iPad Pro Terrible Standby Time on iPad Pro?

[ZircoBen]

Hello everyone!

I have owned several iPad Pro 2018s, and all of them have a similar issue with standby time. I'll charge them up all the way, use them for a couple hours, and then leave them sitting for a day or two. By the time I get back to it, they're usually most of the way drained and I have to charge them up again basically every time I need to do anything with them.

The one I have only has about 180 battery cycles as reported by CoconutBattery, so it's not that the battery is completely shot.

Has anyone else had similar issues, or have any tips to improve standby on the iPad?

 

[FeliApple]

Hello everyone!

I have owned several iPad Pro 2018s, and all of them have a similar issue with standby time. I'll charge them up all the way, use them for a couple hours, and then leave them sitting for a day or two. By the time I get back to it, they're usually most of the way drained and I have to charge them up again basically every time I need to do anything with them.

The one I have only has about 180 battery cycles as reported by CoconutBattery, so it's not that the battery is completely shot.

Has anyone else had similar issues, or have any tips to improve standby on the iPad?

Have you checked the obvious culprits like push Mail, and app background tasks? iPadOS, on non-original-version devices, has had pretty bad standby times as far as I’ve read. I can’t comment on my experience because I only have one: an Air 5 on iPadOS 15, which is on its original version, and is therefore great.

Turning on Low Power Mode improves standby battery life significantly, as far as I’ve read. Perhaps you could give that a shot.

 

[rui no onna]

On iPadOS 14 and older, airplane mode is the only thing that I found that worked reliably to decrease standby battery drain but that has its own drawbacks (e.g. iCloud sign-in and sync issues).

On iPadOS 15 and newer, the low power mode is a good option for reducing battery consumption while not making the iPad go completely incommunicado.

 

[TorbenIbsen]

Hello everyone!

I have owned several iPad Pro 2018s, and all of them have a similar issue with standby time. I'll charge them up all the way, use them for a couple hours, and then leave them sitting for a day or two. By the time I get back to it, they're usually most of the way drained and I have to charge them up again basically every time I need to do anything with them.

The one I have only has about 180 battery cycles as reported by CoconutBattery, so it's not that the battery is completely shot.

Has anyone else had similar issues, or have any tips to improve standby on the iPad?

I think your problem is caused by your settings. There has been one or more iPads in my home since iPad 2 and we have never experienced problems like you describe. Right now we have iPad 10.5" Pro, 12.9" Pro (2nd gen) and current 11" Pro. All running the final iPadOS 15 version. None of them drain power like you describe.

 

[brig2221]

Hello everyone!

I have owned several iPad Pro 2018s, and all of them have a similar issue with standby time. I'll charge them up all the way, use them for a couple hours, and then leave them sitting for a day or two. By the time I get back to it, they're usually most of the way drained and I have to charge them up again basically every time I need to do anything with them.

The one I have only has about 180 battery cycles as reported by CoconutBattery, so it's not that the battery is completely shot.

Has anyone else had similar issues, or have any tips to improve standby on the iPad?

I recently bought a new 12.9" iPad Pro (M1) and was getting SIGNIFICANT battery drain when in standby mode. I would fully charge to 100%, go to bed, and when I'd check 8-10 hours later, it was down 15-20%! I had an old 2018 iPad that would literally not budge on battery life for days, so I was completely flummoxed!

I went down the rabbit hole of Google and YouTube trying to fix the problem myself. I wiped my iPad and restored from a backup, nope, didn't work. Got desperate and wiped again and set it up as new this time (hours of work), nope, didn't work. Watched an untold number of YouTube videos looking at FindMy settings and every other setting out there that could possibly cause battery drain and turning them off, nope, didn't work.

I was tempted to setup an appointment at the Genius Bar to be looked at, but I suspected I was experiencing a bug in iPadOS causing the issue that I was hoping would be rectified with an update. I only had to wait about 2-3 weeks for iPadOS 16.2 update which solved the issue 100%.

Now when I charge up my iPad, it holds at 100% and does not drain at all (thank the lord).

 

[papbot]

I had my computer fully charged, and it held at 100% 24 hours later

That’s been pretty much our experience all along. We have almost every location and Find setting enabled. My wife has the 2018 12.9 iPP and I have the new 2022. Fortunately, fingers crossed 🤞 , our iPads have always had outstanding battery life. I generally stay off the betas until very late in the game and haven’t experienced what others reference here about battery life.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I have had pretty good standby battery life with my iPads but I go out of my way to disable a lot of the notifications from applications because I use my iPad mostly as a consumption device (reading). I find this has helped all my iPads have very good standby life.

I’ve never had a problem with standby life but I do believe it is how I use it, or luck.

 

[rui no onna]

I have had pretty good standby battery life with my iPads but I go out of my way to disable a lot of the notifications from applications because I use my iPad mostly as a consumption device (reading). I find this has helped all my iPads have very good standby life.

I’ve never had a problem with standby life but I do believe it is how I use it, or luck.

I’d say standby battery life definitely isn’t as good as the really old models on early iOS (OG iPad - iPad 4 running up to iOS 6). Those you can leave on standby for a month and still have juice to eke out a couple of hours web browsing.

Amongst my various iPads, the Pro 9.7 (A9X, 27.5Wh) and Pro 10.5 (A10X, 30.4Wh) have the worst standby granted part of that is due to years of battery wear.

I monitored standby battery on an iPad 7 I don’t use much anymore. It used to be dedicated to PDF annotations (with Logitech Crayon) but I kinda stopped using it after upgrading from the 2017 12.9 (no Crayon support) to the M1 12.9.

The iPad 7 is on my dummy iCloud account used for beta testing. It has a tiny iCloud Photo Library (mostly just screenshots) and only has a handful of apps installed (GoodReader, MS Office and iWork). No Facebook or other social media apps. Messages app is pretty empty as well.

The 12AM entries are the battery monitoring (via Shortcuts/Automations). The 11PM entries show the start of 1 hr top-up charges.

As you’ll note, there’s just 0-1% standby drain for the first 24 hrs after charging. Nov 7-8 is funny since instead of decreasing, it actually showed a 1% increase. The rest of the days, it drains around 4-7% on standby.

iPad 7

96% Nov 1, 2022 at 12:00 AM
92% Nov 2, 2022 at 12:00 AM
84% Nov 2, 2022 at 11:00 PM
97% Nov 3, 2022 at 12:00 AM
97% Nov 4, 2022 at 12:00 AM
92% Nov 5, 2022 at 12:00 AM
86% Nov 6, 2022 at 12:00 AM
81% Nov 6, 2022 at 11:00 PM
95% Nov 7, 2022 at 12:00 AM
96% Nov 8, 2022 at 12:00 AM
92% Nov 9, 2022 at 12:00 AM
86% Nov 9, 2022 at 11:00 PM
97% Nov 10, 2022 at 12:00 AM
97% Nov 11, 2022 at 12:00 AM
92% Nov 12, 2022 at 12:00 AM
87% Nov 13, 2022 at 12:00 AM
81% Nov 13, 2022 at 11:00 PM
95% Nov 14, 2022 at 12:00 AM
95% Nov 15, 2022 at 12:00 AM
91% Nov 16, 2022 at 12:00 AM
85% Nov 16, 2022 at 11:00 PM
97% Nov 17, 2022 at 12:00 AM
97% Nov 18, 2022 at 12:00 AM
91% Nov 19, 2022 at 12:00 AM
85% Nov 20, 2022 at 12:00 AM
79% Nov 20, 2022 at 11:00 PM
95% Nov 21, 2022 at 12:00 AM
94% Nov 22, 2022 at 12:00 AM
87% Nov 23, 2022 at 12:00 AM
80% Nov 24, 2022 at 12:00 AM
73% Nov 25, 2022 at 12:00 AM
67% Nov 26, 2022 at 12:00 AM
59% Nov 27, 2022 at 12:00 AM
56% Nov 28, 2022 at 12:00 AM
51% Nov 29, 2022 at 12:00 AM
46% Nov 30, 2022 at 12:00 AM

Alas, I can’t replicate this test on other iPads since I actually use the others.

 

[HDFan]

I'll charge them up all the way, use them for a couple hours, and then leave them sitting for a day or two.

Simple solution is when you aren't using the system, particularly for days, just shut it down. To use again when you pick it up hold the power button. With the fast boot times of the new devices by the time you're settled it will have booted and the various updates will happen very quickly. Keeping the system on with even the smallest battery drain is going to give you a reduced battery life for very little benefit.

My iPads are often at 100% battery or more after a year of use by having the battery active only when I am using it.

 

[BhaveshUK]

Simple solution is when you aren't using the system, particularly for days, just shut it down. To use again when you pick it up hold the power button. With the fast boot times of the new devices by the time you're settled it will have booted and the various updates will happen very quickly. Keeping the system on with even the smallest battery drain is going to give you a reduced battery life for very little benefit.

My iPads are often at 100% battery or more after a year of use by having the battery active only when I am using it.

I do the same thing. For me, it had a mental advantage as well — at the end of the day, I turn off my devices, and that’s a mental signal that the work day is done, and it’s time to rest and spend time with family.

 

[GarethR]

I recently bought a new 12.9" iPad Pro (M1) and was getting SIGNIFICANT battery drain when in standby mode. I would fully charge to 100%, go to bed, and when I'd check 8-10 hours later, it was down 15-20%! I had an old 2018 iPad that would literally not budge on battery life for days, so I was completely flummoxed!

I went down the rabbit hole of Google and YouTube trying to fix the problem myself. I wiped my iPad and restored from a backup, nope, didn't work. Got desperate and wiped again and set it up as new this time (hours of work), nope, didn't work. Watched an untold number of YouTube videos looking at FindMy settings and every other setting out there that could possibly cause battery drain and turning them off, nope, didn't work.

I was tempted to setup an appointment at the Genius Bar to be looked at, but I suspected I was experiencing a bug in iPadOS causing the issue that I was hoping would be rectified with an update. I only had to wait about 2-3 weeks for iPadOS 16.2 update which solved the issue 100%.

Now when I charge up my iPad, it holds at 100% and does not drain at all (thank the lord).

This. I was in exactly the same position with my M2 12.9”. I was seeing truly terrible standby battery life compared to my previous M1. Whatever the issue was 16.2 appears to have fixed it, and the standby drain is now gone.

 

[MarkC426]

My iPad 2 (2011) is rarely used.
With WiFi/BT turned off it will sit for months in standby.

Just checked....since last charge, it has been in standby for 1200 hours (50 days) and at 53%.

 

[apple_noob]

del

 

[MarkC426]

Just did another periodic reading....on my iPad 2.
1012 hours (42 days) standby, 7 hours use, 56% remaining.

 

[Nikhil72]

This is fairly anecdotal but it feels like Apple addressed standby in the iPadOS 17 betas. I have 2 iPad Pros and a mini and they’ve improved significantly with sitting around. Slept 8 hours last night and my iPad Pro 12.9 (magic keyboard and apple pencil attached) drained 1% (50-->49%). My 11” was fully charged right before bed for a test and held at 100% the entire night, Magic Keyboard attached but no Apple Pencil on

 

[Jackbequickly]

Mine checks for mail every 15 minutes and only uses a few percent in 24 hours of battery.

 

[Wokis]

Check for rogue bluetooth devices. Even things that are no longer paired can contact ipads/macs and destroy their battery life. First step to troubleshoot this would be to turn off bluetooth only.

 

[Slimmyhendrix]

I am seeing this issue on my 2020 11” pro in the last 6 months. I charge it full, take it off the charger and use it maybe 2hrs and battery down to 80%. Then it sits on the table for 2 days untouched and it’s completely dead. Red bar won’t turn on. I check battery use and it shows a trickle drain for 24hrs to 0% with the only apps being home&lock screen 97% and find my 3%. Tablet has an Apple folio genuine cover on it and closed. I’m at a loss because I haven’t had this issue until I think iPadOS 16 was launched.

 

[changethursday]

100% have the same problem. Had iPad 2's in 2011, like people said could just close the cover and come back weeks later and still have plenty of juice. Didn't notice too much of a problem with ~2015ish era ipads I had when the ipad OS got to be too much for the 2011 models.

got an 11" pro in 2020, and it'll go from 100% charge to dead flat (have to plug in to even get the "needs to be charged" graphic) within 2 days of not being used. I don't use it any differently than I did previous ipads, or my phone frankly, so I don't get it. I know that its not really going on standby like the old models did, but I wish there was an option to enable that. I don't care if my ipad takes a couple of minutes to sync in the background when I open it up as long as its usable. a synced ipad with a dead battery is useless.

I'm also wary of just leaving it on the charger all the time. I've heard its fine, but I just can't imagine thats the case.

I use my ipad in bursts - I'll use it a few hours a week, then not use it for 5 days, then use it for 6 hours in a day. Depends on what I'm doing

 

[BigMcGuire]

That's really strange. Back when I used my 11' iPads - I'd lose maybe 10% per day with the cover closed.

My iPad Air (latest generation) also loses about 5-10% a day just sitting there - means I can easily go a week without touching it and it'll still have charge left.

I noticed if I don't keep the case cover flap closed the iPad wakes itself up every time I receive a text message on my iPhone/Mac. So I'm wondering if that's not where some of the battery life is being lost?

 

[changethursday]

I'd lose like 2-3%/day on the '11 ipad2's. Still do. they're kicking around here, just used as soundmachines mostly, every now and then they feel strong enough to fire up a kids game.

my ipad pro sits here with the lid closed when not using it, but unless I turn the wifi and BT off, it burns that power. If i turn those off, it'll go a good while.

Frankly, I have the same complaint about my i9 macbook pro too. my previous 2012 retina MBP, when I closed the lid, it was and standby. With this model (i9) + newer macos, if I don't turn off BT and wifi at the end of the day, it'll be down 30-50% overnight with the lid closed. No obv culprits when I look at battery usage. Its just system stuff - updating icloud, syncing, etc I assume.

I think apple just decided to lean into the idea of everyone wants everything synced all the time, as soon as they open it, which I understand, but its got some pretty strong negative battery life impact

 

[Digitalguy]

I have 4 iPad pros (2018 and 2021, plus another couple of older pros) and I have seen different battery drains overnight. At the moment the most affected seems to be my 11" 2018, which loses around 8% overnight. The least affected is the 2021 12.9 M1 which only loses 3-5%. And the 12.9 is in between. The first 2 are on 16.6. The last is on 15.7.2. I have disabled Find My and location, but not much has changed (iPads reports find my as the culprit during the night, but I am not sure that the real culprit...). I also have a 2018 pro on iPadOS 17 and stand-by has improved quite a bit, so I'll be upgrading the others this autumn...
I have searched online and decided to make a shortcut to turn off bluetooth at night and back on in the morning automatically on the 11". I did this this morning and we'll see if it makes a difference.
PS Edited to add: they are all in the Magic Keyboard and with pencil 2 attached...

 

[changethursday]

I just looked and it drained 27% over about 30 hrs. I looked at what was eating battery, and siri was 40%. Went into siri settings and turned off "hey siri" and unchecked "allow siri while locked". Messages and Safari were another 50%, which is confusing since its been locked.

1. Any way to turn off messages when the iPad is locked? I don't need them synced before I open the ipad
2. Why would safari be using any data while locked?!

 

[Slimmyhendrix]

I had this happen again. iPad was 100% and used it for about an hour or two until 85%. Let it sit overnight on the end table and it was totally dead. Once I got it powered on again the Home Screen was the culprit of 96% battery use over 24 hrs. Not sure how this is possible because my apple folio was closed all night long covering the screen.

 

[changethursday]

Ok, so further info:

• Fri (12:43) - 100%
• Sunday (5:43) - 33%
• About 1.25% drain per hour

Was in standby sitting in case on my desk the whole time. Wasn't touched. Here's the drain for the previous 24 hrs.

• Photos - 31%
• Messages - 25%
• Mail - 16%
• Find My - 12%

I don't want to kill wifi everytime I turn it off, because I want "find my" to work, but I don't need it checking mail or updating photos or messages or any other updates when its in standby. I want to be able to pick it up, and be reasonably sure it has enough juice to use without leaving it plugged in all the time.

Any thoughts?