My 7th gen 10.2" 32GB WiFi iPad lived for several years in its
aftermarket auto on/off magnetic screen-cover flap case. It worked fine
until a few weeks ago when it started self-discharging overnight-- and
was warm to the touch in the morning.

Fruitless trouble shooting included power-off restarts, hard restarts
and several wipe/reset/restore cycles from recent and old backup. Nada!
I took it out of the case and ran it by the Apple store where they ran
lot of diagnostics but found nothing wrong.

So I wiped/reset it again in preparation to listing it for sale as a
"with issues" or "parts-only" device.

Some days later, I noticed it still had a full charge on it. I restored
it from a recent backup and its been working fine again for several
days-- though not in its magnetic case which I've pretty much decided is
the culprit.

I'm not inclined to stick it back in the case to see if it starts acting
up again. I'll just pick up a plain vanilla soft case that covers the
back and sides only.

--
If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging
- Will Rogers

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

In article <isyj9adnc4pz$[email protected]>, VanguardLH <[email protected]>
wrote:

My 7th gen 10.2" 32GB WiFi iPad lived for several years in its
aftermarket auto on/off magnetic screen-cover flap case. It worked fine until a few weeks ago when it started self-discharging overnight-- and
was warm to the touch in the morning.

Fruitless trouble shooting included power-off restarts, hard restarts
and several wipe/reset/restore cycles from recent and old backup. Nada!
I took it out of the case and ran it by the Apple store where they ran
lot of diagnostics but found nothing wrong.

So I wiped/reset it again in preparation to listing it for sale as a
"with issues" or "parts-only" device.

Some days later, I noticed it still had a full charge on it. I restored
it from a recent backup and its been working fine again for several
days-- though not in its magnetic case which I've pretty much decided is the culprit.

I'm not inclined to stick it back in the case to see if it starts acting
up again. I'll just pick up a plain vanilla soft case that covers the
back and sides only.

https://support.apple.com/en-ph/HT204158

Besides needing the right type of cover, you need to ensure the
auto-lock setting is enabled.

Apparently you need a cover that is not only right-sized, but has the
magnets in the correct positions.

that has absolutely nothing to do with charging.

Since they operate a magnetic sensor (aka sleep sensor), the magnet must
be strong enough for the sensor to detect the magnet. Most of the
magnets are to hold down the cover, but there's one that needs to be positioning correctly in the cover to pair up with the sleep sensor in
the case.

irrelevant.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Wade Garrett <[email protected]> wrote:

My 7th gen 10.2" 32GB WiFi iPad lived for several years in its
aftermarket auto on/off magnetic screen-cover flap case. It worked fine
until a few weeks ago when it started self-discharging overnight-- and
was warm to the touch in the morning.

Fruitless trouble shooting included power-off restarts, hard restarts
and several wipe/reset/restore cycles from recent and old backup. Nada!
I took it out of the case and ran it by the Apple store where they ran
lot of diagnostics but found nothing wrong.

So I wiped/reset it again in preparation to listing it for sale as a
"with issues" or "parts-only" device.

Some days later, I noticed it still had a full charge on it. I restored
it from a recent backup and its been working fine again for several
days-- though not in its magnetic case which I've pretty much decided is
the culprit.

I'm not inclined to stick it back in the case to see if it starts acting
up again. I'll just pick up a plain vanilla soft case that covers the
back and sides only.

https://support.apple.com/en-ph/HT204158

Besides needing the right type of cover, you need to ensure the
auto-lock setting is enabled.

Apparently you need a cover that is not only right-sized, but has the
magnets in the correct positions.

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/03/14/ipad-2-smart-cover-teardown-reveals-21-magnets/

Since they operate a magnetic sensor (aka sleep sensor), the magnet must
be strong enough for the sensor to detect the magnet. Most of the
magnets are to hold down the cover, but there's one that needs to be positioning correctly in the cover to pair up with the sleep sensor in
the case.

From:

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/48481/how-do-ipads-detect-when-a-cover-closes

user60048 claims there are 21 magnets in the cover, and 10 inside the
case. Most of the magnets are to hold the cover in place, and probably
ensure alignment, with one magnet that must be positioned where is the magnetic/sleep sensor inside the case. Maybe a generic cover would
work, maybe not. Depends on size matching, and positioning of the
magnet for the sleep sensor in the case.

Lithium batteries have a limited number of charge cycles, and their
capacity wanes over time. You said you had this iPad for year. Might
be time to visit Youtube to see if someone has a dismantling video on
how to replace the battery. Batteries are chemical. They don't last
forever. You might've leaped over hurdles when 20, but not when 80.
Batteries age. Old batteries cannot hold as much a charge; i.e., their capacity wanes with age. That requires more charge cycles along with
shorter up-time per charge. Voltage is worthless for detecting battery condition. Coulombs are what you measure for capacity. Volts are
dictated by the minimum needed for electronics to function. Capacity is
for how long they function. Measuring capacity via voltage is wrong.
You could have great volts, but drops dead under a load.

No matter the claims otherwise, I've found leaving a phone or tablet
plugged in all the time (so it'll have 100% charge and ready when you
want to use it instead of having to wait for a charge) wears the battery
out faster. It gets pregnant (swells) from outgassing. A swollen
battery can leave pressure marks in the screen. A swollen battery takes
more power to recharge. Trying to continually top-off a battery
consumes charge cycles.

https://www.uetechnologies.com/how-long-does-ipad-battery-last-tricks-to-improve/
"Apple measures the lifespan of an iPad�s battery in terms of the number
of charge cycles it can go through before the battery capacity starts to decrease."
and
"According to Apple, an iPad battery is designed to last 1000 full
charge cycles before dropping below 80% of its original capacity."

Continually topping off a charge when constantly plugged into a charger eventually accrues to a charge cycle, and it repeats. No idea how much
you've used your iPad, or how many charge cycles you've spent, so far.

I think the 7th-gen iPad was introduced in 2019, so only about 4 years
hence. But really depends on how many charge cycles you've consumed
hence. Also, lithium batteries warm up when discharging, and why
thermal sensors are used to prevent thermal runaway (which would have
the battery get so hot it bursts into flames).

You could peek under the middle of the cover (without moving the magnet
over the sleep sensor) to see if the screen went off after the timeout specified for auto-lock. Maybe that old aftermarket cover is warped, so
the magnet isn't over the sleep sensor anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=replace+ipad+battery
Add more search terms to narrow the search to your model.

If you can do it, have a shop do it. Diagnostics with the battery in
the product are minimal, and won't find a pregnant battery, or measure
how many coulombs per charge. The battery has to be removed to be
measured in a tester, and Apple stores don't have that testing
equipment.

Batteries age. They don't last forever. For any battery-powered gear,
get used to having to eventually change batteries.

Instead of relying on a magnetic cover, or some aftermarket case into
which you slide in the iPad, you could just remember to tap the power (sleep/wake) button at the top when you stop using the iPad. I find
that button hard to press as I have very short nails, so I use the
cover, but it's a stock Apple cover.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2/26/23 7:01 PM, VanguardLH wrote:

Wade Garrett <[email protected]> wrote:

My 7th gen 10.2" 32GB WiFi iPad lived for several years in its
aftermarket auto on/off magnetic screen-cover flap case. It worked fine
until a few weeks ago when it started self-discharging overnight-- and
was warm to the touch in the morning.

Fruitless trouble shooting included power-off restarts, hard restarts
and several wipe/reset/restore cycles from recent and old backup. Nada!
I took it out of the case and ran it by the Apple store where they ran
lot of diagnostics but found nothing wrong.

So I wiped/reset it again in preparation to listing it for sale as a
"with issues" or "parts-only" device.

Some days later, I noticed it still had a full charge on it. I restored
it from a recent backup and its been working fine again for several
days-- though not in its magnetic case which I've pretty much decided is
the culprit.

I'm not inclined to stick it back in the case to see if it starts acting
up again. I'll just pick up a plain vanilla soft case that covers the
back and sides only.

https://support.apple.com/en-ph/HT204158

Besides needing the right type of cover, you need to ensure the
auto-lock setting is enabled.

Apparently you need a cover that is not only right-sized, but has the
magnets in the correct positions.

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/03/14/ipad-2-smart-cover-teardown-reveals-21-magnets/

Since they operate a magnetic sensor (aka sleep sensor), the magnet must
be strong enough for the sensor to detect the magnet. Most of the
magnets are to hold down the cover, but there's one that needs to be positioning correctly in the cover to pair up with the sleep sensor in
the case.

From:

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/48481/how-do-ipads-detect-when-a-cover-closes

user60048 claims there are 21 magnets in the cover, and 10 inside the
case. Most of the magnets are to hold the cover in place, and probably ensure alignment, with one magnet that must be positioned where is the magnetic/sleep sensor inside the case. Maybe a generic cover would
work, maybe not. Depends on size matching, and positioning of the
magnet for the sleep sensor in the case.

Lithium batteries have a limited number of charge cycles, and their
capacity wanes over time. You said you had this iPad for year. Might
be time to visit Youtube to see if someone has a dismantling video on
how to replace the battery. Batteries are chemical. They don't last forever. You might've leaped over hurdles when 20, but not when 80. Batteries age. Old batteries cannot hold as much a charge; i.e., their capacity wanes with age. That requires more charge cycles along with
shorter up-time per charge. Voltage is worthless for detecting battery condition. Coulombs are what you measure for capacity. Volts are
dictated by the minimum needed for electronics to function. Capacity is
for how long they function. Measuring capacity via voltage is wrong.
You could have great volts, but drops dead under a load.

No matter the claims otherwise, I've found leaving a phone or tablet
plugged in all the time (so it'll have 100% charge and ready when you
want to use it instead of having to wait for a charge) wears the battery
out faster. It gets pregnant (swells) from outgassing. A swollen
battery can leave pressure marks in the screen. A swollen battery takes
more power to recharge. Trying to continually top-off a battery
consumes charge cycles.

https://www.uetechnologies.com/how-long-does-ipad-battery-last-tricks-to-improve/
"Apple measures the lifespan of an iPad’s battery in terms of the number
of charge cycles it can go through before the battery capacity starts to decrease."
and
"According to Apple, an iPad battery is designed to last 1000 full
charge cycles before dropping below 80% of its original capacity."

Continually topping off a charge when constantly plugged into a charger eventually accrues to a charge cycle, and it repeats. No idea how much you've used your iPad, or how many charge cycles you've spent, so far.

I think the 7th-gen iPad was introduced in 2019, so only about 4 years
hence. But really depends on how many charge cycles you've consumed
hence. Also, lithium batteries warm up when discharging, and why
thermal sensors are used to prevent thermal runaway (which would have
the battery get so hot it bursts into flames).

You could peek under the middle of the cover (without moving the magnet
over the sleep sensor) to see if the screen went off after the timeout specified for auto-lock. Maybe that old aftermarket cover is warped, so
the magnet isn't over the sleep sensor anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=replace+ipad+battery
Add more search terms to narrow the search to your model.

If you can do it, have a shop do it. Diagnostics with the battery in
the product are minimal, and won't find a pregnant battery, or measure
how many coulombs per charge. The battery has to be removed to be
measured in a tester, and Apple stores don't have that testing
equipment.

Batteries age. They don't last forever. For any battery-powered gear,
get used to having to eventually change batteries.

Instead of relying on a magnetic cover, or some aftermarket case into
which you slide in the iPad, you could just remember to tap the power (sleep/wake) button at the top when you stop using the iPad. I find
that button hard to press as I have very short nails, so I use the
cover, but it's a stock Apple cover.

Right. The iPad in its $8-on-Ebay cover worked just fine for four years
and a few hundred 90-95% recharge cycles.

The Apple store tech said the battery was still at 98% capacity. Since
there was no battery issue, the cost to run the iPad through their
repair depot for replacement (she said they didn't bother repairing
them) was $249-- exactly the same price the local Best Buy was running a weekend sale on 9th gen iPads with its newer processor and twice the
storage. So I snapped one up-- but didn't open the package so if I could
get the 7th gen repaired, I'd just bring it back within the 15 day
return window.


I think you've missed the point of my post-- just a heads-up to the
group that an acute onset rapid self-discharge issue was likely an
aftermarket (or maybe even Apple) magnetic cover issue, not an iPad issue.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

In article <jcp5vmdbe27g$[email protected]>, VanguardLH <[email protected]>
wrote:

The Apple store tech said the battery was still at 98% capacity.

They can't measure that.

yes they can, and users can also see that in battery health.

At best, and not likely what they do, is to
run many repeats of letting the battery discharge normally and recharge,
and repeat many times to measure the use-time during discharge.

no need. the battery itself reports its health, from its onboard
processor.

Can
they even measure the discharge rate, or just the time to discharge?

yes, but there's no need.

Measuring voltage is not measuring capacity,

true, which is why they don't do that.

and the battery indicator
you see in the screen is based on voltage.

it's based on what the battery reports, which includes voltage as one parameter.

Since there was no battery issue, the cost to run the iPad through
their repair depot for replacement (she said they didn't bother
repairing them) was $249-- exactly the same price the local Best Buy
was running a weekend sale on 9th gen iPads with its newer processor
and twice the storage. So I snapped one up-- but didn't open the
package so if I could get the 7th gen repaired, I'd just bring it
back within the 15 day return window.

Hmm, that wasn't a refurbished unit, was it? Refurbished could range
from an reselling a returned item (open box) to some major work on a
used unit but might not include a new battery.

apple refurbs have a new battery and full warranty.

third party refurbs generally have the existing battery and whatever
warranty the refurb company wants to provide.

The iPad 9th was
introduced back in Sept 14, 2021, so a refurbished unit could have year-and-half-old battery with no idea how many charge cycles it
endured.

not many, given that its health is 98%.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Wade Garrett <[email protected]> wrote:

The Apple store tech said the battery was still at 98% capacity.

They can't measure that. At best, and not likely what they do, is to
run many repeats of letting the battery discharge normally and recharge,
and repeat many times to measure the use-time during discharge. Can
they even measure the discharge rate, or just the time to discharge?
Measuring voltage is not measuring capacity, and the battery indicator
you see in the screen is based on voltage.

Since there was no battery issue, the cost to run the iPad through
their repair depot for replacement (she said they didn't bother
repairing them) was $249-- exactly the same price the local Best Buy
was running a weekend sale on 9th gen iPads with its newer processor
and twice the storage. So I snapped one up-- but didn't open the
package so if I could get the 7th gen repaired, I'd just bring it
back within the 15 day return window.

Hmm, that wasn't a refurbished unit, was it? Refurbished could range
from an reselling a returned item (open box) to some major work on a
used unit but might not include a new battery. The iPad 9th was
introduced back in Sept 14, 2021, so a refurbished unit could have year-and-half-old battery with no idea how many charge cycles it
endured.

I gave a Youtube search on many videos showing how to dismantle the
iPads and replacing the battery. Sorry, but I don't do this as a
living, so I don't know where to find battery replacements.

Like incandescent light bulbs, devices with sealed (not user servicable) batteries are considered consumables. The market continues because
products die out. The Youtube videos are for those that refuse to let a product die just because the battery went bad. However, as time passes
by, it'll get harder to get the right model of replacement battery.
Unless it has a form factor that survives a long time, manufacturers
will cease making an outdated form factor battery.

To me, opening the case to replace the battery is easy. For others, it
could be rocket science. When your laundry washer stops rotating or
spinning its drum, do you fix it yourself, hire someone to repair, or
replace it? Hiring someone means paying the labor charge which is often
the prevalent portion of the cost. Fixing yourself requires some skill,
and tools, and know where to get parts. Replacing is easy, not as cheap
as fix it yourself, but often the same price, or even a little cheaper,
than having it repaired. I can fix my car for a lot of stuff, but if
the piston rings need replacing then, nah nuh, a pro does that. If the
tranny siezes or ceases to engage, I can't repair it, don't have the
tools, and it likely costs so much that the car gets replaced.

I think you've missed the point of my post-- just a heads-up to the
group that an acute onset rapid self-discharge issue was likely an aftermarket (or maybe even Apple) magnetic cover issue, not an iPad
issue.

And my point was batteries are not forever. 4 years is getting old for
a rechargeable battery. Even light use doesn't preclude aging. I used
my wife little, but she still died (inserted for humor, not accuracy).

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 27. Feb 2023 at 01:56:22 CET, "Wade Garrett" <[email protected]> wrote:

just a heads-up to the
group that an acute onset rapid self-discharge issue was likely an aftermarket (or maybe even Apple) magnetic cover issue, not an iPad issue.

Thanks for the heads up. Good to know.

What would still interest me: You said it was warm in the morning,
suggesting it never went to sleep.
So the cover would have to prevent sleep somehow, because even if sleep is
not startet with the right magnet in the right place it should still go to sleep after some minutes.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2/27/23 2:48 AM, Bernd Froehlich wrote:

On 27. Feb 2023 at 01:56:22 CET, "Wade Garrett" <[email protected]> wrote:

just a heads-up to the
group that an acute onset rapid self-discharge issue was likely an
aftermarket (or maybe even Apple) magnetic cover issue, not an iPad issue.

Thanks for the heads up. Good to know.

What would still interest me: You said it was warm in the morning,
suggesting it never went to sleep.
So the cover would have to prevent sleep somehow, because even if sleep is not startet with the right magnet in the right place it should still go to sleep after some minutes.

Yes, it was definitely warm in the morning and that was my thought too--
it never went to sleep. Why? I have no idea. The case appears to be in
perfect condition-- tight, no scuffs, no damage, nothing out of place.
Looks and feels just like it did when new four years ago.

Progress update: the iPad continues to work perfectly-- out of the
suspect case.

I just ordered a new cover-- a plain TPU shell that covers the back,
edges, and provides a raised front lip to keep the screen off the table
surface in face-down placement.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)