My iPad’s battery drains faster than usual and I’m not sure if it’s an iOS issue or if the battery’s worn out. I need help figuring out how to check the battery health on my iPad. Any advice or tips would be great.
Ugh, welcome to the club. Apple’s got this super useful Battery Health feature…oh wait, only for iPhones. On iPads? LOL, nope. For whatever reason, iOS doesn’t show battery health stats on iPads. Maybe iPads are supposed to magically work forever? Sure. So your iPad’s draining fast and you wanna know if it’s dying or if iOS is bugging out. First, check for anything obvious in Settings > Battery. Look for any random app eating power or ‘Background Activity’ that’s gone rogue. Could be a software thing or just an app losing its mind.
But if apps and updates aren’t the culprit, and you really want the actual battery health number, you’ll need to either use a Mac and third-party app like coconutBattery (free), or get one of those Lightening-to-USB tools for Windows like iMazing (not free). Plug in your iPad, run the app, and it’ll spit out stuff like cycle count and battery capacity compared to when it was new.
Otherwise, just keep guessing and hope Apple magically adds the feature in iOS 29. Fun, right? Or take it to an Apple Store and they’ll run diagnostics, but in classic Apple fashion, it’s rarely convenient and you might walk out with a suggestion to buy a new one. Gotta love it.
Honestly, @jeff nails most of it, but I’ll throw in a few extra bits. There’s no official “Battery Health” readout on iPad, which is super-frustrating. You’d think if they can show it on iPhone, it wouldn’t be that wild to, you know, also show it on a machine that costs twice as much. Anyway, my two cents: before you dig into third-party stuff or run to the Apple Store, try basic troubleshooting and see if your battery drain is fixable at home.
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Check for rogue apps, like Jeff said, but also try the “Reset All Settings” option (under Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset). Sometimes, iOS updates or weird settings glitches totally mess with battery usage—and this reset won’t delete your data, just resets system settings.
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Try using your iPad in “Airplane Mode” with Wi-Fi off for a bit and see how fast it drops, with no apps running. If you still lose a big chunk of battery, it’s probably hardware, not a software app acting up.
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Here’s something people forget: if your iPad sits in a case that closes with magnets, those magnets sometimes keep the screen “almost on,” draining battery invisibly. Try leaving it out of its case overnight and see if the drop slows down.
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One more thing: iPad batteries will lose a chunk of capacity after 2-3 years of use, and environmental stuff like charging in heat or going 0-100% every day wears them out. It sucks, but it’s normal.
No fancy tools needed for these tests, just patience. Still, if you want an actual health percentage, yeah, coconutBattery or iMazing are your options, or submit to the Apple Store ritual. Side note: I’ve seen iPadOS updates torpedo battery life more than once, so if it started after a recent update, you’re not alone. Apple sometimes fixes it with a patch a month or two later, but in the meantime…well, carry a charger and let the iPad gods decide your fate.
TL;DR: Can’t easily check on the iPad, troubleshoot basics, or use a Mac/PC tool if you want specifics. Sucks, but that’s Apple for ya.
Apple is weird about battery info on iPads. You’d think they’d give us the same Battery Health readout as iPhones, but nope, they keep it locked away. The coconutBattery trick on Mac is handy, but not everybody has a Mac sitting around, and iMazing on Windows costs actual money. If you’re all about not spending cash and don’t need an obsession-level health stat, just remember: batteries degrade, fast app drain is usually a glitch, but rapid loss sitting overnight with everything closed screams hardware fail.
Frankly, I avoid “Reset All Settings” unless I’m truly desperate—sometimes custom Wi-Fi stuff or accessibility features need to be put back after, which is annoying. But that trick with the magnetic case? That’s gold. Those little magnets are battery-killers if your model’s sensors are twitchy.
For what it’s worth, keeping your iPad out of direct heat, updating only if users aren’t reporting battery nightmares, and limiting full discharge cycles will help, but you can’t fight physics. I’ve seen iPad batteries hit 2 years and just nosedive, so you’re not cursed.
Pros if you dig into coconutBattery: you get actual wear percentages, cycle counts, etc, and it’s free (if you have a Mac). Cons: USB connections can be finicky, and no Mac = no dice.
Honestly, unless you NEED the percent, these basic at-home tests trump the ritual Apple Store visit—though, let’s admit, you sometimes get a free replacement if your iPad’s under AppleCare and grumpy enough. Could be worth rolling those dice if the battery is really toast.
@sterrenkijker added a lot on software tweaks, and @jeff’s dry humor about Apple’s choices is on point, but you can totally survive without the hidden “percent” if you treat the iPad like an appliance—when battery drain is unbearable and diagnostics point to hardware, maybe just bite the bullet (or the Lightning cable) and replace it before wasting too much time chasing numbers.
Competitors to coconutBattery and iMazing exist, but those two are the only ones people actually return to. Just be careful—sketchy third-party battery diagnostic apps are a malware magnet.
Long story short: Use coconutBattery if you’re Mac-inclined, go iMazing on Windows, but don’t stress if all you want is practical, real-world tests. Apple doesn’t make it easy, and that’s probably by design.