No 20% warning -- should I be worried?

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Level 1

4 points

No 20% warning -- should I be worried?

I've had my white iPad 2 (wi-fi, 64GB, with newest OS downloaded) for a couple of weeks. It's been working brilliantly. Last night for the first time, I let the battery drain to 19%. I did that in part to see the low-battery indicator -- and it didn't show up. Now I'm worried that I might have an underlying battery issue.

Has anyone experienced this? I have a few hopeful theories. (1) Perhaps the percentage on screen is actually a bit off, and the message might've popped up a minute or two later, had I not plugged it in. (2) Maybe the warning only appears if you're in an app that hides the top menu bar? I was hopping around amongst apps, killing time. (3) Maybe the Words with Friends notification that popped up right around the 20% mark overrode the battery warning in its first appearance. Does any of that make sense?

And one other iPad 101 question: Is it an audio or video alert? I'm assuming it pops up on screen, as my MacBook's warning does. Maybe I'm wrong?

I'll have to drain the battery a little lower next time and see if the warning kicks in. If not, I guess I'll be heading to the Genius Bar soon. But I'd love to hear if anyone else has experienced this. And if you figured out what to do about it. Thanks!

P.S. I haven't let it drain completely yet. I've been charging every two to three nights, when it drops to about 28 to 40 percent. (Needless to say, I haven't been watching any videos yet.)

iPad 2, iOS 4.3.2, Wi-fi only, 64GB

Posted on Jun 7, 2011 8:29 AM

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Answer 1

shaltaylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 9, 2011 7:38 PM in response to shaltaylor

Okay, here's another thing... I'm seeing online that at 20% the battery indicator should turn red. Is that true? Because mine is still looking normal at 17% now.

(I may not be able to stay up long enough to discharge it fully tonight. That may need to wait until next time.)

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Answer 2

Jun 7, 2011 9:14 AM in response to shaltaylor

It seems normal, i think you're slightly 'too concerned'. Just let it be - even if it's on 20% / all you gotta do is charge it for 4-5 hrs (do not use it while it's charging as it may take longer to recover full 100% charge). If you can lower the brightness, that too will help.

Another take on this matter is that because it's been just 'few weeks' / which means the battery is still 'fresh' - so it can hold up charge longer than say a apple device purchased last year.

If you're still having doubts take it your local apple store, they will help you out. 🙂

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Answer 3

Fred-M-

Level 4

2,397 points

Jun 7, 2011 9:35 AM in response to shaltaylor

Shaltaylor-

I read somewhere that you can calibrate the battery indicator by running the iPad down until it quits, and then fully charging it. Supposedly that will make the percentage reading more accurate.

Fred

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Answer 4

shaltaylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 9, 2011 7:30 PM in response to MUSIC_foryou

It's now two days since the first time I got my iPad down to 19% with no low battery warning. Right now I'm down to 18%, and still no message. I'm going to tough it out, like Fred said, and try to have it shut itself down tonight, even though that makes me nervous. (I know, I know... We're supposed to do it once a month.) I really hope the warning kicks in next time. I really don't want to take it to the Genius Bar for this. Everything else is working so perfectly.

Maybe I can just live with it. I tend to keep one eye on the battery indicator anyway. Habit from using my MacBook every evening...

I'm just curious if other people are experiencing this under the newest operating system. I can't help wondering if I'm fighting against a new norm.

I'm also wondering what the low battery warning looks like, since I (obviously) haven't seen one yet...

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Answer 5

shaltaylor Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 15, 2011 1:56 PM in response to shaltaylor

My final update to this: I never have seen a 20% warning, but when it dropped to 10%, that warning popped right up. So I guess my battery is properly calculated.

I won't worry about it anymore. For some reason, my iPad 2 isn't going to give me a 20% warning. That's okay. I can live with it. (Now if I can just figure out how to send mail again -- but that's another story, detailed elsewhere!)

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