Whether you are a new iPad owner or have owned one for a while, you want your device to last and remain safe. Apple products are pricy, and you should preserve your investment! Here are some tips on how to get the most longevity out of your iPad, including battery maintenance and security.
The number of iPad users keeps increasing and the number of tips and tricks out there keeps growing by the day. If you’d like to learn more about how to make your iPad experience great, George Otte, Miami-based tech entrepreneur, has some great tips for getting acquainted with your iPad and making the most of it right out of the box.
Here are some highlights:
Prolonging the life of your iPad battery
An iPad is an awesome tool for business, school, or just for your own personal enjoyment. It’s pretty easy to become so enamored of your iPad that you find yourself wearing your battery down faster than you might realize. If you want to make the most of your battery life between charges, here are some tips to help you get the most out of your iPad battery over the long haul.
Reduce the brightness of your screen: Of course, you want to be able to see what you are doing, but running your iPad on maximum brightness will reduce the time you have on your battery. Simply reduce the brightness on your screen to a level that isn’t too bright but is still comfortable enough for you to see and navigate easily. Just go over to Settings-> Brightness and Wallpaper to adjust it. You can also dim iBooks on your iPad to make it both easier to read and conserve battery power by utilizing the slider function at the bottom of the screen. This will make your battery life much longer.
Use Wi-Fi rather than 3G: Using a cellular connection uses much more battery power than Wi-Fi connections. Choose Wi-Fi whenever you can. It will give you around one hour longer of battery life between charges than if you use 3G.
Reduce the number of times your iPad checks email: Surprisingly, email polling can take up a lot of power. Go to Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendars -> Fetch New Data. You can set it to check once every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, every hour or you can set it to be checked manually or turn off the Push function altogether. Other polling applications, like Facebook, may also drain power through features like these. Look for similar options.
Discharge your battery completely: It’s a good idea to let your iPad battery completely discharge from time to time. While that might seem inconvenient or even a scary proposition, you will increase the life of your device’s battery if you let it run down all the way before plugging it back in to recharge it. Once you have worn your battery completely down and your iPad is unresponsive, plug it in and let it recharge completely. It may take a little bit of time for the battery symbol to show up after a discharge. Be patient.
Get a Smart Cover for your iPad: Having a Smart Cover on your iPad can put your device to sleep and wake it up again once you open it. Most smart covers made for the iPad come in at under $40 USD. It’s a great way to protect their tablet and it feels more like a book. It also helps save battery time.
Security Concerns?
Erasing Data: After the latest tug of war between Apple and government officials about device security, users are now more aware than ever about keeping the data on their iPads safe. If data security is a concern to you, then password-protect your iPad. Like the iPhone, iPad users can enable a feature on their tablet that will erase all data on the device if someone incorrectly enters a passcode 10 times. To enable this feature, you simply go to Settings -> Passcode Lock and select Erase Data. Be sure to put your passcode in a safe place that is kept away from your device just in case you forget!
Make Use of the Find my iPad App: The Find My iPad app installed by Apple on all of its iPhone and iPad devices will work for users who are on Apple’s iCloud. To set this up on your device, simply go to Settings-> iCloud and enter your Apple ID and password. Then, select turn on Find my iPad that is located near the bottom of the screen. In the off-chance that you misplace your iPad or it is stolen, you can use another device to locate it. However, users who have an iPad that is Wi-Fi only will only be able to find the pad if it is connected at the time.
