Contradictory to popular belief, leaving your iPad plugged in its power adapter is safe. Modern devices, including iPads, use lithium-ion batteries that restrict charging after reaching 100%. After charging to 100%, power flows only through the power adapter. However, your iPad’s Power Adapter’s watt supply is an important point to consider if you plan on keeping it plugged in all the time.
Is It Ok to Leave an iPad Plugged in All the Time?
Keeping your iPad charged all time does not harm your device. Forgetting to unplug your device while doing chores won’t affect the gadget itself.
The iPad’s Lithium-ion battery and its Power Adapter have features that prevent damage to your device from being constantly plugged in.
The lithium-ion battery fast-charges up to its first 80%, then switches to trickle-charging. An iPad’s adapter varies depending on its model, ranging from 10 Watts to 20 Watts.
Lithium-ion batteries are used widely in tech and electronics, from mobile phones to cars like Tesla. Apple uses these batteries for certain features, specifically fast to slower trickle charging and convenience and ease.
Allowing the fast flow of current up to 80% of its capacity and limiting charging speed later helps with a longer battery lifespan. This battery also has charge cycles that help prolong its life. It helps the battery manage the first 80% of its capacity.
Power adapters specialize depending on the iPad’s model and battery capacity. A 20W adapter will enable fast charging, but a standard 10W can supply sufficient power for your device.
Apple does not require people to use only their chargers for iPads. Using other brands to plug in your devices is alright as long as they follow the standard.
However, you should be mindful while purchasing a third-party charger. Some replica chargers will do more damage to the device than serve their purpose. Thus, do not buy low-cost counterfeits at the expense of your device.
Does Overcharging the iPad Affect Battery Life?
Similarly, overcharging and leaving your iPad plugged in all the time does not damage it.
The iPad optimizes its battery cycle, which helps regulate battery health. You need to understand two terms when discussing battery in an Apple device: battery life and battery lifespan.
The battery life is the amount of time before you need to recharge your device. An iPad’s battery life should work for up to 10 hours of constant use before draining.
The activities include common ones like chatting and browsing. Meanwhile, some apps drain battery life faster, such as Netflix and Youtube. An iPad has 1000 charge or discharge cycles until it reaches 80% battery capacity, while an iPhone has 500.
On the other hand, the battery lifespan is the amount of time before replacing your battery. An iPad’s battery lifespan can range from four to five years, the same as your iPad’s lifespan.
After this, changes happen, such as slowing down and failing to run some apps. To check for your battery’s health, go to Settings, tap on the Battery tab and view your Battery Health. Good battery health ranges from 80% to 100%. At 60% battery health, you should be considering getting a replacement.
To maximize your battery life and lifespan, you should charge your device when the level is 20% to 30%. Checking your battery level and charging before it drains can also help optimize your battery. To check your activity and history, go to Settings and tap on battery. You can also view which applications consume most of your battery.
What Is the Proper Way to Charge an iPad?
Although it’s up to you to decide when to charge your device, there are some tips and tricks to help develop a healthy charging routine. Charging your device at night is a good idea as it optimizes the features of the battery.
The fast-charging feature will stop at 80% and slowly charge your battery to 100%. This is just in time before your next use. In addition, completely draining your battery will damage it. However, Apple products have a feature to shut down the device before it reaches a complete zero.
It is best to plug in your iPad when the battery is more than 20%. However, if you cannot charge your iPad at that moment, enabling the low power mode will help maximize the remaining life.
If you plan to store your iPad for a long time (a couple of weeks or more), it is wise to leave its battery level at 50%. Draining the battery and not charging for long periods may eventually kill your battery.
Nevertheless, you should practice an efficient charging routine for your device. It will help extend the average lifespan of an iPad from four to five years before noticing a change in its performance.
Although this is already a long time, you’ll have several new models to upgrade to. Following a wise recharge plan can help you get the most out of your device.
How Do You Improve Battery Life?
Following simple steps can improve battery health and battery life. Avoid placing your device at high temperatures. Leaving your iPad inside your car at temperatures above 30º C can cause severe damage.
Apple products have a warning whenever your device is overheating. You can also improve battery life by adjusting some apps in your settings. Enabling auto-brightness and disabling location services and push notifications can help optimize your battery life.
Checking your battery usage helps check which app consumes most of your battery. Some apps continue to run in the background.
Therefore, these apps are still consuming your battery even when your device is on standby. Double-click your home button to remove these apps, then swipe those apps up.
Turning off the Background App Refresh option can also help improve battery life. Go to Settings, tap on General, click on Background App Refresh, and choose Off to turn it off.
All-in-all, proper caution while charging your iPad is important to minimize the possibility of damage. Following these steps will also help lengthen the capacity of your device.
Summary
Apple takes great care in the development of its charging methods and battery. Thus, it is entirely ok to leave your iPad plugged in all the time. Your iPads can regulate their battery cycle up to 1000 charge cycles and still have a battery capacity of 80%.
However, having a healthy charging routine is important to optimize your battery.
Charging it overnight while it’s at 20% will allow the device to optimize its fast-charging and slower-trickle charging capabilities. Proper care for your device will help it last longer than its estimated lifespan.
