iPad 3 is getting hot

Here's my info. I really can't definitively say whether my unit has an overheating issue or not. I also have an iPad 1, which never feels warm, but that's not a good comparison. My iPad 3 warms up, but not to the point of being too uncomfortable to hold. It's warmer in the lower left-hand corner than elsewhere. Last night I had it playing music (local, not iTunes via Home Share) for most of the night, then played some music and video through Apple TV, then a Netflix movie. Max screen brightness throughout the evening. It never became extremely warm, but rather just as warm as I would expect given the processor and screen updates.

This is so confusing and frustrating. I never splurge on new technology like this, always being cautious, but went out on a limb and bought this as a birthday gift to myself. I'm leaving on a short vacation Friday and really, really want to take this along. But, my 14-day examination period is up Friday, and this uncertainty is driving me nuts.

I'm going out to the Apple Store today to examine their working demos . . . hopefully that will help with my decision. I'll report back with my observations.

Thanks to all for your comments.

Name: iPad 3

Model Number: MD365

Group1: iPad

Group2: WiFi-3G

Generation: 3

Model introduced: 2012

Production year: 2012

Production week: 10 (March)

introduced test: GOED

Screen size: 9 inch

Screen resolution: 2048x1536 pixels

Colour: White

Capacity: 64GB

Factory: DL (China - Foxconn)

Have mine in an otter box, also turned brightness down to about 85%, not as bad as it was but can still feel warmth through the otter box. There is no apple store in my area.

Name: iPad 3

Group 1: iPad

Group 2: WiFi

Generation: 3

Introduced: 2012

Production year: 2012

Production week: 10 (March)

Introduced test: GOED

Screen size: 9 inch

Screen resolution: 2048 x 1536 pixels

Color: Black

Capacity: 16 GB

Factory: DM (China-Foxcomm)

I got my wife a new iPad. In spite of the issues I've had, she wanted one... So. This one is an "old" one, having been manufactured in January.

Name: iPad 3

Model Number: MC076

Group1: iPad

Group2:

Generation: 3

Model introduced: 2012

Production year: 2012

Production week: 2 (January)

introduced test: GOED

Screen size: 9 inch

Screen resolution: 2048x1536 pixels

Colour: Black

Capacity: 32GB

Factory: DN (China, Chengdu - Foxconn)

Time will tell if it overheats. It shows some WiFi degradation, but not like mine does. And the screen is much more uniform than mine. It has no yellow tint anywhere on the screen. And overall, it seems a little more white than mine.

I'm a hot production week 10. Plant DM. 64gb, wifi only. No screen protector or case. Don't game or stream movies. About all I have done is read the manual, surf, sync my ipod and hang out on this site trying to figure out if I need to take this thing back.

My warmth isn't isolated to the left corner, it's almost the entire left side. That kinds of scares me also. I don't know if my plug gets hot or how long it takes to charge as I have just plugged it in at night. It's petty warm right now and all I've done was unsleeping it and type this post.

Look forward to more people posting their plant and production week.

Letting the battery reach 0% and then charging it over night seemed to work for me....doesn't even get warm now...stays cool as my iPad 2 is....only complaint I have is the battery does charge more slowly . I've also read that when the battery reads 100% it's really not done charging yet. It's something I'm sure apple will address with a new update. Give it a chance.

I visited the Apple Store this afternoon as I said earlier I would. I picked up each demo iPad 3 and felt for heat. Each had some warmth in varying degrees, but none warm enough to be alarmed over or to suspect a problem. The rep said each was usually playing some video when not being looked at by customers, although all simply had a still screen when I tested them. I told him why I was there. He said he was aware of the controversy, and suggested that it was not beyond reason that perhaps some, out of millions built, may have a defective part. He said, however, that Apple had not yet told them that there was anything wrong for which a recall would be made. He assured me that the warranty would cover any damage that may occur.

I've had mine outside for a couple hours this afternoon (75+ degrees) streaming iTunes while I've been cleaning the deck. It's really no warmer than the demos at the AS today.

Thanks again for all the comments.

I did return mine today 😟 The rep at the store that it was a feature of the new ipad to get warm, that it is within functional limits but should it get too hot that it would shut itself down before causing damage. I would have like to try it out more but 14 days is not much time and I didn't want to get stuck with it. I will wait a few weeks and see how things work out.

My new iPad gets warm. The warmest it has gotten was when I was playing the new Angry Birds Game. Even then, I could still hold it. Just thought I would share that. I can' t return anyway, I don't have a car and can't get a ride to take it back, so I guess I will have to live with it. I have rest four times and am on my third cycle down. I don' t think any of this has or is helping things get any cooler. Oh well, life goes on.

CJinAuck wrote:

That's perfect - thanks a lot, Cano44. I realised I hadn't posted mine as well:

Name: iPad 3

Group1: iPad

Group2: WiFi

Generation: 3

Model introduced: 2012

Production year: 2012

Production week: 2 (January)

introduced test: GOED

Screen size: 9 inch

Screen resolution: 2048x1536 pixels

Colour: Black

Capacity: 16GB

Factory: DQ (China - Foxconn refurbished??)

So we have units in week 6 and 7 that are 'good', and units in week 2 and 10 that aren't 100%. The factories could also play a part. But I suspect we need a lot more info about good/bad units before we can draw any conclusions. The more info the better, people - feel free to chime in!

Hey CJinAuck, just wanted to post this after I looked up my serial for the new iPad. Mine was from production week 10! My iPad feels like a bad 50-60 celcius which is above 122 farenheit while brightness was over 50 and especially on playing games in the new iPad resolution. That's really bad. I can take that heat on my palm but it feels really hot on the rest of my skin. Here's my iPad's production batch.

Mine was an online purchase and I've made a call earlier today to the returns and they're arranging a return and shipping a new unit to me in 2 weeks. I will definitely call back and ask whether about the production batch of the new unit I'm about to receive.

Name: iPad 3

Group1: iPad

Group2: WiFi

Generation: 3

Machine Model: iPad3,1

Model introduced: 2012

Production year: 2012

Production week: 10 (March)

introduced test: GOED

Family name: Become a pro user to see this information. (sorry)

Screen size: 9 inch

Screen resolution: 2048x1536 pixels

Colour: White

Capacity: 16GB

Factory: DL (China - Foxconn)

teach5 wrote:

My new iPad gets warm. The warmest it has gotten was when I was playing the new Angry Birds Game. Even then, I could still hold it. Just thought I would share that. I can' t return anyway, I don't have a car and can't get a ride to take it back, so I guess I will have to live with it. I have rest four times and am on my third cycle down. I don' t think any of this has or is helping things get any cooler. Oh well, life goes on.

Could you look up your serial number?

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.htm

Maybe you can call the apple hotline to see if they could do something about your iPad.

I did that, mine was week 9 in March at Foxconn. I have talked to Apple, they say it is normal. I also had another person reply telling me that as well. Thanks for your comment. The phone techs are no help at all since they can't see of feel it.

I called apple with the same complaints( running hot and battery drain) but no resolve. Apple rep said it was the WiFi and I need to turn it off when not in use, to me that made no sense. So to make a story short I found the solution. Go into settings - First turn off ask to join networks. Second - If you have tons of apps like myself go to notifications then under In Notification Center turn Notification Center OFF under the app you don't need. Let me know if this helps anyone. It worked for me. iPad is cooler battery last with no problem.

Model 64GB Verizon 4G

I called apple with the same complaints( running hot and battery drain) but no resolve. Apple rep said it was the WiFi and I need to turn it off when not in use, to me that made no sense. So to make a story short I found the solution. Go into settings - First turn off ask to join networks. Second - If you have tons of apps like myself go to notifications then under In Notification Center turn Notification Center OFF under the app you don't need. Let me know if this helps anyone. It worked for me. iPad is cooler battery last with no problem.

Model 64GB Verizon 4G

Model 32GB Wifi

After following your suggestions and also charging my New IPad through 2 complete cycles from 0 to 100% it no longer gets hot and uncomfortable to hold. There is just a slight warmth now. My production week is Week 8 if that helps anyone figure out whether or not to seek a replacement. This is a confusing issue and I am so happy mine cleared up following some of the great suggestions given here!! Love my New IPad!!

This worked for me, in a few minutes my iPad was at a normal heat range to the touch.....All you need to do to adress the "heat issue" is turn down the brightness in settings. Also close some apps running in the backround just double click your home button and the app bar will show up, now just hold your finger on any of the apps running and a red circled minus sign appears, just tap the minus sign to close running apps and your tablet will operate with less heat...