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Level 1

36 points

Severe battery drain, iOS 13.1.3, iPad Pro

Any suggestions?

I am experiencing severe battery drain, iOS 13.1.3, iPad Pro. In Settings>Battery, Safari is shown to be the biggest drain by far (BY FAR!). Have been going from 100% after unplugging charger to less than 50% in two hours of morning use (between 7:00 and 9:00am). At the rate of drain, will have zero left before noon. I use Safari to read articles/morning news...not watching battery consuming videos (but even if I were, this performance would be atrocious and unacceptable). Have performed all the “fixes” I found listed online thus far: install the latest iOS with its “battery fix,” wait (did so for days!) for app updates to “catch up,” lower screen brightness, turn off background app refresh, close apps (and rebooted), minimize open tabs in Safari (usually only have two open at any one time, but also erased history/data and rebooted), etc. Nothing helps. There is a serious problem and it doesn’t appear to be a setting. Thank you for any suggestions.

iPad Pro, iOS 13

Posted on Oct 22, 2019 8:33 AM

Best reply

jimfromfairfax

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Oct 23, 2019 10:23 AM

Perhaps I am incorrect, however, before updating to to IPadOS 13, I never experienced battery drain when I closed the cover. I could leave it for days and not experience power loss. Now I lose 50% overnight when there is no activity.

I am convinced something has changed, and judging by the large number of other people complaining about the same thing, I think I am correct.

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269 replies

ratul144

Level 1

9 points

Mar 2, 2020 11:51 AM in response to MichelPM

Thank you for your constant support

but I guess, I’m the unlucky one then.

DFU restore- done

erase all data and setup as new- done

hard reset- done

even installing iPadOS 13.4 public beta- done

still no luck with battery drain. Fully charged iPad Pro goes to 30% ish overnight without any activity at all.

I did everything short of replacing the battery

I’m happy for the people whose iPads got back to normal.

soart Author

Level 1

36 points

Mar 2, 2020 11:58 AM in response to ratul144

I’m an unlucky one, too. But I have a question for those who say they lose power overnight with zero usage: When you check the battery (via Settings>Battery and under Battery Usage by App), is anything listed as being the culprit in consuming battery power?

Mar 2, 2020 2:38 PM in response to ratul144

Mine was showing around 10% drain while idle. No apps were listed for the entire night and both on screen and off screen showed 0 but by morning my iPad was dead. That was before resetting and erasing all data.

since then everything is back to like new. I ran with just the default apps, no notifications and no location turned on. I did that for a day and all was fine so added a few of the apps I had installed before the draining issue started and still no massive draining. After a few hours I went ahead and turned on some notifications and some locations settings and all was well. Next I decided to setup my email accounts but used manual fetch instead of push. Still no drain issues. About two hours ago I decided to add one of the games I had installed right before the draining started and played that for a bit. When I played it during the drain issue it would sap about 40% in an hour. Now it only dropped about 4%. I’ve left all the apps I’ve been using the past couple of days in the background and closed my cover. The battery was at 78%. I just opened it and the battery is still at 78%.

I can’t tell you what went wrong or why and I’m sorry this isn’t helping anyone else. I did have a lot of apps that I installed and either tried and didn’t like and deleted them or never got around to trying (Mostly things like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Apple’s Pages and such). I have not installed those again and probably won’t unless I need them. I do have Autodesk’s Sketchbook installed and have used that as well with no issues. I wish I could be of more help but I’m just glad my iPad is back to normal.

ratul144

Level 1

9 points

Mar 11, 2020 11:14 AM in response to BrinkleyCooper

Now my battery health is deteriorating rapidly. iPad Pro 2018 battery health was 98% before the draingate. Now it is 95%, though my battery’s cycle count is just 61, can you believe?

In comparison, my 4 years old iPad Pro 9.7” has a battery health of 94%, though it has gone through several hundred charging and discharging cycles.

Moreover, the local (supposedly apple authorized) repair center refused to repair my battery. They offered that I send my iPad to apple through them and get a new one for 650$

MichelPM

Level 10

81,092 points

Mar 11, 2020 1:13 PM in response to ratul144

Did you ever try Brinkley Cooper’s procedures?

Backup your iPad, start fresh and erase everything from your iPad, use the iPad with NO third party apps installed and add apps back 1-3 at a time and test for awhile with limited apps installed and each time you install back only a small amount of apps at a time?

soart Author

Level 1

36 points

Mar 11, 2020 4:52 PM in response to MichelPM

MichelPM: Don’t know who you are asking but I did not. I lack the time right now with major home repairs, sewage going “the wrong direction” and other things that are making me “live in interesting times.” I just want an IOS that works and doesn’t create problems AND that cleans up its own messes. Not in the mood to do Apple’s work for them. Unrelated, but just experienced for the nth time: why did Apple have the “content” of the right hand .?123 key replaced with “undo” when you change keyboard views. I’m a touch typist, and changing key locations/functions does NOT work for those of us who don’t need to stare at the keyboard. Several times recently, I’ve deleted whole swaths of information and not realized it until too late. They already fixed this once after complaints for an older iOS, yet here it is again with 13. Dang! (Insert stronger word here.) I know it’s unrelated, but I’m ******.

MichelPM

Level 10

81,092 points

Mar 11, 2020 5:34 PM in response to soart

My reply post was to ratul144.

Hey!

My mom and dad's home is going throgh the same home issues as you, right now too, and they are dealing with this in their late 70"s!

Huge, aggravating and expensive PITA for them at their age!

soart Author

Level 1

36 points

Mar 12, 2020 7:14 AM in response to MichelPM

One thing I did that *may* have helped (the jury is still out): I deleted several apps that self-identified as “waiting” for updates. Background refresh is off, and the apps were in folders so not obvious. It’s possible they were quietly churning through battery, but who knows? The other thing I notice is that the iPad does not sleep after 2 minutes of unused time, despite the auto-lock setting (2 is the shortest selection possible). I can’t do anything about that.

My iPad still consumes battery at an unacceptable rate, despite much of its needed functionality set to “off.” I’ve just gone from 100% to 73% in the span of a couple of hours this morning, mostly thanks to Safari (no video or other known drains in use).

This iOS was NOT ready for primetime: it reintroduced several issues that were resolved in long-ago releases, it introduced a boatload of new issues and overall seems poorly crafted and tested.

I depend on portable devices for my livelihood. I can’t afford loyalty to a company whose products aren’t reliable, stable and usable for more than half a day, even with major (and needed) functionality disabled. If Apple can’t deliver with competency, a competitor will. Even a friend who is diehard former long-time Apple employee and enthusiast has switched to something else. If he can, I can.

What’s a good replacement for a product that has to be virtually disabled in order to get through a day? A Big Chief tablet and a #2 pencil. Even a paper tablet and pencil can manage the illusion of a .png graphic with transparent background, something that the iPad can’t right now...speaking of re-introduced issues.

MichelPM, thanks for trying to help. Thanks to others, as well. I will continue to monitor.

And Apple: If you put out another release with emphasis on things like purple horse emojis instead of demonstrable fixes and reliable functionality, that may be the last straw. Those images and your excitement about them still grate on me, and will continue to do so until my iPad begins to perform again. If you think other companies’ products can’t compare, you’re wrong: they can supersede a necessarily/deliberately disabled iPad....and at lower cost.

wayneers

Level 1

9 points

Mar 13, 2020 12:32 PM in response to soart

Yeah, same here.

my IPad Pro 1st gen was FLAWLESS before iOS 13, and now I can’t get more then 3 hours of screen time with only using gallery app to show students pictures... not videos, not streaming... just a photo on screen.

2 hours of use I’m at 40%. It’s empty by the 3rd hour.. yes I’ve restored, yes I’ve reset, yes I’m in the newest iOS (regrettably).

im sick of the anxiety that comes WITH EVERY UPDATE, STOP BRICKING OUR DEVICES TO SELL MORE GOODS APPLE!!!

When I have the time, I’m taking this to Apple (after corona virus issues).......

ratul144

Level 1

9 points

Mar 13, 2020 1:09 PM in response to wayneers

Yeah, frustrating. Still nothing from Apple.

If it is a software issue, how come somebody's devices get back to normal after swapping batteries?

If it is a hardware issue (caused by the update), how come it disappears after reset?

I just use mine as long as I need, mostly connected to the charger, then shut it off.

😟

soart Author

Level 1

36 points

Mar 28, 2020 5:36 AM in response to ratul144

Dang! I was hoping that 13.4 would hold promise, since there was a time gap between the last 13.3X release and this. I had hoped they took some time to test, find and fix. I guess it took too long to do more emojis, SO much more important than making your product actually work. :-(

Thanks for reporting on 13.4

Mar 28, 2020 5:53 AM in response to soart

Whilst not wishing to add salt to any wounds, in the spirit of providing constructive information, my systematic testing of in-use performance suggests that something has changed in regard of both memory management and battery utilisation - and it is likely that the two are not unrelated.

Citing an example of iPad Pro 10.5” (across multiple devices to ensure consistency) here are my measured battery utilisation figures for both iPadOS 13.3.1 and 13.4. For context, these relate to moderately intensive use of Safari - with regular task switching between Safari tabs and email:

iPadOS 13.3.1

~ 14-16% battery depletion per hour.

iPadOS 13.4

~ 12.5-14% battery depletion per hour.

In conclusion, I can see a consistent improvement in iPadOS 13.4 over that of iPadOS 13.3.1. Multiple Safari behaviours have changed in the latest update (such a fewer automatic page reloads when switching tabs) which will have significant impact on battery life.

soart Author

Level 1

36 points

Mar 28, 2020 6:09 AM in response to LotusPilot

Thanks for the data LotusPilot. I will install 13.4, in part based on your input. I had decided not to move forward without some indication that things were headed vaguely in the right direction. Your data also indicates, though, that there is still plenty of room for more improvement.

MichelPM

Level 10

81,092 points

Mar 28, 2020 7:08 AM in response to soart

There maybe a few more 13.4.x minor updates, at this point.

I seriously doubt Apple will make it to a full 13.5 release.

So, no way of really telling which way the performance/battery ratio is going to go.

And it may not get fully solved/resolved until sometime in the Fall of 2020, when iOS/iPadOS 14 will be released.

Apple is already working on iOS/iPadOS 14 to get it ready for a version of WWDC in June to get this out to developers and public beta testers, alike, sometime in June/July 2020.

So it maybe a further, longer wait for the performance/battery issues to get solved/resolved.

soart Author

Level 1

36 points

Mar 28, 2020 7:58 AM in response to MichelPM

MichelPM, thanks for the info. Do you know if, regarding iOS 14 and, in general, public beta testing: did Apple make a decision (even prior to 13) to let the willing public become primary product testers and use that as an excuse to reduce actual internal testing? To an outsider (and someone not willing to become part of their testing force) it seems like internal testing has not been very rigorous for awhile now. The public can’t do what internal testers can do: actually dig into the design or meet with developers to discuss issues, expectations, failures, fixes. Having done some testing in my ancient history, I know it is not as “sexy” or visible or hailed as imagining and designing for the future. And developers are rarely thrilled to have to look backward and “fix” rather than focus on the new, but it’s shortchanged at significant cost to customer satisfaction and product usability. A decision to put the burden on the public is a flawed strategy.

Severe battery drain, iOS 13.1.3, iPad Pro