New iPad overheating?

Just got my new iPad. I'm loving the screen and speed but there's something weird about it. It gets rather warm/hot after 30minutes of usage. It has never happened on my iPad 2.


Do you think it's harmless or .... ?

iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi, iOS 5.1

Posted on Mar 16, 2012 9:33 AM

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Posted on May 12, 2012 4:17 PM

The best measure to determine whether the iPad is hot or not doesn't require rocket science. Not much of personal sense of feel. Instead, it's how the battery reacts to the device's heat.


  • According to Apple, the iPads' battery temperature treshold is 32° to 95° F. That’s 0° to 35° C.
  • In the case of iDevices, environmental temperature=operating temperature because of a known fact that in Apple designs, they've stripped out the plastic made protective shield of the battery, thus decreasing the battery's heat resistance.

(In my course of landing with the current 3rd iPad, I was told by an AppleCare consultant that iPads that operate over 34.6°, they qualify for exchanges. no second word)

  • Make sure a full discharge is conducted
  • Fully charge the iPad without using it
  • Remove all iPad cases
  • Use the iPad at normal conditions, probably keep brightness at 75% at most. Now run applications like games that are not retina supported. Then, include games like Real Racing2 HD (a Retina game) in your test.
  • Measure both results using...
  • An infrared thermometer/ thermal scanner to pick the heat numbers from the back of the iPad, especially the lower left corner beside the home button.
  • If heat is proven to be above, especially way above 35celcius. The message is glaring at you; the iPad is producing more heat than what it can take, its a manufacturing defect.
  • Go get an exchange if the heat is indeed over 35 celicius or 95f
1,343 replies

Mar 16, 2012 1:15 PM in response to Jalpuna

I might have exaggerated a little. It doesn't get hot-hot, but it is rather warm. Googled it as well and it seems to be a common thing. Guess its just the price we have to pay for all the goodness. I'm ok with it as long it's not exploding or melting in my hands. It's just a bit weird and like Jalpuna said - unexpected.


((btw mine's 64 gig wifi only ver))

Mar 16, 2012 1:20 PM in response to husk24

Here's something else odd: Mine has been in the dock since I opened the box. It's charging and restoring my previous iPad's backup, so gigs and gigs of stuff is being installed.


It was warm on the bottom left. Not hot, as I said, but warm enough that I noticed and was surprised.


Now, it's definitely cooler (still installing that backup - almost done), but it's warmer on the bottom-right side.


Again, it's not hot. It's not even laptop computer warm - just warmer than I was used to with my previous iPad 2, which I sold 2 weeks ago, so I can't compare.


Interesting.


This makes me suspect it's the battery...? Supposedly, the battery is something like 70% more powerful than the previous iPad 2's battery (but performance is supposedly the same due to things like the retina display consuming more power).

Mar 16, 2012 8:27 PM in response to StacySS

It definitely shouldn't be too hot to hold comfortably. If it is, it's in your best interest to take it back, and get a new one (if they determine its a problem.)


If the issue is that you want to play with it while its new, just keep using it until there are plenty in stock at the stores (as long as you are inside the return window) and take it back then.

Mar 17, 2012 10:15 AM in response to Gat0r

Gat0r wrote:


Mine got a little warm while restoring from back-up. Since then, no issue at all with it warming. It's a 64gb Wi-Fi 4G...

That's exactly what I experienced. While initially setting up and transferring data, my new 64 gig wifi iPad got warmer than my previous wifi iPad 2. I was surprised and googled it. Since the initial setup, it hasn't run very warm at all.

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