iPad Air iOS 12.4.6 shows 100% charged while plugged in, unplugged goes completely empty and unusable

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iPad Air iOS 12.4.6 shows 100% charged while plugged in, unplugged goes completely empty and unusable

My iPad Air model MD785B/B iOS 12.4.6 is unusable away from a charging point.

When the iPad charging cable is plugged into a power source, the battery meter shows 100% powered and I can use the device normally.

When I unplug the charging cable and try to use the iPad as a mobile device as intended, , it operates normally for a short while while the battery meter still shows 100% charged.

When normal usage (web browsing etc) whilst not connected to power makes the charge level naturally drop below 100%, however, the screen immediately goes black. Pressing the Home button receives no response - black screen.

Pressing the power button at the top right of the device shows the Empty Battery icon and the icon telling me to plug the charging cable in. Therefore I can't use it anywhere except near an electrical or USB socket.

Internet research suggests this might be solved by calibration between the battery meter software software and the true physical charge state of the battery.

Can I resolve this myself somehow without returning the device physically to an Apple Store, as we are in midst of a pandemic lock-down and this is obviously not possible? For the same reason, it would be really beneficial in these strange times to have an iPad right now for reading eBooks and Comics away from a charging point, as God, or at least Steve, intended. Thanks.

iPad Air, iOS 12

Posted on Apr 11, 2020 8:00 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

LotusPilot

Community+ 2024

Level 10

289,804 points

Apr 11, 2020 8:08 AM in response to Sherbs_Hoo

The behaviour you describe is symptomatic of battery failure. Your original iPad Air could be anywhere up to nearly 7 years old - and if used heavily, or the battery has been allowed to remain in a discharged state, it is highly likely that the battery has died.

If you contact Apple Support, if they are willing to assist, they may be able to run a remote battery diagnostic. The link to Contact Support is at top-right of this page.

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Answer 2

Sherbs_Hoo Author

Level 1

14 points

May 26, 2020 5:04 AM in response to LotusPilot

yes I did attempt to follow up on your original recommendation but after a few attempts at a chat session received an error 404 page. After leaving it for a few days and switching from Firefox to Safari browser I was able to launch a chat session with an agent successfully and Apple Support ran a remote diagnostic. Battery capacity is now only at 50% therefore it failed their diagnostic. Their recommendation was to mail in to my local Apple store for repair, and forwarded the relvant address and urls.

After inquiring with my local iStore on rough costs, the likely end result was going to be Whole Unit Replacement at cost of c. £250 GBP - when the battery goes it can't be replaced - effectively a write-off scenario. So I'll be buying a new or second hand / refurbed device - one day - when funds allow.

Thanks to all who replied and advised on this post.

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Answer 3

May 13, 2020 3:57 AM in response to lbramos

If the iPad can be powered-on whilst connected to a PC (with iTunes installed) or a Mac (with iTunes or Finder - as appropriate for the installed version of MacOS), you can restore to factory settings. This procedure will reset all settings and reinstall a fresh copy of the most recent version of iOS/iPadOS supported by your iPad.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201252

This process will repair a damaged iOS/iPadOS installation.

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Answer 4

lbramos

Level 1

9 points

May 13, 2020 3:32 AM in response to Sherbs_Hoo

Hi,

I'm seeing this issue to on an iPad Air (A1474).

On the same day I upgraded it to iOS 12.4.6 I started having this behaviour and now it's even worse, because most of the time, even connected to power, it doesn't turn on...

And when it turns the battery shows 100%, I unpluged it, it last 2m and goes off... If I leave the wifi off, on airplane mode, it can last several hours...

So, I don't think we should blame the age of the device/battery, since this started occuring rigth after the upgrade to 12.4.6... Seems to be a SW issue!

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Answer 5

Sherbs_Hoo Author

Level 1

14 points

May 13, 2020 8:30 AM in response to LotusPilot

I'll try this suggestion and report back. As 12.4.6 is already the most recent version of the OS supported by my iPad, however, I'm not terrifically optimistic this will resolve it. Hoping to be proved wrong!

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Answer 6

Sherbs_Hoo Author

Level 1

14 points

May 18, 2020 7:35 AM in response to Sherbs_Hoo

Unfortunately after following the suggestion to reset to factory settings with a fresh copy of the latest OS from my Mac as above, the problem has re-occurred on the iPad, same behaviour. Still unresolved I'm afraid.

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Answer 7

May 18, 2020 8:09 AM in response to Sherbs_Hoo

This would certainly suggest that the battery is dead.

As the iPad can be powered-up whilst connected to the Power Adapter (charger), you might be well advised to contact Apple Support and request a remote battery diagnostic - as originally recommended - the results of which will likely inform you way forward.

The link to Contact Support is at top-right of this page.

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Answer 8

Sherbs_Hoo Author

Level 1

14 points

Jun 9, 2020 3:40 AM in response to Memory22

Hi Memory22,

advice from my local Apple-recommended repair store was: "With iPad batteries we run a diagnostic test to determine the batteries health, if the battery fails this test then we can replace the iPad for the price of a new battery, ordinarily this is £99-£110 (GBP), but if it passes the diagnostic or has any physical damage, then we'd have to replace the device as a Whole Unit Replacement cost, which can be around £250 (GBP) for your model (as a rough estimate) [iPad Air MD785B/B]"

so answer to your Q is Yes, but cost 99-110 GBP is around same for a refurbished second-hand iPad from a certain online auction site, so you'd have a decision to make on whether to go ahead with repair or buy second hand.

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Answer 9

Memory22

Level 1

4 points

Jun 8, 2020 10:12 AM in response to Sherbs_Hoo

Can I get a new battery in my I pad

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iPad Air iOS 12.4.6 shows 100% charged while plugged in, unplugged goes completely empty and unusable

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