Apple

How to Fix iPadOS 16 Battery Life Problems

Published

10 months ago

06/21/2023

If you encounter iPadOS 16 battery life problems on your iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, or iPad Pro, there are steps you should take before contacting customer service.

In the months since iPadOS 16’s release, Apple’s fixed a good number of bugs and performance issues. However, some problems, like abnormal battery drain, persist.

Battery drain is an extremely common issue. And while it might be related to your iPad’s hardware, most issues stem from the iPadOS operating system and/or an application.

If your iPad is pulling down terrible battery life, you may have the option to downgrade to more stable iPadOS 16 software. That being said, the latest software protects your tablet from harm so you should try and fix the issue yourself if you can manage.

Table of Contents

Fixing iPadOS 16 battery life problems can prove to be tricky, but we’ve got some solutions that could come in handy. Try them before you contact Apple customer service or schedule an appointment at your local Apple Store.

Restart Your iPad

If you start noticing your iPad’s battery draining quickly, the first thing you’ll want to do is restart it. This only takes a moment and it could help iron out the issues.

Power down your device, let it sit for a minute, and then power it back on. Use it normally and keep an eye on your device’s battery life.

If you’re still running into issues, try another fix.

Update Your iPad

Apple will periodically release new iPadOS 16 software for your device. The company’s point updates (x.x.x) are usually focused on fixing bugs while milestone upgrades (x.x) typically deliver a mix of features and fixes.

The company typically doesn’t call out battery life fixes in its change logs, but there’s always a chance new iPadOS 16 software rights the ship.

If a new iPadOS 16 software update is available, dig into feedback about its performance and decide if it’s worth installing on your device. If you’re having serious issues, it probably is.

Wait It Out

If you recently installed a new software update, installed a new app, or restored from a backup, you’ll want to wait out any battery life problems you’re seeing.

When you perform these actions, power consumption can increase dramatically so you’ll want to give your iPad’s components some time to settle in.

We recommend waiting at least 24 hours before taking action. In a lot of cases, battery life will settle in and you’ll be able to use your device normally.

Check Your Apps

Applications are a main source of battery life problems so you’ll want to investigate the apps on board your iPad if you encounter abnormal battery drain.

Fortunately, checking app performance on iPadOS 16 is easy. It might only take you a few minutes to find the app, or apps, causing your headache.

Go to the Settings app.
Select Battery.
Head into the Battery Usage tool. This tool will show you the apps draining your iPad’s battery life and when they’re doing so.

If you use an app on your tablet a lot, it will obviously drain more battery than an app you never use. So if you see something out of the ordinary, you’ll want to continue your investigation.

If you see one or more of your apps eating up an abnormal amount of battery, try deleting the app from your device and see if that improves your iPad’s performance.

If the app is essential, we recommend downloading the latest update. Make sure you read reviews from fellow iPadOS 16 users before you do.

Turn Down Screen Brightness

If you constantly have your iPad’s screen set at maximum brightness, it’ll drain the battery. To avoid this, you should enable Auto-Brightness to help prevent battery drain.

Go into the Settings app.
Tap Accessibility.
Tap Display & Text Size.
Make sure Auto-Brightness is toggled on.

If you’d prefer to manage the screen brightness on your own, make sure you’re keeping it on a reasonable level, especially when you need to conserve battery life.

Reset All Settings

If none of the above fixes move the needle, try resetting all of your iPad’s settings.

Doing this will cause your iPad to forget known Wi-Fi networks (and Bluetooth connections) so make sure you have your passwords handy before you proceed.

Here’s how to reset all of your iPad’s settings:

Go to Settings.
Go to General.
Scroll and tap Transfer or Reset iPad.
Tap Reset.
Tap Reset All Settings and enter your passcode if one is enabled.

Once the process is complete, you’ll need to reconnect your iPad to your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices.

Downgrade iPadOS

If you can’t find a fix for your problem and/or don’t want to wait for Apple’s next iPadOS 16 update, you can try downgrading back to an older version of iPad. You should only do this if you’re confident your iPad was running normally on older firmware.

Your downgrade options will change over time and downgrading may not be available because Apple stops signing on older iPadOS 16 software.

For more on the downgrade process, take a look at our walkthrough.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 16.7.7 & 10 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 16.7.7 for Better Security

1 / 14

If security is important to you, think about installing Apple's iOS 16.7.7 update on your iPhone right away.

iOS 16.7.7 has two security patches on board. If you want to protect your device from harm, you should install the upgrade sooner rather than later.

If you missed older versions of iOS 16, you'll get the fixes and features from updates you missed when you upgrade to iOS 16.7.7.

iOS 16.7.6 delivered several security patches to iPhone users.

iOS 16.7.5 had nine security patches on board and they're important if you want to keep you device and its data safe from harm.

iOS 16.7.3 delivered several security patches including one that patches up an issue with the Find My app.

iOS 16.7.2 brought several security patches to iPhone models still running iOS 16. Learn more about them here.

iOS 16.7.1 carried two important security enhancements including one that addressed a kernel vulnerability. You can learn more about the pair over on Apple's website.

iOS 16.7 had three security patches on board and you can learn more about them right here.

iOS 16.6.1 brought two important security patches to iPhone. If you're interested in what they patch up, here's Apple's guide.

The iOS 16.6 update featured 16 security patches. For more information about the changes, check out Apple's rundown.

iOS 16.5.1 brought two security patches to iPhone users If you want to learn more, head on over to Apple's website.

The company's iOS Security Response 16.5.1 (c) update also included a security update and you can learn more about it right here.

iOS 16.5 brought a ton of security patches to the iPhone. You can find out more about them over on Apple's security site.

iOS 16.4.1 included two security upgrades . You can learn more about the pair right here.

Apple's iOS 16.4 update had a substantial number of patches on board. You can read about them in detail over on Apple's security site.

The iOS 16.3.1 update had three security patches on board including one for an actively exploited vulnerability. For more on the security contents of iOS 16.3.1, check out Apple's security page.

iOS 16.3 brought 10+ new security patches with it and you can learn more about all of those right here.

In addition, the software came with support for physical security keys for Apple ID. These will beef up your account security by requiring a physical security key as part of the two factor authentication sign in process. Learn more about the change right here.

If you skipped iOS 16.2, you'll get its changes with iOS 16.7.7. iOS 16.2 brought a ton of important security patches with it and you can dig into the details on Apple's security site.

The update also brought end-to-end encryption to iCloud, iMessage, iPhone backups, Notes, Photos, and more. If you want to learn more about it, head over to Apple's guide.

If you decided to missed iOS 16.1.2, you'll get its solitary security patch with your upgrade. Learn more about it right here.

If you skipped iOS 16.1.1, you'll get its security patches when you upgrade. You can learn more about them right here.

If you missed the iOS 16.1 update, it brought 19 security patches to the iPhone and you can learn about the particulars of those over on Apple's website.

If you failed to download iOS 16.0.3, it had one security patch on board, a fix for a potential exploit within the Mail app. For more about the fix, check out Apple's security site.

If you're still running iOS 15 your iPhone, you'll get a bunch of other patches when you upgrade.

iOS 16.0 brought a ton of security patches to the iPhone. If you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website.

In addition to those patches, iOS 16 brings some additional enhancements to privacy and security including Safety Check which, according to Apple, will help "people in domestic or intimate partner violence situations review and reset the access they’ve granted others."

The feature also resets system privacy permissions for apps and restricts Messages and FaceTime to the device on hand.

Apple's also made some improvements to Passkeys in Safari. iOS 16 brings a brand new sign-in method that's end-to-end encrypted and safe from phishing and data leaks.