automatically adjusting and putting more strain on the battery.
2. Limit charging to 80% full battery
On some of the newer iPads, such as the iPad Pro (M4) and iPad Air (M2), there’s a setting that stops it from charging when it reaches 80% full. Batteries are harder to charge when they are nearly full, which adds stress to the charging cycle. Limiting the charge to 80% helps to prolong the life of your battery by reducing wear.
3. Turn off Wi-Fi, Cellular, and Bluetooth as much as possible
Connecting your iPad to a cellular network puts a lot of strain on your battery, so use Wi-Fi instead, if possible. The best thing to do is turn off all network connections when you’re not using them, including Bluetooth. This will really help to conserve your battery life. Swipe up from the bottom of your iPad screen to enter the Control Center and toggle them on and off there.
4. Manually fetch data instead of pushing it to your iPad
If your iPad constantly checks for email and fetches messages it can run down your battery more quickly. If you have synced your iCloud account and set it up to “Fetch” messages through the Mail app, then switching to Manual will slow down battery drain. Go to Settings. Then tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Finally, switch the Fetch setting from a specific time period to Manually.
5. Switch off AirDrop
AirDrop is a handy little feature that uses Bluetooth to easily transfer files and data between various Apple devices, without sapping mobile data. The downside of AirDrop is that it drains your iPad battery, even when not in use. If you don’t need to transfer files with other Apple devices regularly, then it pays to turn AirDrop off. Go to the Control Center and toggle the switch next to AirDrop to the off position.
6. Reduce background app refresh
“Background App Refresh” allows your apps to refresh data and content when not in use, i.e. when they’re running in the background. It saves you the effort of swiping down from the top of the screen each time to refresh content. Unfortunately, this also drains battery life, especially when used with apps that generate a lot of fresh content.
Switch off Background App Refresh altogether, or for specific apps, by going to Settings, General, Background App Refresh, and switching the relevant toggles to the off position.
7. Force-quit GPS and location apps
Location and GPS apps put quite a bit of strain on your iPad battery when they’re left running in the background. That’s why it’s a good idea to close these apps manually or turn off Location Services. To do this, head to Settings, Privacy, and Location Services and toggle the relevant switches to the off position.
Alternatively, you can simply switch your iPad onto Airplane Mode, which turns off all network connections and GPS services.
8. Check which apps drain your iPad battery the most
If your iPad battery is still running down quickly and you can’t quite work out why, then you can investigate by visiting the Battery page in Settings. Here, you’ll find a record of which apps used the most energy over the past day or week. You’ll be able to see which apps are causing your battery to drain quickly and shut them down or limit their use.
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