Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

jettie1767

macrumors 6502a
Oct 29, 2003
587
225
New Jersey, USA
I closed my IPP with the magic keyboard at 98% last night around 8:30 pm. At 8 am this morning, it said 83%. Pretty big drain on battery overnight. I removed it from the keyboard and I'll see how much of a drop later today.
 

brnkstr.

macrumors newbie
Jun 7, 2020
13
4
Graz, Austria
I closed my IPP with the magic keyboard at 98% last night around 8:30 pm. At 8 am this morning, it said 83%. Pretty big drain on battery overnight. I removed it from the keyboard and I'll see how much of a drop later today.
Did you check your iPad‘s battery settings to see if some app working in the background might be the culprit?
 
  • Like
Reactions: dmb8021

marlman

macrumors 6502
Oct 10, 2012
386
294
Well I closed my MK last night at 100% and when I opened it this morning it was still !00%.

I am running iOS 13.6 beta 2 and I do not use the backlighting it is turned down to zero.
 

verdi1987

macrumors 6502a
Jun 19, 2010
656
420
After several days with a replacement MK but also running iPadOS 13.6, I am confident I am no longer seeing excessive drain. However, as I noted before, because those variables both changed simultaneously, I cannot isolate which one was the factor.

Update below.
 
Last edited:

stocklen

macrumors 6502a
Sep 25, 2013
933
1,794
I have just created a thread on my specific problem, but might be helpful to this one too.

To all of you having these drain issues... check when the case is closed that the keyboard is not still illuminated.

This is happening to me, and draining faster than it should - I noticed that the keyboard backlight was basically permanently on when the case was closed....

So, when you open the case, is the keyboard illuminated straight away even before you have had a chance to wake and unlock the iPad? Mine is - and that tells you its been permanently illuminated since you last closed it.

Wondering if this is software related, or faulty hardware.
 

papbot

macrumors 68020
May 19, 2015
2,312
1,079
I have just created a thread on my specific problem, but might be helpful to this one too.

To all of you having these drain issues... check when the case is closed that the keyboard is not still illuminated.

This is happening to me, and draining faster than it should - I noticed that the keyboard backlight was basically permanently on when the case was closed....

So, when you open the case, is the keyboard illuminated straight away even before you have had a chance to wake and unlock the iPad? Mine is - and that tells you its been permanently illuminated since you last closed it.

Wondering if this is software related, or faulty hardware.
I believe it’s software. I’ve had it happen once. But removing the ipad from the keyboard and then putting it back on corrected it, but I restarted my ipad as well just to be sure. Haven’t had that happen again for several weeks now. When my iPad Pro is in sleep, screen locked the keyboard is off and I have no battery drain whatsoever for hours. I’ve checked my iPad Pro with the previous keyboard folio and the new magic keyboard and battery usage was essentially identical. Subjectively it doesn’t seem as if the battery lasts as long as previously but I believe that’s due to features in iOS 13. I have the 3rd gen 12” iPad Pro.
 
  • Like
Reactions: brnkstr.

brnkstr.

macrumors newbie
Jun 7, 2020
13
4
Graz, Austria
I have background app refresh off. Battery settings had Safari at the top at 27%.
Does any app show significant „Screen Off“ battery drain in the battery settings in spite of background app refresh being turned off?

Safari and Wi-Fi in general are „power vampires“, browsing the Web a lot, loading new sites and such definitely has a significant impact on your iPad‘s battery life.

I believe it’s software. I’ve had it happen once. But removing the ipad from the keyboard and then putting it back on corrected it, but I restarted my ipad as well just to be sure. Haven’t had that happen again for several weeks now.
That was pretty much my experience as well. I can‘t say that I have experienced any unusual battery drain since then. There also happens to be no discernible battery drain when the Smart Magic Keyboard‘s closed either.

I too can only guess, but seeing how diverse all our battery issues appear to be, it seems like it‘s probably a correlating issue with iPadOS 13.5 and specific apps „communicating“ with the software side of the Magic Keyboard. Interested to see if iPadOS 13.6 will have any noticeably positive impact on my iPad‘s battery life.
 

verdi1987

macrumors 6502a
Jun 19, 2010
656
420
I spoke too soon. With a replacement MK and iPadOS 13.6, I am still seeing battery drain while my iPad is powered off. This must be a software bug.

I fully charged my iPad to 100%, disconnected the USB-C cable, and then fully powered off / shut down the iPad. After about 14 hours, upon turning it on the iPad battery is at 82%. Again, there is the green shading while the iPad is off that indicates that the iPad thinks it is being charged.

I know this sounds completely off the wall, but I think the iPad drains when I shut down the iPad while it is on the bottom (upside-down) and the keyboard on top in a partial-opened position. (This is kind of hard to explain, but lay the iPad on a table such that it is the keyboard that you lift when you open it.) That is just the orientation when I’m charging it due to the position of my charger, so I fully charge it, open it in that upside-down position to shut it down, and then close it back up.

I don’t see this type of drain overnight every night, but when I do it is significant. The backlight is definitely off.

26A5EAD4-69D9-4700-B45A-EB010F7DB8B6.jpeg
 

jettie1767

macrumors 6502a
Oct 29, 2003
587
225
New Jersey, USA
Does any app show significant „Screen Off“ battery drain in the battery settings in spite of background app refresh being turned off?

Safari and Wi-Fi in general are „power vampires“, browsing the Web a lot, loading new sites and such definitely has a significant impact on your iPad‘s battery life.


That was pretty much my experience as well. I can‘t say that I have experienced any unusual battery drain since then. There also happens to be no discernible battery drain when the Smart Magic Keyboard‘s closed either.

I too can only guess, but seeing how diverse all our battery issues appear to be, it seems like it‘s probably a correlating issue with iPadOS 13.5 and specific apps „communicating“ with the software side of the Magic Keyboard. Interested to see if iPadOS 13.6 will have any noticeably positive impact on my iPad‘s battery life.

Apple Support actually had me log the drain rate while the IPP was not attached to the MK. So, that’s what I did yesterday til this morning. IPP was off the keyboard at 8:30 am with 82% yesterday. Closed all apps and just let the IPP sit all day. At 8 pm last night, it was at 77%. This morning at 8 am it was at 72%. Slower drain without it being attached to the MK. Apple Support decided to send me a replacement MK. They said if it doesn’t resolve the huge battery drain, they’ll most likely replace the IPP. Let’s see what happens when I get the replacement MK.
 

verdi1987

macrumors 6502a
Jun 19, 2010
656
420
Apple Support actually had me log the drain rate while the IPP was not attached to the MK. So, that’s what I did yesterday til this morning. IPP was off the keyboard at 8:30 am with 82% yesterday. Closed all apps and just let the IPP sit all day. At 8 pm last night, it was at 77%. This morning at 8 am it was at 72%. Slower drain without it being attached to the MK. Apple Support decided to send me a replacement MK. They said if it doesn’t resolve the huge battery drain, they’ll most likely replace the IPP. Let’s see what happens when I get the replacement MK.
There is a separate background activity bug seemingly introduced in iOS/iPadOS 13.5 that may be partly responsible for the drain. I've submitted a bug report to Apple but haven't heard back.

Even though Background App Refresh is off, toggle each app to off manually and then set the master toggle. It seems the OS is not fully honoring the master toggle, but that is not the only issue with app refresh.
 

griefrev

macrumors member
Feb 18, 2010
83
19
Louisville, KY
I turned my iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard attached completely off on Thursday. When I tried to turn it on this morning, the battery had been completely drained. I had gone a couple of weeks without a drainage issue, but this is very frustrating.
 

verdi1987

macrumors 6502a
Jun 19, 2010
656
420
I turned my iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard attached completely off on Thursday. When I tried to turn it on this morning, the battery had been completely drained. I had gone a couple of weeks without a drainage issue, but this is very frustrating.

I have this strange theory that there is drain when you shut down (or perhaps store) the iPad upside-down (keyboard on top). Ever since I've specifically shut down and stored the iPad with the keyboard on the bottom, I haven't experienced drain.

Edit: I spoke too soon. It drained from 100% to 87% overnight while shut off.
 
Last edited:

brnkstr.

macrumors newbie
Jun 7, 2020
13
4
Graz, Austria
I turned my iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard attached completely off on Thursday. When I tried to turn it on this morning, the battery had been completely drained. I had gone a couple of weeks without a drainage issue, but this is very frustrating.
Which iPad Pro model are you using? Did you check your iPad’s battery health via iMazing yet?

Edit: How’s your iPad’s battery drain while off and detached from the Magic Keyboard?
 

griefrev

macrumors member
Feb 18, 2010
83
19
Louisville, KY
It's a 2018 12.5" iPad Pro. Haven't tried iMazing. When detached from the keyboard, there's no drain issue.
[automerge]1592908938[/automerge]
Which iPad Pro model are you using? Did you check your iPad’s battery health via iMazing yet?

Edit: How’s your iPad’s battery drain while off and detached from the Magic Keyboard?

It's a 2018 12.5" iPad Pro. Haven't tried iMazing. When detached from the keyboard, there is no drainage problem.
 

jettie1767

macrumors 6502a
Oct 29, 2003
587
225
New Jersey, USA
I got my replacement Magic Keyboard and the drain seems to be back to the normal 3-5% every 12 hours or so. Still observing but seems like it’s much better now.
 

papbot

macrumors 68020
May 19, 2015
2,312
1,079
There are still significant bugs affecting the keyboard and, I believe, causing most of the battery drain issues. Most people are now familiar with the backlighting not turning off, that’s a common one that will drain the battery. Tonight I experienced the reverse bug. After I woke my iPad Pro the backlighting was off and would not come on. As in the backlighting remaining on, removing the ipad from the keyboard and reconnecting them fixed the issue. Whatever additional software was added to accommodate these keyboards is still pretty buggy and could cause a variety of symptoms.
 

griefrev

macrumors member
Feb 18, 2010
83
19
Louisville, KY
I 've been "chatting" with someone from Apple Support about the drain issue. They're actually suggesting that it's my fault for leaving the keyboard attached to the iPad. I thought that you were supposed to be able to leave it attached since it functioned as a cover as well. Am I missing something?
 

papbot

macrumors 68020
May 19, 2015
2,312
1,079
They must be grasping at straws. I have absolutely no battery drain no matter how long I leave my keyboard attached if I’m not using my iPad. Use it for a few minutes in the morning to read a couple emails, lock the screen, close the case and 6 hours later I’m still at 100% battery. Now the software issues of 13.5.1 concerning backlighting and perhaps other functions could cause a significant issue. But barring those situations there isn’t any impact from the keyboard that I’ve experienced. No more so than the previous Smart Keyboard folio.
 

griefrev

macrumors member
Feb 18, 2010
83
19
Louisville, KY
They must be grasping at straws. I have absolutely no battery drain no matter how long I leave my keyboard attached if I’m not using my iPad. Use it for a few minutes in the morning to read a couple emails, lock the screen, close the case and 6 hours later I’m still at 100% battery. Now the software issues of 13.5.1 concerning backlighting and perhaps other functions could cause a significant issue. But barring those situations there isn’t any impact from the keyboard that I’ve experienced. No more so than the previous Smart Keyboard folio.
The support tech seemed to think that I had to pair the keyboard with Bluetooth for it to work. Clearly he had no knowledge of the product. He sent me to his supervisor who has now arranged for me to speak with an engineer tonight. We'll see.
 

Davidalan

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2012
581
293
Closed all apps, back lighting on MK set to just below half way on the slider, charge at 100%, closed MK no light showing through at around 6PM EST, at 9AM EST next day battery read 90%.
Checking battery in settings showed no real activity.
10% Drain over 15 hrs.
 

dazz87

macrumors 68000
Sep 24, 2007
1,631
1,710
Never had an battery drain issue on MK. Unplugged at 10pm then next day at 10Mam its still at 100%
 

PowerBookNN

macrumors member
Nov 7, 2008
33
16
Annapolis, MD
There are still significant bugs affecting the keyboard and, I believe, causing most of the battery drain issues. Most people are now familiar with the backlighting not turning off, that’s a common one that will drain the battery. Tonight I experienced the reverse bug. After I woke my iPad Pro the backlighting was off and would not come on. As in the backlighting remaining on, removing the ipad from the keyboard and reconnecting them fixed the issue. Whatever additional software was added to accommodate these keyboards is still pretty buggy and could cause a variety of symptoms.
I have both of these same issues! I have brand new iPP 11” 2020 and MK which I received June 12. Have caught the backlight on from the MK twice and not able to get it to come on once. Removing the iPP from the MK and rebooting has fixed the issue but very frustrating. Since both are new I don't know if it is the iPP or the MK or both.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.