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iPad battery replacement.

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Old 13th Jul 2017, 23:54
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iPad battery replacement.

I have used an iPad Mini (Mk2 I think ? ) for the last two years. I almost always let it run down to around 1% before re-charging fully, which takes around 4 hours. Do it on at a time switch overnight, usually, so the power is not left on unnecessarily. This, I was told ( but ask 2 questions and get 6 answers ?) is the optimum way to gain maximum battery life ?

But ... there is no doubt in my mind that the battery will eventually fail, and need replacing, and ..... more than one so called computer "expert" has told me that battery replacement is virtually impossible, that if even attempted so much damage will be done that a new computer will be required anyway, i.e. when the battery dies, as will surely happen, forget about repair, just go down to Apple and spend another small fortune.

Can this be correct ? If so a pox upon them.
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Old 14th Jul 2017, 04:03
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Hereyago - a simple 55 step process to remove the battery. Maybe not impossible but far from simple and not without risk:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPad+Mi...lacement/36023

Apple offers a battery replacement service - NZ$184 (+ NZ$25 shipping if required)

https://support.apple.com/en-nz/ipad/repair/service/pricing

I suspect that by the time you cost buying the tools, a new battery, other parts and figure in the risk of damage that giving it to Apple is the better option.
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Old 14th Jul 2017, 05:30
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Apple makes this process difficult on purpose.

Having replaced batteries successfully on previous iPods, I recently bought a replacement battery for my iPod Classic, with clear and specific directions included, and several Yoochoobs available. However, the process went nothing as advertised, eventually leading to the destruction of said iPod.

Fortunately I had a spare one unused in its box. Back in business.

Apple really does not care one hoot for their customers. Their only saving grace is that their devices usually work well. For a while.
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Old 14th Jul 2017, 10:13
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Apple offer a replacement battery service for any of their current devices. Third party repairers often cover obsolete devices. So it is possible to keep your old devices running. All lithium batteries have a finite number of full charge discharge cycles, usually between 500 and 1000, before they need replacing.

In the event that a device cannot be repaired, Apple normally offer a discount against your old device on the price of a new replacement. Since that usually represents three years or more of intensive daily use and technology is constantly improving, these discounts and upgrade plans can be very cost effective.

Experience has shown that Apple devices function and are supported for longer than those from other manufacturers. You can buy cheap or buy Apple, depending on your needs.
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Old 14th Jul 2017, 11:07
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My iPad mini three, about 4 years old, is plugged into the mains whenever it is at home, I do not practice safe-battery processes. No issues at all with keeping a full charge, and have only once had the 10% warning, after 8 hours or so of surfing, mailing and reading.

Apple squeezes an incredible amount of stuff into a mini. Their priority is to make it as small as possible, not to facilitate battery, and other bit, replacement. Given the choice I'd go for smaller ...

Lots of third parties will replace your battery, if and when needed, for less than Apple. But Apple guarantees their results.

Last edited by ExXB; 14th Jul 2017 at 11:28.
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Old 14th Jul 2017, 13:18
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You don't need to fully discharge a modern lithium ion battery before recharge, that's a leftover from the first nickel cadmium NiCd rechargeable batteries that used to suffer from "memory effect". If you didn't discharge them and say set the recharge off at 25% then over time the capacity would drop as "0%" got effectively higher and higher up the original scale.
Most advice I've seen and used is to recharge at 20% or so and let the device do the rest. If you use the official charger and cables it will optimise the charging, most slow down over the last 10% for example.
The % meter is only a best guess by the gadget based on the last few charge cycles anyway.
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Old 14th Jul 2017, 16:41
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I still have my original iPad, it still lasts around 10 hrs before needing recharging..

However, what usually cripples an older machine first is the lack of RAM and the older processor being unable to update to the newer iOS and Apps; therefore, making the machine obsolete long before the battery fails!
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Old 14th Jul 2017, 19:15
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The battery pack really isn't that hard to change, just takes a bit of patience & care to remove the front panel & screen & then it's more or less accessible.

The front panel is fixed onto the case by a self adhesive strip that runs around under the panel - plenty of heating with a hairdryer & you can eventually get a plastic blade / edge (plectrums work well) under the side of the panel, work it round & remove the panel. After the panel, the screen comes out & the battery is revealed.

There are plenty of online guides which I would advise looking at as they will show you where any vulnerable cable are around the perimeter of the front panel - make sure it's the correct guide for the model you have though.

If you don't fancy taking it on most independent phone shops (you know the sort) should be able to do the job, or know someone who will (might be worth clearing any personal data, doing a factory restore & removing sim if fitted beforehand though).
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Old 15th Jul 2017, 01:29
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Originally Posted by Out Of Trim
However, what usually cripples an older machine first is the lack of RAM and the older processor being unable to update to the newer iOS and Apps; therefore, making the machine obsolete long before the battery fails!
Yes. Our original iPad Mini still works fine, but it's only usable for simple stuff these days due to lack of RAM and CPU.

However, in the last few years we've reached 'powerful enough' for most people so I don't expect that rate of obsolescence to continue forever.
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Old 15th Jul 2017, 04:51
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By the time your battery needs replacing the iPad itself will be old enough to justify a nice new shiny one. It's the modern way, where technology advances so rapidly that your once up to date piece of equipment becomes obsolete within a very short time.
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Old 15th Jul 2017, 14:08
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Might be true in most cases but still batteries may fail or deteriorate very quickly as their quality varies. I try to avoid buying devices that have fixed batteries but it's getting harder these days.
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Old 16th Jul 2017, 10:32
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Li battery stuff + other

A few points.


1.
I don't like Apple because of policies like this. I have avoided the disease so far. Another for example is that in general they won't charge from 'any old' USB charger - that particular electricity is not Applie (Apply?) enough it seems. I agree that for many people they are the best choice though :-)

Until the very latest round of top end updates LG phones still seemed to have removable batteries.

However - Until quite recently I used a Samsung Galaxy S2 (it was say 5 years old or more) and it proved impossible to get a good quality replacement battery for it. Samsung haven't made batteries for it for years and the cheep and cheerful ones were not very cheerful. I finally replaced the phone when various apps became very slow or even failed to operate correctly - I assume because of insufficient RAM.

2.
Regarding 100% - 0% - 100% cycling.

I understand that Lithium Ion batteries are different from some other previously popular rechargeable battery technologies.

I am not an expert and can not make recommendations however I understand that L-I batteries can be degraded more rapidly by being deeply discharged OR by being stored at full charge. I have read that for example the Vauaxhall Ampera electric car (a European size family car) cycles the battery 80% - 20% - 80% in order to maximise battery life. This cannot be overridden by the user under any circumstances.

Ideally I suspect that many users who say use a device mainly at home would want the device connected to the charger at all times but not charged beyond say 80% charge. As far as I know no devices have this facility although I would be pleased to hear that I am misinformed.

Finally I understand that the quoted life of L-I batteries of say 1,000 cycles means 1,000 full discharge cycles and that partial discharge cycles are counted pro-rata. So 1,000 full discharge cycles would be equivalent to 2,000 50% cycles or 10,000 10% cycles.

At present I have a device that I use mainly at home that I bought used and have concerns about the battery condition. I often use a very long USB cable and a weak charger to try and keep the device floating at about 80%. I am considering making a cable with a variable resistance so that I can trim it more closely (this will require CAREFUL consideration of the power dissipation capacity of the resistor so unless you can carry out the necessary calculations - don't try this at home) or suppose I might make a full-on inline current limiting power supply. This is not commercially viable but it will amuse me:-)

3.
External Lithium Ion batteries that provide USB power sockets are available cheaply now. For many users an external battery will not be particularly inconvenient. Of course one that is Apple compatible may be more expensive.

4. iPhone and iPad experience only (via friends:-)

Applies to 'lightening' connector devices only, not the latest.

I understand that Apple detect 'their' chargers by having a simple potential divider across the power wires being applied to one of the data lines (or similar) by the charger so that the data lines have a steady x.x volts applied. The device then checks for this voltage before accepting the charge. It is technically easy to emulate this.



If any of the above is incorrect please fix it for me.
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Old 17th Jul 2017, 01:53
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Originally Posted by jimjim1
Another for example is that in general they won't charge from 'any old' USB charger
News to me, since mine charge from any USB socket I've plugged them into.
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Old 17th Jul 2017, 08:37
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One reason:

http://gizmodo.com/why-fake-apple-ch...uck-1575898352

Auntie agrees;

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38167551
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Old 17th Jul 2017, 15:27
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Originally Posted by MG23
News to me, since mine charge from any USB socket I've plugged them into.
I have to agree, we charge multiple iPads and an iPhone 5s from a 'screwfix' mains outlet socket with a built in USB charger and we've never had any charging issues.
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Old 17th Jul 2017, 18:55
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Nor do I use an Apple Charger anymore. I've got a brick with six USB ports that charges my iPad, my wife's kindle and both our phones. Also use it for bluetooth speaker ...
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Old 17th Jul 2017, 20:36
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It's not the power bricks iStuff is usually fussy about but the cables, pound shop ones just don't seem to cut it, or they last about 5 minutes. I reckon they design their connectors to be difficult to make on purpose so they can sell you their expensive ones. Having seen inside the end of one the wires are so thin it's amazing they work at all, let alone carry over 1A.
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Old 18th Jul 2017, 11:18
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Well, Apple products are expensive. That is well known, and well documented. They make a nice return on their investments.

Yes, I often buy the more expensive stuff from them, but I have never been disappointed. Not once.
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Old 25th Jul 2017, 06:45
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Got fed up with my iPhone due to it being single sim only, I travel a lot and need to have a local or roaming SIM card as well as my primary one.

The blocking of third party accessories didn't help when my headphone adapter refused to work on my iPhone 7 during a flight, leaving me unable to watch a film.

I switched to android and now enjoy all the forbidden apps for downloading and video streaming. Any old USB charging cable will work and with the Google Play store it doesn't matter which brand of phone I buy, all my apps simply transfer over.

Cost is much lower as well, though Apple tend to hold their value better for resale or trade in
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Old 30th Jul 2017, 01:33
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News to me, since mine charge from any USB socket I've plugged them into.
Thanks. I'll have a look if the occasion arises.
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