Hi there, I purchased a new M1 iPad Pro 12.9 with the magic keyboard and since day one I have noticed that when I am using the keyboard the iPad battery drains in matter of few minutes while I am working. I have a read and seen a few videos online stating the same on past iPad’s and keyboards. What can be done to resolve this issue? Given the nature of this issue I think it’s a waste of money purchasing the keyboard :(
iPad Pro, iPadOS 15
Hi sureshpathirana8,
It sounds like your Magic Keyboard is draining the battery quickly when connected to your iPad. We're glad you've joined us in Apple Support Communities. Let's see if this helps.
Have you had a chance to restart and check your iPad for updates? Both restarts and updates resolve issues both big and small.
Also, be sure to follow the advice in the section, "Check battery usage" in About the battery usage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. It will guide you to see if there are other contributing factors to your battery draining quickly.
What are the brightness settings for your iPad? Check out the section, "Adjust trackpad settings and keyboard brightness" in Set up and use Magic Keyboard for iPad. We'd recommend temporarily lowering the brightness and seeing if that helps to prolong the time between charges.
If the issue remains after following those steps, let us know what steps you had a chance to try from above. Also, provide the exact time in hours or minutes the iPad battery lasts from a full charge both with and without the keyboard.
We hope that helps with your question and take care!
Some video conferencing Apps are quite heavy on battery utilisation, others less so; CPU utilisation and screen brightness will heavily influence battery life between charges. Attached accessories will also contribute to higher battery use.
Do you leave your iPad connected to its Power Adapter for extended periods? If so, this is not of itself an issue - as the iPad will optimally manage battery charging. When connected to a Power Adapter for an extended period of time, such as when used in Kiosk or PoS (Point if Sale) applications, iPad will change its charge management strategy - and reduce the maximum battery charge level to about 80% of maximum capacity.
This strategy is intended to extend the life of the battery by reducing chemical ageing that occurs when the battery is continuously maintained 100% charge. As soon as a “normal” charge/discharge pattern is resumed, charge to full capacity is restored. If your iPad has paused charging at ~80%, simply disconnecting the Power Adapter from the iPad for several seconds may trigger completion of the charge.
Temperature is also a contributory factor in charging being paused; the iPad is designed to reduce the charging rate if the temperature is too high for optimal charging. Summer high temperatures may cause this protective measure to be triggered. Try moving yout iPad to a cooler location whilst charging.
More information about iPad’s battery management can be found here:
About iPad and iPhone Charge Management Feature – Apple Support
You’ll not find an equivalent to iPhone’s Battery Health / Optimised Battery Charging setting on iPad. iPad Battery performance and optimisation is fully automatic; user settings to reduce power demands, extending battery life before recharge, is limited to Low Power Mode (as illustrated) and limiting Background App Refresh.
Intentional full discharge of Li-ion batteries is not recommended - as leaving a Li-ion battery in a fully discharged state can cause unrecoverable damage to the battery.
Hi Ryane77,
I have tried restarting the iPad and the software is up to date. With respect to battery usage I have checked on it and I notice it’s basically the Safari or GoodNotes (note taking app) that take most the power. Basically I use my iPad for tutoring sessions and I am usually online for 2 hours at stretch per session. Between one of them sessions I will ideally loose the full battery.
As for the keyboard brightness I have completely taken it offline unless I really need it.
As per your recommendation I am gonna proceed with a full charge and then using it generally to test out how the batter last. Basically I am gonna test the unit in several operational methods to see how things work out. Look forward to sharing an update soon.
Following the recent OS update I think the battery draining situation was resolved. With it came a new problem where my iPad does not charge beyond 83%. It usually used to charge to a 100%, now post the recent update, once I reach 80% things slow down and no matter how long I have it connect while I am using it, it barely move. The battery indicator shows that is charging but I do not see a change in percentage.
Appreciate some insight on this one.
I do not keep the charger connected for prolong period and I use it normally where I charge it 100% and use it for my work. When it reaches around 30% or less I would reconnect for charging. Also I only charge it for 100% only if I am intending to use it right after or continue using from any pervious work.
As for what you had proposed, I have tried disconnecting the charger and reconnecting after a few seconds but it did not change at least for this first time I tried. I have been having this issue since the last 48hrs since I updated the OS to the most recent version 15.2.1
My plan is to drain the battery to lowest and then plug the charger to see if that would work.
I understand the battery optimization feature available, but I do not see on the iPad (check screenshot below). I do see that feature on my phone and it works without any issue.
What shall I do then? What is next recommendation?
New iPad magic keyboard draining iPad battery.
