Several users report an issue in which plugged in iPhones or iPads charges to 100% BUT THEN slowly drain down while it is still plugged in. Of course, if you’re using the iPad while charging, especially if you are playing videos or game, your iPad continues to discharge. So we expect that kind of discharge.
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Losing charge of the battery while plugged in: fixes
- Check that there’s no dirt or debris in the charging port or on the cable
- Completely turn off your iPad or iPhone when charging so it’s not trying to connect to WiFi (when you plug your device into power, it generally turns ON, even if it’s off so you need to turn it off again, after it starts charging)
- Calibrate your battery. Apple recommends that once a month or so you run the battery for a full cycle in order to calibrate the readout. Use the iPad, ignore the low battery warnings, until it shuts itself down. Then recharge it right up to 100%. See if that helps
- Restart your device by pressing and holding the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until you see the red “slide to power off” then slide the slider
- Restart your iPhone X by using Settings > General > Shut Down or long press one of the Volume Buttons and the Side Button together at the same time, and hold for a few seconds until the slide to power off appears on-screen
- Use an Apple certified (or Made for iPad) iPad charger AND NOT an iPhone one or third party charger–these often don’t work
- If you connect your iPad to a computer that’s turned off or is in sleep or standby mode, the iPad battery continues draining
- You could also have apps running in the background, so turn off background app refresh and see if that makes a difference
- Also, turn on Airplane mode so it isn’t trying to connect to WiFi (or Cellular if applicable)
Plug into a wall outlet instead of a computer port
- If you plug it in via USB to your computer, then it loses power because your average USB doesn’t put out enough power for the iPad to both charge and be used
- In fact, your computer’s port puts out a reduced charge, so the best way to charge it is with the supplied power brick plugged directly into the wall or power strip
- Test the outlet too! Is your outlet a good one? Did you plug the charger in all the way? Try a different outlet just in case
- Check your cable by testing with a different one or by using a different iPad/iDevice if you can. Some cables have poor internal wiring and internal wiring becomes frayed, damaged, or ineffective over time
A New Battery Required?
You may need a new battery. If you try everything and you notice significant battery loss, then consider replacing the battery
Reader Tips 
Try these additional suggestions from our readers
- Perform a restart it while it’s connected to power and if that doesn’t help, perform a forced restart when connected to power (press and hold both the Power and Home Buttons until the Apple Logo appears on-screen)
- Turn Auto-Brightness ON or turn your brightness down manually
- Close All open apps by double pressing the Home button and swiping up on all app previews to close ALL OPEN apps, then charge
