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adepew1975 Author

Level 1

14 points

Battery icon, no lightning bolt, not charging

For the last few hours, my iPad has had a black screen with a battery icon showing 4 red vertical lines. There is no lightning bolt on the screen. However, if I remove the plug, a lightning bolt and charger symbol appears - so the iPad knows when it's disconnected. I've tried two different Apple chargers, two different outlets, and also the USB port on the back of my Mac. I've done the Home/Sleep button thing about 10 times, to no avail. It might even be worse now because the screen seems to flash between the white Apple logo, to a black screen, to the screen with the battery symbol and back to a black screen. Every so often, my lock screen will pop up for a milisecond. I've examined the connection at the bottom and I do not see any bent pins, lint or debris. Nothing like this has happened to it before.

Any ideas? I would really appreciate any help. I've read through so many threads here, but haven't really seen anything quite like what's happening.

iPhone 4S, iOS 6.1.2, iPad 3, Mac OS X 10.7.5

Posted on Jun 9, 2014 1:11 AM

Top-ranking reply

applepieface

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Aug 29, 2017 6:42 PM

I tried everything I could find in posts on this forum and other Apple communities and struck out on them all. The classic fix is to hold in the power and home buttons. Heard that one among many other variations with the device plugged into outlet power and/or computer with ITunes. No option of that sort worked, but I was determined to get my iPad functioning again and refused to pay Apple support to troubleshoot and fix it. I finally ran across several forum posts that were well written and logical about the lithium battery being discharged to the point that the battery will no longer function properly. I will Not attempt to go into the science behind lithium batteries and why the fix of heating the battery up puts a mild charge back into the battery, etc. If your iPad or other iX device battery has been completely drained and is displaying the red battery icon with a few red strips, and all other troubleshooting measures fail you may want to try heating the device until the back of it is hot to the touch, then try plugging it in and waiting for at least 10-20 minutes.

I had little hope in this fix, but it indeed gave the internal battery in my iPad enough juice to start taking a charge. It is now at 48% and climbing. I am convinced that no other troubleshooting method would have resulted in my iPad battery being jump-started into taking a charge and powering the device on because I tried them all. There are probably a million ways to heat the iPad to attempt this fix with what seems to be the most popular being a hair dryer and standing there for an eternity until the back of the device is hot to the touch. If I told you that I put the iPad on a wooden cutting board and placed in the oven at 170 for 20 minutes I am sure many would not believe it or get holier than thou that I violated some safety commandment of placing the iPad in an oven, but that very well might have worked...

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39 replies

Oct 22, 2014 10:21 PM in response to Bradex

Hey, I don't know if you resolved your issue, but I fixed mine.

All i did was leave it plugged to the charger and when i checked back on it about an hour later it had turned on by itself.

Hope this helps!

Oct 22, 2014 10:22 PM in response to Thorpetowers

Hey, I don't know if you resolved your issue, but I fixed mine.

All i did was leave it plugged to the charger and when i checked back on it about an hour later it had turned on by itself.

Hope this helps!

Oct 22, 2014 10:22 PM in response to adepew1975

Hey, I don't know if you resolved your issue, but I fixed mine.

All i did was leave it plugged to the charger and when i checked back on it about an hour later it had turned on by itself.

Hope this helps!

Nov 16, 2014 12:17 AM in response to adepew1975

Woah, I'm having the same exact problem only my device is the iPhone 5. It's stuck on the red battery icon during charging. And it's been like this for 3 days already. This had happened to me previously but I somehow made it through and after 4 days it turned on after charging to my laptop via USB. For the second occurrence I decided to use the adapter from the iPad to charge my iPhone seeing that it would be faster, it's been 3 days and I haven't gotten any results. Does anybody know how to resolve this issue? Please! And thank you to anyone who offers information. I'm constantly stressing about this because I can't reach my girlfriend I'm supposed to be flying to see her next year, and I have her new number in my phone, but I can't use it! So I haven't been in touch with her for several days! Please, somebody help me.

dangalg

Level 1

0 points

Dec 27, 2014 9:25 PM in response to BobFromObeseTown

I have the exact same problem... four red lines no charge no lightning bolt no nothing...

Ipad 2 is dead...

Help!!!

dangalg

Level 1

0 points

Dec 27, 2014 9:27 PM in response to nicoleadorkable

is it still fixed? cause I did the same and it charged once but now it's totally dead...

migg2001

Level 1

0 points

May 18, 2015 4:57 PM in response to adepew1975

tanneron

Level 1

4 points

Sep 27, 2015 8:51 PM in response to adepew1975

Did you ever get your iPad battery issue resolved? I'm facing the exact same thing right now.

Oct 16, 2015 5:53 PM in response to adepew1975

I just fix mine by alternating press home, than power, home than power,.... Just to keep the screen alive at the battery icon and not lot it flash off. I did that for 5-6min, and after I did that it charge enough to keep the battery icon lit, and in another 15min it started booting and back up and working with 2% battery.

Now recovering nicely charging to 7% and going up.

Oct 23, 2015 9:10 PM in response to Diavonex

I tried cleaning it with deodarant / alcohol (both cord pin as well as phone charging point with a brush), leave it for a couple of minutes and then plug it into a wall charger. After 2 minutes, it started charging automatically !!!! Thanks ..

Oct 30, 2015 6:41 AM in response to adepew1975

Try recovery mode... http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/troubleshoot-your-ipad-recovery-mode.html

wilsonRC

Level 1

0 points

Nov 2, 2015 10:57 AM in response to JohnWFMak

Thanks for this! I was getting worried (i had left my phone in rice for a week after dropping it in the bath) and it wouldnt get past the low battery charge, after waiting for an hour with it plugged in I alternated the lock and home button for only 1 minute and then it flashed back into life.

Ash.21

Level 1

0 points

Dec 26, 2015 5:09 PM in response to adepew1975

In case you ever find yourself fighting this battle against an Iphone 6 then stay positive, it's resolvable.

Mine was dropped in the sink (bad moment), fully submerged (supposedly) for 1 or 2 seconds tops. I dried it straight away, checked it would charge and it did, I had maybe 15% left and I needed it so I unplugged it. I tried plugging it back in at 2% with no avail, I tried everything to get it to recognise the charger again. It died on me a minute or so later.

To fix it I used a couple methods, I used the 'trying to blow up a balloon in one breath' blow into the charging and aux port. I then used a thin plastic straw (I took it off a can of WD40) and cleaned the charging port, you'll be surprised at how much you clean out.

I plugged it back in, the red battery symbol showed up with three bars but no lighting bolt, going off a few moments later. To get my Iphone 6 back to life I pressed the home and lock screen button repeatedly so as to not allow the battery symbol to disappear. It took over 13 minutes before it came back, it's now working as expected.

Now I've got to go apologise to my girlfriend for raging at her because 'it wasn't her fault' and I 'shouldn't have left it there'...on the flat kitchen windowsill.

Jan 24, 2016 6:38 PM in response to Smangler

shot of air and a little cleaning of charging port with toothpick helped.

Apr 19, 2016 6:07 PM in response to adepew1975

I tried every single tip on this thread and others, couldn't seem to find a solution. Ended up contacting Apple support who told me it most likely is a hardware problem with the battery and I need to go in store for some diagnostic tests. As I was booking my appointment, I took my Sim out to see if it would work in an old iPhone to get me by for the next couple of days, and then after taking the Sim out I got the Apple logo! Phone turned on with 3% and was charging, put my Sim back in and it seems to be back to normal again ...

So could be worth taking out the Sim whilst the phone is attached to power?

Battery icon, no lightning bolt, not charging