Does my iPad have charging issues?

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Level 1

56 points

Does my iPad have charging issues?

I just noticed that even the little battery icon in the top right does not show the 'lightning bolt' while charging. Instead, it displays a power plug. If i unplug and reinsert the charging cable the icon briefly changed back into the lightning bolt but then switches back to the plug. Why is this?

MacBook Pro, iPhone 4, Mac Mini, iPad 16 GB 3G + WiFi

Posted on Jul 11, 2010 2:44 PM

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Answer 1

lllaass

Level 10

210,417 points

Jul 11, 2010 2:53 PM in response to mapex_venus

I think the plug means that it is fully charged. When you unplug it what charge is indicated on the iPad?

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Answer 2

mapex_venus Author

Level 1

56 points

Jul 11, 2010 2:59 PM in response to lllaass

lllaass wrote:
I think the plug means that it is fully charged. When you unplug it what charge is indicated on the iPad?

90% when i made this posting. I also noticed that the device continues to charge (it is now 97%), but still displaying the plug icon.

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Answer 3

Jul 11, 2010 3:59 PM in response to mapex_venus

No. Most USB ports can't supply the voltage needed to charge an iPad. I think only newer Macs can for the most part. I have the original Mac Pro, and the same thing happens. In time, my iPad "charges" despite there not being a lightning bolt. I put "charges" in quotes because I don't really think it charges. After using it for a few minutes, the battery meter drops like a rock, from 100% to 90%. When I use the wall charger, this sudden drop never happens.

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Answer 4

mapex_venus Author

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56 points

Jul 11, 2010 5:10 PM in response to Community User

How about the charger supplied by apple with the iPad? Does that have issues too? That is the charger i am experiencing this with.

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Answer 5

Jul 11, 2010 5:18 PM in response to mapex_venus

Yeah, that sounds weird. The lightning bolt should appear when charging, and the plug should only appear when it's done. Is it possible that you're using a normal iPod charger?

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Answer 6

mapex_venus Author

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56 points

Jul 11, 2010 5:29 PM in response to Community User

Bill Aviles wrote:
Yeah, that sounds weird. The lightning bolt should appear when charging, and the plug should only appear when it's done. Is it possible that you're using a normal iPod charger?

I am using the 10W charger that came with the iPad.

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Answer 7

Jul 11, 2010 7:19 PM in response to mapex_venus

Well, you say that it's charging, but it sounds as if it's charging at a lower rate. Maybe the charger is bad. If I was in your shoes, I'd do a restore of the iPad, just to make sure that there's nothing wrong with the OS. Then if the problem still occurs, I'd make an appointment at an Apple store and have them try a different adapter.

This discussion is interesting / charging times:

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/07/11/usb-vs-ac-outlet-charging-on-the-iphone-4/

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Answer 8

mapex_venus Author

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56 points

Jul 11, 2010 7:35 PM in response to Community User

Bill Aviles wrote:
Well, you say that it's charging, but it sounds as if it's charging at a lower rate. Maybe the charger is bad. If I was in your shoes, I'd do a restore of the iPad, just to make sure that there's nothing wrong with the OS. Then if the problem still occurs, I'd make an appointment at an Apple store and have them try a different adapter.

This discussion is interesting / charging times:

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/07/11/usb-vs-ac-outlet-charging-on-the-iphone-4/

Thank you for the suggestion.

Do you mean restore as in do a factory reset or restore from backup?

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Answer 9

Jul 12, 2010 3:28 AM in response to mapex_venus

I'd do a factory reset, just to be sure. You can always restore from a backup later. But before you do that, there's another person with charger issues on this forum

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2502050&tstart=0

Maybe there's a batch of bad adapters out there.

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Answer 10

mapex_venus Author

Level 1

56 points

Jul 12, 2010 6:25 AM in response to Community User

Bill Aviles wrote:
I'd do a factory reset, just to be sure. You can always restore from a backup later. But before you do that, there's another person with charger issues on this forum

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2502050&tstart=0

Maybe there's a batch of bad adapters out there.

Thank you for your response, and for the link to the other post. I have made an appointment with the Apple store for this weekend and will take my device in.

I will also perform a factory reset on my iPad, but wanted to ask whether this would affect my ATT data plan. As in, will I lose the 30 days I have paid for?

thanks again!

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Answer 11

Jul 12, 2010 2:34 PM in response to mapex_venus

I don't know for sure (the iPad is my first cellular device)- but I really, really doubt it. The SIM card is what determines all that stuff - and that stays constant no matter what you do to your iPad. Short of setting it on fire, that is.

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