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The iPad has become a paperweight! (1 Viewer)

Ron1973

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iPad Air 32 GB, not quite 3 years old. I noticed several months ago that it was not holding a charge like it used to. I did the customary, obligatory steps of reducing brightness, deleting some apps I don't use, and having it "time out" quicker. It finally came to a point it wouldn't even make it through a Sunday morning church service (I have a Bible app on there and would sometimes reference something online that our pastor was speaking on) without dying. As soon as it hit the charger, it was ready to go. Then it wouldn't even stay powered on for more than a couple of minutes without being connected to the charger. The funny thing is when it died, once it was on the charger it would come right back on and show 100% charged.

Sunday afternoon it died still on the charger. It came back up one time after several hours, stayed on a few hours, and dead again. I put it on the charger for hours and nothing. Then yesterday completely out of the blue it powered on without being on the charger, stayed on a couple of hours, and now is back to paperweight status again.

Bad battery? Is it worth fixing or should I buy a new one? I paid almost $500 for the thing including tax, so I kinda hate to just let it sit!
 

Clinton McClure

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Definitely sounds like a battery issue. I had an iPhone 6s which was affected in the same manner but I was lucky that a software update fixed the issue and it wasn't the battery itself. I assume you have the latest supported iOS version installed? If so, you might have to set up an appointment at the Genius Bar. I haven't had to before so I don't know how much it would cost to replace it.
 

Scott Merryfield

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It does sound like a battery problem. I have an old iPad 2 which isn't holding a charge like it used to. In my case, I think when it finally goes I will just replace it with a more cost-effective Android tablet. We only use the device when we travel, and there is nothing specific about the iPad that we need which an Android device will not provide.
 

Edwin-S

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I looked it up. According to an article on Engadget, Apple's battery replacement service consists of sending you another Ipad, most likely refurbished, for a service fee of US 105 dollars if the problem is due only to the battery not holding a charge. All personal data has to be backed up to Itunes as it is not preserved when they send the replacement.
 

Ron1973

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It does sound like a battery problem. I have an old iPad 2 which isn't holding a charge like it used to. In my case, I think when it finally goes I will just replace it with a more cost-effective Android tablet. We only use the device when we travel, and there is nothing specific about the iPad that we need which an Android device will not provide.
I'm thinking along those lines to be honest. The only reason I bought it was I was in college at the time and they insisted we HAD to have it for our classes due to unique apps. I never had a unique app at all; anything I used it for I could have done with an Android. I just sort of hate that I spent that kind of money only to have it croaking this soon.
 

Scott Merryfield

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Fortunately, I won my iPad 2 at an annual leadership meeting with my former employer several years ago. I never would have spent that much money on a tablet -- I think my model was over $600 at the time. I did use it at work for a couple of years until I was provided with a Microsoft Surface, and it's been nice for traveling, but they are still overpriced, IMO.
 

Sam Posten

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$100 to have Apple replace it is waaaaay better than even a reputable 3rd party service. Make a concierge appointment and go in with a friendly attitude. You may be surprised at what Apple does to make you happy.
 

DaveF

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$100 to have Apple replace it is waaaaay better than even a reputable 3rd party service. Make a concierge appointment and go in with a friendly attitude. You may be surprised at what Apple does to make you happy.
They'll give you the standard out-of-warranty replacement for $299. Or you can buy a new iPad for $329. If it's not the battery.

If it's just the battery, there's the $99-ish battery replacement, I think.

I've found Apple is straight forward in their service. But there's no freebies for dead hardware out of warranty.
 

DaveF

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Fortunately, I won my iPad 2 at an annual leadership meeting with my former employer several years ago. I never would have spent that much money on a tablet -- I think my model was over $600 at the time. I did use it at work for a couple of years until I was provided with a Microsoft Surface, and it's been nice for traveling, but they are still overpriced, IMO.
Show me a 1.5lb 10 hr battery 10" computer with ~4K screen for less than $329 and I'll consider the idea these devices are overpriced.
 

Thomas Newton

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They'll give you the standard out-of-warranty replacement for $299. Or you can buy a new iPad for $329. If it's not the battery.

If it's just the battery, there's the $99-ish battery replacement, I think.

That's about right for the battery fee. The generic out of warranty repair fee varies by iPad model as shown on the linked page:

https://support.apple.com/ipad/repair/service
 

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