iPad 3 is getting hot

I have used my iPad 3 without any problems until about a month ago. I noticed it got uncomfortable hot on the left side. So hot I could not hold it. I've read this thread before and figured there was no harm or even a solution. I don't use a cover, my iPad is in a stand next to me bed. I am disabled and often bed bound. So it's possible it got hot before I noticed it because I don't have to hold it. It has enough air to cool down.

I don't play games on it, I don't stream movies, I'm a low power user:-) my screen is set to 75%. I often let it drain to 0% and than recharge. I have a battery watch and maintenance app. Just half an hour ago I started reading and in this half hour with no background apps running it went from a 100% to 88%, in my opinion that's pretty quick.

But recently things have change for the worse. The iPad is radiating a chemical smell while getting hot or staying hot. At first I thought I was mistaking and removed all candles or anything that could give off a smell from my room. But it was still there. I didn't think it could be the iPad because it was fine before.

The smell is affecting me so bad that it irritates my eyes, I get a sore throat and a headache. I let my husband use it but he does not smell anything weird. So I figured I must imagine it. But after reading some other threads here I know that more people complained about a chemical smell. It's difficult for me to go to the Apple Store so will be giving them a call. Will let you know how that turns out.

Here is my data:

Model introduced: 2012

Production year: 2012

Production week: 9 (March)

Name: iPad 3

Model Number: MD367

Group1: iPad

Group2: WiFi-Cellular

Generation: 3

Machine Model: iPad3,3

CPU speed: 1.0GHz

Family name: A1430

Screen size: 9 inch

Screen resolution: 2048x1536 pixels

Colour: Black

Capacity: 32GB

Factory: DM (China - Foxconn)

I think Apple found a way to fix the problem, they discontinued iPad 3 and are bringing out iPad 4, and by doing this they magically changed all our apples into lemons. For Apple to discontinue the iPad 3, instead of pushing it down the line, like with iPad 2, the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S, is pretty much like them admitting that there is something wrong with it.

iGabi wrote:

I think Apple found a way to fix the problem, they discontinued iPad 3 and are bringing out iPad 4, and by doing this they magically changed all our apples into lemons. For Apple to discontinue the iPad 3, instead of pushing it down the line, like with iPad 2, the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S, is pretty much like them admitting that there is something wrong with it.

That's how I'm viewing this move as well, at least for now. They updated the processor and the front camera and the dock connector. And they probably also solved the issues that people are having with hot iPads and with weak Wifi. I guess that we'll see if it is true or not when it comes out and we get to see what's wrong with it. It would be seriously sad if the newest ones still have problems with running too hot and weak WiFi though, wouldn't it? I'm also curious if it will be running the exact screen that my iPad 3 has. It took many tries for me to get one without a crud screen. And each of my attempts had weak WiFi and ran hot when doing more than browsing.

Tinkbelle, what happened when you called Apple about the chemical smell?

I have purchased ipad 3 "the new ipad" recently,,, I too feel ipad3 getting warm manytimes which I didnt feel much uncomfort in comparison with laptop.. , but today when I connected the ipad to my car stereo auxillary port and listening to songs for an hour while driving to my office.. it became too hot... cant touch even??? I am worried now this problem which was hearing for many ipad users started happening to me as well.

Below are instances for making your ipad3 hot:

1) wifi + cellular network ON + GPS location service all at same time

2) play game for 1 hr - after that you need leave your ipad as it makes uncomfortable to hold

3) play music for 1 hour

4) playing movies for 1/2 hr

So, here's my big question. I have done EVERYTHING that Apple told me to do to reduce the heat which worked for a while but isn't anymore...I'm still under warranty, if I go back to Apple to get a replacement, do I get an iPad 3 like I have which will continue to have overheating problems and which they have discontinued making, or do they give me an iPad 4? I have taken my iPad 3 in twice because of the overheating issue, so this will be the THIRD time. It even warped the back of a case I was using, didn't exactly melt it, but did warp it. On top of all of this, I shouldn't have to make all these adjustments just to have my iPad working properly!

We have 3 versions of iPad in use in our home. The newly acquired retina display DY 32GB was soooo much hotter, I checked here for a solution. I followed the posted suggestions of reducing brightness, shutting down opened apps (kids use so they NEVER shut down). By the time I finished reading posts, it had cooled down dramatically. It WAS so hot it made my hands sore and tingly and I was thinking I had purchased a dangerous dud. But these posts have REALLY assisted solving my issue. So a BIG THANK YOU! To ALL who posted. I will also try the battery run down and charge suggested here when able. It is still warmer by comparison but can be handled, and will hopefully cool down further. With kids using I was highly concerned for their safety. I am still not totally convinced but will update if this has not been resolved, but for now am relieved. Hope you too find a resolution.

Another power consuming feature is the notifications. Every App has a notification script constantly checking updates. Even if you don't have any updates for a month, it is still running once a few seconds. Go to general setting, turn them off, only leave the ones that you want to keep on, like message, FaceTime, or Facebook...

Last week i picked up a new iPad w/retina display 64gig wifi 4g. I have noticed it does get hot to the point it is a concern. I have turned down my brightness, but that only slows down the inevitable.

Has or is Apple doing anything about this

Note, my iPad MD524ZP/A is an iPad 4 and i did what i thought was logical befor looking for this post. Turned down the brightness, turned off excess APPs..

It still gets hot

Got ipad3 week ago, already I am regreting it. Usually doesn't get too hot, but uncomfortably warm, if running high performance games it really heats up. By writing this post, it's already at 40c. Bought it from dealer, hoping to switch to ipad4. God, I wish I would have found this article sooner.

Model introduced: 2012

Serial number: DM**********

Production year: 2012

Production week: 26 (July)

Name: iPad 3

Model Number: MD

Group1: iPad

Group2: WiFi-GSM

Generation: 3

Machine Model: iPad3,2

CPU speed: 1.0GHz

Family name: A1430

Screen size: 9.7 inch

Screen resolution: 2048x1536 pixels

Colour: Black

Capacity: 16GB

Factory: DM (China - Foxconn)

Under what conditions are your experiencing it getting hot? I don't do any gaming but I never have issues with heat and my iPad 4. Normal browsing with Pandora playing in the back ground or watching videos at 50% brightness and it only gets very slightly warm, and it is even in a plastic case. It's hard to even notice. Under bright light conditions I turn the brightness up all the way and though is does get warmer it isn't hot at all. I'm very satisfied with mine.

I have noticed it more during gaming and when the auto brightness is on. Playing games like candy land and angry bird the brightness increases. But never decrease when you go to an app that does not require the brighter screen. I have also noted this is not an issue on my old iPAD 2 or my iPhone 5 or older iPhones. With the higher brightness level my iPAD 4 heats up.

I never use auto brightness as I know exactly the brightness levels I want for my use. I doubt that has anything to do with it. Angry birds is not an intensive game at all so that shouldn't cause your iPad to get hot. All I can say is to maybe take it into an Apple store and compare it to the display models and try and create the same usage scenarios, like playing Angry Birds and see how yours compares. Keep in mind though that you can't expect your iPad 4 to be as cool as your iPad 2 and that what a lot of people consider hot is actually not a cause for concern.

As an electronic graduate I would expect apple as part of their design criteria to have taken the higher resolution screen as well as the A6 chipset as potential heat adders and had planned for that scenario. With that in mind the goal should be the iPAD 4 heat dissipation capabilities should mimic the older versions of the iPads such as the iPAD 2 you mentioned. To have design a product with such a screen without considering the potential added heat load would at best be POOR engineering practices that will most likely lead to multiple issues as well as eventually failures

So with that I am looking for other potential culprits, like the one I mentioned regarding the designed in auto brightness should function is such a fashion that when running applications that do not require a brighter screen level such as with games that auto brightness adjust would lower the screen intensity. It does not, this could be an applications error in the coding. I say this because when I turn off the auto brightness the heating issue is considerable reduced

Please hot when I say the iPAD gets hot I do not mean warm, I mean HOT, to the point of extreme concern.

Yeah that helps alot.