Ipad air 2 not holding a charge + Touch ID not working

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Level 1

43 points

Ipad air 2 not holding a charge + Touch ID not working

My ipad air 2 recently started draining the battery completely overnight while in sleep mode. Recharging it takes all day (also not typical). I go to bed and it's at 98% and I wake up to a dead battery. Wondering if it's the battery or a software problem. The problem just started literally overnight a few days ago. Plus, now when I do get it to go on again, it tells me Touch ID can no longer work?

To my knowledge, it hasn't done an update in a while (since the latest) and that was a couple of months ago. No updates are needed currently. It's baffling.

Any help is appreciated. I am traveling a lot right now and would like to see if there's a fix I can do myself. Don't have time to take it in. Thanks.

P.S. I did a reset, all of my accessories are Apple and all are working properly on my other devices.

iPad Air

Posted on Mar 10, 2017 6:30 AM

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Answer 1

chris_g1

Community Specialist

Mar 10, 2017 7:04 PM in response to CCAPPL

Hi CCAPPL,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. I understand that your iPad Air 2 has recently had some issues with the battery draining rapidly when the iPad isn't in use, it's charging slower than usual and you're getting errors related to the Touch ID. I know it's important to be able to depend on your iPad and we can take a look into a few things together.

First, take a look at how your battery is being consumed when the iPad isn't in use: About the battery usage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Then, ensure that you're set up to get the most from your battery life: Maximizing Battery Life and Lifespan

To address the slow charging, follow these steps to see if you notice a difference in the time it takes to charge your iPad:

If your device won’t charge or charges slowly
If you have very low battery and plug into power, a black screen or a black screen with a red battery might appear for a few minutes. Follow these steps and try again after each:
Check your charging cable and USB adapter for signs of damage,* like breakage or bent prongs. Don't use damaged accessories.
Lightning to USB and a USB wall adapter
Use a wall power outlet and check for firm connections between your charging cable, USB wall adapter, and wall outlet, or try a different outlet.
Remove any debris from the charging port on the bottom of your device, then firmly plug your charging cable into your device. If the charging port is damaged, your device probably needs service.
Let your device charge for a half hour (If your device is unresponsive afterward, learn what to do).
Force restart your device: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons at the same time for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo. Then let your device charge for another half hour.

If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch won‘t charge

After following these steps I'd like to know if you're still getting the Touch ID error, and the exact wording of the error you see when trying to use Touch ID. Also, can you let us know the iOS version you see listed in Settings > General > About?

If you find you're still experiencing the same behavior with the battery as well, we may need to look into more invasive software troubleshooting. Before we move into those steps, we recommend you make a backup of your iPad to ensure your information is secure: How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Warmest Regards.

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Answer 2

sterling r

Community Specialist

Mar 16, 2017 4:04 PM in response to CCAPPL

Hi CCAPPL,

Thank you for the details on the steps you've taken. You mention resetting your iPad and restoring from a backup. Did you use iTunes to restore the iPad or did you "Erase All Content and Settings" from the iPad itself? We ask because using iTunes installs a fresh copy of the iOS software, while erasing the iPad through Settings will only erase your personal data and not affect the iOS software that's installed.

Since you have a current backup, we'd recommend using iTunes to restore the iOS software on your iPad by following the steps here: Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings

After you've restored the iOS software set the iPad up as "new", just temporarily, to see if the issues you're seeing persist without any other data on the device.
If everything seems to be running smoothly, then restore your iCloud backup to the iPad and test again.

If you continue to see the same behavior after following the steps above, we'd recommend contacting Apple Support so they can assist you with some further investigation. Contact them here: Contact Apple Support

Cheers!

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Answer 3

CCAPPL Author

Level 1

43 points

Mar 11, 2017 6:17 AM in response to chris_g1

Hi Chris! Thanks!

Here are the answers to your questions:

Charging cables seem to be fine.
Lightning port seems to be fine.
The device is charging. In two hours it went from 5% to 40% and it does get to 100% after a few hours.
I've done the hard restart twice.
There doesn't seem to be anything in particular draining the battery. The highest % of use is Amazon Kindle at 56% but it doesn't usually drain the battery.
I'm sitting here watching it as I'm running the backup now to icloud, and I'm leaving it unplugged to monitor it. It's only dropped 2% in about 30 minutes. That doesn't seem consistent with how it's losing power completely overnight. If I walk away for a bit, I'd likely come back to a black screen with the red battery.
IOS is up to date and is version 10.2.1

If I can get a good cloud backup (my internet has been slow where I'm traveling so it could take a while) I'm thinking my best bet would be to reset the device and start over with my icloud backup? It's a pain but it's the only solution I can think of.

Does it seem to you this is a battery issue? It seems more like some type of software glitch - I just find it odd that it didn't happen immediately after the last update.

What is your recommendation?

Thank you so much!

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Answer 4

CCAPPL Author

Level 1

43 points

Mar 15, 2017 8:49 AM in response to chris_g1

Hi again, Chris! Haven't heard back from you, and nothing else worked so I reset my ipad and restored from icloud backup. Nothing changed. Touch ID still not working (I am not able to turn it on to delete and add new fingerprints as suggested as a fix in other forums) and my ipad is still draining constantly. The two things seem connected. I flew home yesterday and realized in sleep mode something was still running that is draining the battery. Pulled my ipad out of my bag to find it very hot and battery almost dead. Considered downloading the 10.3 beta if this might be a software issue but concerned that might cause more issues. Can you please help? I have to travel again soon and I need this to be working. When I look at the battery use nothing is out of the ordinary. Need to know whether I need to buy myself a new ipad before I leave. Hope not!

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Answer 5

CCAPPL Author

Level 1

43 points

Mar 17, 2017 9:07 AM in response to sterling r

Hi Sterling. Thank you for responding.

You are correct that I did this all via ipad before and not through itunes. So I did as you suggested and made a full backup through Itunes. Then after did a full restore.

Touch ID is still not working.

I am waiting to see if the battery drain problem is solved, but I suspect not. I feel as if somehow these two issues are connected. Something is running in the background during sleep mode that is causing the drain but I can't figure out what it is. If it's touch ID, that would certainly make sense.

Still don't know why all of a sudden this started happening. Not after an update but much later.

In your opinion should I try installing 10.3 beta?

I looked into it but I can't seem to get it to download to my ipad.

I am traveling again soon and need my ipad. I may have to wait for the genius appt. until I return. If you have additional suggestions in the mean time, please let me know.

Thanks again!

CC

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Answer 6

chris_g1

Community Specialist

Mar 17, 2017 9:39 AM in response to CCAPPL

Hey CCAPPL,

Thanks for taking the time to work through the steps provided. If your Touch ID is still unresponsive after restoring the iPad as new, there may be a hardware issue that needs to be looked at. At this point, contacting Apple Support, visiting an Apple Authorized Service Provider or an Apple Store would be the best course of action for additional steps and options available to you.

You can locate the nearest Authorized Service Provider or Apple Stores here: Find Locations

Have a great weekend!

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