How to Fix an iPad That’s Draining Too Fast

Troubleshoot an iPad battery that dies too fast with this guide

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido and Megaera Lorenz, PhD

Last Updated: July 14, 2026 Fact Checked

Have you noticed your iPad battery draining extra fast? There are lots of possible reasons for this, from having too many background apps running to issues with corrupted system software. In this article, we’ll talk you through easy battery-saving options as well as troubleshooting solutions for more complicated battery health issues. Keep reading to learn how to get the most out of your iPad’s battery!

Fix an iPad Battery That Drains Too Fast

Enable Low Power Mode in Settings → Battery, and restart your iPad regularly.
Turn off Background App Refresh, disable Bluetooth, and turn on "Reduce Motion".
Make sure to close battery-intensive apps when you’re not using them.
iPad battery health degrades over time due to wear and tear; it's important to preserve it as much as possible before then.

1

Restart your iPad.

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Turn off your iPad and turn it on again. A software glitch or a background process that won’t stop running can drain your battery fast. Restarting might help in situations like this. If your iPad is frozen, you can do a force restart, which requires a few extra buttons. Do the following:
- Without a home button:
  - Press and release the volume button closest to the lock button.
  - Press and release the volume button farthest from the lock button.
  - Press and hold the lock button until the Apple logo appears.
- With a home button:
  - Press and hold the Home button and lock button until the Apple logo appears.

2

Update to the latest iPadOS.

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This could resolve glitches causing battery drain. The latest operating system also has additional battery health and optimization tools that you might not have if you’re using an earlier version of iPadOS.^{[1]
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Research source} To update your iPad, go to Settings > General > Software Update. If a new update is available, select Update Now.
- Faster battery drain is normal in the first few days after an update. This is because certain background tasks related to the update can run for a while even after the main update is complete. Your battery life should eventually return to normal.^{[2]
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- If you notice your battery draining faster after an update and it doesn’t go away after a few days, it may help to reset your iPad’s settings (note: this is not the same as a full factory reset). Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset > Reset All Settings.
  - Resetting all your settings will not erase your files and data, but it will erase things like your saved Wi-Fi networks, privacy permissions, and Bluetooth connections.

3

Enable Low Power Mode.

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Use Low Power Mode to preserve your battery. This feature greatly reduces the amount of power your iPad uses and can be enabled in your settings.^{[3]
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Research source} It will automatically turn off when your iPad’s battery is charged above 80%. Do the following to turn it on:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap Battery.
- Tap Power Mode.
- Toggle on Low Power Mode.
- You can also enable Low Power Mode from your Control Center. Tap on the battery icon to turn it on.
  - If you don’t see this icon, tap and hold an empty area of your Control Center, then tap Add a Control. Scroll down to the Utilities section and tap the Low Power Mode icon to add it to your Control Center.

4

Turn off Background App Refresh.

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Disable Background App Refresh. This feature allows apps to run in the background, which can drain your battery. Do the following:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap Background App Refresh.
- Tap Background App Refresh at the top.
- Tap Off.

5

Enable Reduce Motion.

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Reduce the motion on your iPad's animations. This includes all the pop-ups from notifications and apps. These animations and effects can drain your battery life a little faster. Do the following:^{[4]
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- Go to Settings.
- Tap Accessibility.
- Tap Motion.
- Tap Reduce Motion.

6

Use Wi-Fi instead of cellular data when possible.

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Cellular data drains your battery a little faster than Wi-Fi. If your iPad is a Wi-Fi + Cellular model, you might notice the battery dying a bit more quickly when you’re connected to your cellular network.^{[5]
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Research source} Whenever you can, switch to Wi-Fi instead. To connect to Wi-Fi, open Settings and tap Wi-Fi. Select a network and enter the password (if the network is secured).
- Both cellular and Wi-Fi data are more energy-efficient if there’s a strong signal. Try to connect to the best available signal.
- If your iPad supports 5G, you can also enable Smart Data mode to connect automatically to the best available signal, which should help preserve battery life. Go to Settings > Cellular Data Options > Data and enable 5G Auto.

7

Change your Auto-Lock settings.

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Enable Auto-Lock to 5-minutes or sooner. Auto-Lock turns off your iPad's display after a specified time. If this option is set to Never, be sure to change it. Do the following:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap Display & Brightness.
- Tap Auto-Lock.
- Select the number of minutes (5 minutes or under).

8

Turn off Bluetooth.

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Disable Bluetooth when you're not using it. When Bluetooth is turned on, your iPad will always be ready to connect. To disable it, do the following:^{[6]
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- Go to Settings.
- Tap Bluetooth.
- Toggle off Bluetooth.
- You can also disable Bluetooth by opening the Control Center and tapping the Bluetooth icon.

9

Turn on Auto-Brightness.

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Use Auto-Brightness to dim your screen automatically. When your screen brightness is set high at all times, this will drain your battery rapidly.^{[7]
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Research source} Do the following to enable Auto-Brightness, which will adjust the brightness level based on your environment:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap Accessibility.
- Tap Display & Text Size.
- Scroll down and toggle on Auto-Brightness.
- You can also manually adjust your screen’s brightness using the Control Center. Open the Control Center and drag the brightness slider, which has an icon of a sun on it, to make your screen dimmer.

10

Turn off battery-intensive apps.

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Some apps drain battery life faster than others. If you have a bunch of apps running in the background, it might help to close them. In particular, turn off apps that tend to use up lots of battery, such as:
- Maps, or any other app that uses GPS/location services.
- Mobile games, or anything else that is graphics-heavy.
- Social media apps, like Facebook and Instagram.
- Video streaming apps, like YouTube or Netflix.
- Anything that uses your camera (e.g., the Camera app or FaceTime).

11

View your battery use and health data.

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Your iPad tracks your battery usage and offers power-saving suggestions. If you have the latest version of iPadOS, there are tons of helpful features in your iPhone’s battery settings. You can track what apps or processes use the most battery, see power-saving suggestions, and check the overall health of your battery. Your model of iPad may not support all of these features.^{[8]
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Research source} Go to Settings > Battery. From there:
- Check above the Daily Usage graph for a section called Insights and Suggestions (this section won’t always be present). Here, you might see alerts about issues that could be causing your battery to drain faster, such as ongoing processes related to a recent update. You might also see recommendations to help your battery last longer (like turning on Auto-Brightness).
- Look at the Daily Usage section for information about how your battery is being used throughout the day. Check the App and System Activity subsection to see which apps and processes are using the most battery life. If you notice that a specific app or background process is eating up more energy than usual, turn it off.
- Tap Battery Health to see a summary of the current condition of your battery. This will give you a sense of whether the problem is with the battery itself (rather than your settings or app use).

12

Reset your iPad as a last resort.

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Your system might be corrupt, which can lead to battery drain. If nothing else is working, and there doesn’t seem to be anything physically wrong with your battery, restoring your iPad to factory settings might do the trick. If possible, back up your data to iCloud or a computer first so you can restore it when you’re done. There are a couple different ways to do this:
- To reset from the iPad itself, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Erase All Content and Settings. Follow the on-screen instructions to erase your iPad and set it up again.
- If your iPad is having serious issues, you may need to put it in recovery mode and reset it using a computer.^{[9]
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  - Plug your iPad into your computer. If it’s a Mac, make sure it’s up to date. If it’s a Windows PC, you’ll need the latest version of iTunes or Apple Devices.
  - If your iPad doesn’t have a Home button, press and release the Volume Up button, then the Volume Down button. Press and hold the Top button until you see the recovery mode screen (it looks like a cable going toward a computer).
  - If your iPad does have a Home button, press and hold the Home button and the Top button at the same time until you see the recovery mode screen.
  - Locate your iPad in the sidebar of Finder or Apple Devices, or at the top of iTunes. Click on it.
  - Select the option to Restore your iPad. This will erase all your data and reinstall iPadOS. This process should take no more than about 15 minutes. When it’s done, unplug your iPad and set it up again. You’ll have the option to restore your data from a backup.

13

Get your iPad serviced if there’s a battery health issue.

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If your battery health check reveals that there’s something physically wrong with the battery, you’ll probably need professional help to fix it. Visit the Apple Service and Repair for iPad page to see your options and find out how much a repair will cost. If your iPad is still under warranty or covered by AppleCare, you might be able to get battery service for free!