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Why Is My iPad Charging Slowly? Here’s The Truth!

    David Lynch
  • 3 years ago
    • Categories: Power

Your iPad charges very slowly and you don’t know what to do. You plug your iPad into a charger when you go to sleep, but when you wake up, it’s not even at 100%! In this article, I’ll explain why your iPad is charging slowly and show you how to fix the problem for good!

Restart Your iPad

The first thing to do when your iPad charges very slowly is to restart it. The software on your iPad may have crashed, which could potentially bog down the charging process.

To restart your iPad, press and hold the power button until “slide to power off” appears on the screen. If your iPad doesn’t have a Home button, press and hold the Top button and either volume button until “slide to power off” appears. Use one finger to swipe the red and white power icon from left to right across the screen.

Wait a 30–60 seconds, then press and hold and power button (iPads with a Home button) or Top button (iPads without a Home button) again to turn your iPad on again. You can release the power button or Top button14 as soon as the Apple logo appears on the display.

Try A Different Charging Cable

After restarting your iPad, it’s time to take a close look at your charging cable. First, inspect your cable for fraying. Apple’s Lightning cable are prone to fraying, and when they do, they can stop working properly.

If your cable is damaged, or if your iPad is charging slowly anyway, try using a different Lightning cable. If your iPad begins to charge more quickly with the new cable, you’ll probably have to get your old one replaced.

Try A Different Charger

If your iPad is charging slowly regardless of what Lightning cable you use, try charging your iPad with a different charger. If your iPad charges faster with one charger, that charger may output higher amperage, or the original charger you were using may be damaged.

Are All Chargers Made Equal?

No, different chargers may provide different amounts of power. The USB port on a MacBook outputs 0.5 amps. The wall charger that comes with every iPhone outputs 1.0 amps. The charger that comes with every iPad outputs 2.1 amps.

As you can imagine, the iPad charger will charge your device faster than the iPhone charger and the USB port on your computer.

Clean Out The Charging Port

A lot of the time, a dirty charging port will make your iPad charge slowly or, in more extreme cases, prevent it from charging altogether. Grab a flashlight (or use the one built into your iPhone) and take a close look inside your iPad’s charging port.

If you see lint or other debris inside the port, grab an anti-static brush and unused toothbrush and gently wipe it out. Afterwards, try charging your iPad again. If it’s still charging slowly, move onto our final software troubleshooting step!

Back Up Your iPad

If your iPad still charges slowly, we recommend backing it up immediately before moving onto the next step. It’s a good idea to routinely back up your iPad anyway, just in case something ever goes really wrong.

There are a few different ways to back up your iPad:

Back Up Your iPad Using Finder

When Apple released macOS 10.15, they separated device management from the media library that had both lived in iTunes. If you own a Mac running macOS 10.15, you’ll use Finder to do things like back up, sync, and update your iPad.

You can check the macOS version on your Mac by clicking on the Apple logo in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, then clicking About This Mac.

Connect your iPad to your Mac using a charging cable. Open Finder and click on your iPad under Locations. Click the circle next to Back up all of the data on your iPad to this Mac. We recommend checking the box next to Encrypt Local Backup and creating a password for extra security. Finally, click Back Up Now.

Back Up Your iPad using iTunes

If you have a PC or a Mac running macOS 10.14 or older, you’ll use iTunes to back up your iPad to your computer. Connect your iPad to your computer using a charging cable.

Open iTunes and click on the iPad icon the upper left-hand corner of the window. Click the circle next to This Computer. We also recommend checking off the box next to Encrypt iPhone Backup for extra security. Finally, click Back Up Now.

Back Up Your iPad Using iCloud

You can also back up your iPad using iCloud from within the Settings app. Open Settings and tap on your name at the top of the screen. Tap iCloud -> iCloud Backup and make sure the switch next to iCloud Backup is on. Then, tap Back Up Now.

DFU Restore Your iPad

A Device Firmware Update (DFU) restore is the deepest restore you can do on your iPad. Every line of code is erased and reloaded and your iPad is restored to factory defaults.

Before putting your iPad in DFU mode, create a backup of all the information stored on it. That way, you can restore from the backup and not lose all of your photos, videos, and other files.

Watch our iPad DFU video to learn how to enter DFU mode and perform a restore!

Replace The Battery

If your iPad still charges slowly after a DFU restore, it’s likely the result of a hardware problem and you may have to have the battery replaced. If your iPad is covered by AppleCare+ head to your local Apple Store and see what they can do for you. An Apple tech may also run a battery test on your iPad to see if it’s in proper working order.

Up To Speed On iPad Charging

Your iPad is charging quickly once again, so you can spend more time using your favorite apps. I hope you’ll share this article with someone to teach them what to do when their iPad is charging slowly. Let me know which step worked for you be leaving a comment down below!

View Comments (34)

  • pls help so i just got this apple ipad when im playing the game itwont charge it goes down and when i leave it for hours it still doesnt charge to 100

  • Is there a way of knowing if the problem is the battery or the port? (besides taking the iPad to a repair service).
    Our iPad is charging slowly and it has problems recognizing that it should be charging. When I plug in a cable, it makes the sound recognizing a charging cable has been plugged in, but the screen displays "not charging". I need to restart the iPad for the iPad to start charging, and it does so quite slowly. I have tried different cables and chargers, and the same cables and chargers do charge (and quite faster) a similar iPad at home. We do not see any damage in the port, but something is amiss since the only way to get it to charge is to turn it off and back on (if I disconnect the cable from the charger, or the charger, the result is the same. It still needs to be reset in order to charge again. Just mentioning this since I thought that by keeping the lightning cable on I would be avoiding further damage -if the damage happened to be in the port-).
    Before this problem started, it would have full charge by midnight. Now it takes until 7 in the morning.
    I have called Apple and they ran a long distance checkup and found nothing, so my only choice at this point is to take it to a repair shop for a checkup (not an Apple one since Apple said that if the problem is the port, they would fix it for 20 dollars short of buying a new iPad. Unbelievable!).
    I really would appreciate your thoughts on what the problem could be. Does it sound to you like a battery problem or a port problem?
    Thanks in advance for your time!

    • I suppose it's possible there's an issue with the electrical outlet you're plugging your iPad charger into, but that's pretty unlikely. Have you tried a DFU restore?

  • Thanks for very clear and easily understood advice. As a tech moron can’t tell you how great it is to have instructions that I can actually understand! Will try suggestions and keeping fingers crossed. ?

  • My charger stopped working after voltage fluctuation but the lightning cable looked fine. I bought a new adapter of 12w but it’s taking more time to charge than the earlier one of 10w. What could be the problem?

  • The real reason is that the charging port on the iPad is the weakest part of the whole thing. It fails easily, and Apple did a cost-benefit analysis and realized it’s cheaper for them to swap you out with a refurbished product than to replace the part with a more reliable unit. They don’t care about your frustration or your time without a working unit or the hours and hours at the Apple store to get it replaced. Their bottom line is the only thing they care about.

    • Hi Sana! Have you tried plugging your iPad into a different power source? For example, if your iPad is currently plugged into a wall charger, you may want to try connecting it to your computer's USB port or a car charger.

  • When your iPad charging is not working perfectly, i prefer first try to restart your iPad. Many problems are solved by restarting the device.

  • Hello I think my ipad get hacked or there is a problem, its chargin soo slow now its 7% after 7 hours, its being charg once a hour :(

    • It’s probably some other high usage software that’s cause high background battery consumption. If ya can bring it into an Apple store and get it checked out, there may be some type of virus

  • I actually just bought another ipad pro 3rd gen it was doing fine for bout a week and now its slow charging. When in use it does not go up it stays in place the entire time. With this, I’ve notice the other ipad pro happened to do it at the same exact time as well. It never had this issue and I’ve had it for over a year.

  • Hello i
    my ipad is showing charging but it is not at all charging. It’s charge is going down when using and not increasing when it’s not in use.

    • well you probably have to consider using the steps above, otherwise just take it to the apple store

  • Hi! I have an generation 7 iPad, and the charger hasn’t been working correctly. I let it charge at 20%, and that was at 8 p.m. When I woke up and looked at it at maybe 10 a.m. it was on 41. So I let it charge and I got impatient at 11 a.m. and it was on 58. And this is my second iPad I had to get my other one replaced. So I had this for like almost 2 months. I think I would have to get a new charger because my iPad seems fine.

  • Hello (:.I have an Ipad 5th generation I’ve been using it for 3to4 years and in takes like 3days to get to 81% and that sucks well I use an iPhone adapter because my IPad charger Broke years ago and even when I charge and use it at the same time.Charging decreases like that’s a FAT problem Any ideas what I can do to fix it?.

    • It sounds to me like you need to buy a new iPad charger. your iPhone charger isn't strong enough to charge your iPad without losing power.

    • Check the wattage on the charger you're using. You'll need to find a charger that's rated for a higher charging rate.

  • Good morning, My iPad is 2 1/2 year old. It took 2 days charging to get to 84%. Ive tried different chargers and different Leeds. Is it worth fixing or do I buy a new one. I’m getting on so next one may be last one

  • I have an iPad 7th generation(2019). It says it supports fast charging by changing the adapter to 30W. Does it really useful?

    • Yes, if your iPad is charging slowly, changing to a 30W charger will definitely increase your charging speed!

    • My ipad takes over night to charge. when it is low I connect charger the percentage still goes down, any ideas?

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David Lynch: David Lynch is an expert on cell phones, cell phone plans, and other tech. After using a flip phone into his early 20s, he learned the ropes about iPhones and Androids from a former Apple employee. Today, his articles and videos are read and viewed by millions, and he has been cited by major publications including Reader's Digest, Wired, CMSWire, Consumers Advocate, and more.