Power drain while on charge with 2017 iPad Pro (10.5) -- Anyone share their experience?

OscarSouth

I've picked up a refurbished unit recently (2017 iPad Pro 10.5) and am trying to determine if it has a battery/charge issue or whether this is expected behaviour:

It'll maintain 100% with a relatively light load (for example Samplr, Koala and 2-3 AU processors) but if I add one instance of Moog Model D to that, the battery will start to lose charge even while connected to power. This is at 128 or 256 buffer and sitting at comfortable DSP with either.

It'll get down into the high 70s after a couple of hours.

I'd say that simply 2 instances of Model D inactive would probably do the same thing. I haven't performed any tests since the recent Model D updates so that wouldn't be connected.

This is using the official Apple 12W power supply that's the 'default' for this unit and the screen refresh limited to 60fps. It'll even lose charge while the screen is off and audio is being processed in the background.

I'd considered to add a 30W power supply, but the £70 price for the adapter and cable is an impractical expense for such a simple utility as the battery not draining while on charge.

Could anyone who has experience with this device model let me know if they've experienced any issues similar to this -- does it sound like expected behaviour or could there be an issue with the unit? (I can still return it for a refund if I choose)

Thanks,
Oscar

tk32

I have that model.

Some background music apps will cause battery drain, even when in standby (as I presume it does for everyone), but I've never experienced losing battery whilst connected to power.

Pierre118

@OscarSouth I own the same iPad. That's not normal. I assume you use the original USB-C charger? If so, return it.

[Deleted User]

Same model here, never had such problems. I'd try charging it with another cable and then maybe another charger if you can borrow it from someone

AudioGus

This sounds like my regular experience.

Poppadocrock

They have apps that can diagnose your device, check the status of battery, speakers, etc... can’t think of the names of any at the moment but there are several. One is specifically for checking everything when purchasing a refurbished device. If I find it I’ll let you know.

SevenSystems

The 12" version of that model has a maximum power consumption of 29 watts according to regulator documentation (Apple themselves don't include basic information like that in their specs, unfortunately), so assuming that the 10" version doesn't use that much less, there's no way that a 12 watts PSU can run that iPad while significantly loaded and charge at the same time. It's just physics ☺️

So looking at the raw numbers, your situation seems as expected.

OscarSouth

Thanks for the input everyone -- it's all really helpful and if anyone else has their own experiences to add, please do.

I've never bought an adapter as my original devices came with their own. Can anyone with a bit more know how about buying 'official' Apple accessories 'unofficially' let me know their thoughts on this -- This seems like a crazily large discount on what it'd cost from Apple directly:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-20W-USB-TYPE-C-Power-Charger-Adapter-Cable-For-Apple-iPhone11-12-Pro-Max/224383086592?hash=item343e463000:g:KMgAAOSwDWVgNKzE

Is it actually safe to purchase from ebay sellers such as this one (thinking about long term condition of a device), or are there lots of very authentic looking fakes around?

Thanks again,
Oscar

uncledave

@OscarSouth You can get some info on your battery if you look at one of the log-aggregated files in Settings–>Privacy–>Analytics & Improvements–>Analytics Data. It's a big file so you need to share it with a text editor. I open it as text in the GoodReader app, which has convenient search capability. Look for com.apple.power.battery. I think the following tags are relevant: CycleCount, MaximumDischargeCurrent, MaximumChargeCurrent, OriginalBattery, design_capacity, raw_max_capacity. The currents are in mA, the capacities in mAh. If the raw_max_capacity is far below the design_capacity, it may indicate your battery is tired. The MaximumChargeCurrent will be about 2400 mA from the standard 12 W charger. The MaximumDischargeCurrent is probably larger, as already suggested.

Poppadocrock

Never used this before but this app is free and seems pretty comprehensive. TestM.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/testm-check-phone-report/id1242371446

Poppadocrock

Few for battery. Never used.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ampere-charger-testing/id1438386754

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/battery-saver-battery-doctor-fast-charger-power-manager/id1004305633

oat_phipps

Yes, this has happened to me. I’ve used the shit out of my 10.5 so the battery’s pretty shot. It’ll also stay stuck on certain percentages forever then all of a sudden jump to 6% and die. And sometimes when I restart it the battery percent has actually increased without charging.

In tandem with my touch screen finally going out too, I had to upgrade a couple months ago.

[Deleted User]

@oat_phipps said:
Yes, this has happened to me. I’ve used the shit out of my 10.5 so the battery’s pretty shot. It’ll also stay stuck on certain percentages forever then all of a sudden jump to 6% and die. And sometimes when I restart it the battery percent has actually increased without charging.

I'm experiencing the same problem with my iPhone SE. Gonna try replacing the battery myself