iPad Mini 2 huge problem in cold, battery drops very fast!

[ovisopa]

Hello guys,

is it only my iPad that drops the battery voltage very fast? like 2 flights with the TB48 , and the tablet battery reached 10% because outside was -5degrees C.

Otherwise the tablet works great, while the temperatures ware positive I could fly way more, let's say a few hours (2+) but now because it has a metal back it drops like crazy.

I ordered a very thick case for it, I will see how it will perform, but I'm curious if you guys also have problems with metal tablets ?

 

[Tj_]

Doesn't the RC supply power to the mobile device?

 

[Alastair]

Doesn't the RC supply power to the mobile device?

No, the RC doesn't supply power to whatever device you use.

 

[Kilrah]

Yes the RC does provide power to whatever device you use, albeit not enough to keep charge (it will just slow down discharge).
But anyway the device's battery's behavior is independent of it. If the battery can't do its job the RC can't even think about compensating for it.

Used iPhone/iPad in the cold, but it's only out in the cold during a flight then gets put back at normal temps in a dry bag to avoid condensation and allowed to warm back up.

 

[ovisopa]

Doesn't the RC supply power to the mobile device?

No, the RC never charged my iPhone or my iPad, dont know if it will charge android devices, but I think it won't.

So you guys are not flying in cold weather ? Or just don't have issues lime this?

 

[Alastair]

Yes the RC does provide power to whatever device you use, albeit not enough to keep charge (it will just slow down discharge).
But anyway the device's battery's behavior is independent of it. If the battery can't do its job the RC can't even think about compensating for it.

Used iPhone/iPad in the cold, but it's only out in the cold during a flight then gets put back at normal temps in a dry bag to avoid condensation and allowed to warm back up.

You are right! Just checked the voltage with a multimeter and sure enough there is 5 volts supplied from the RC. Obviously not enough current to activate the charging circuit on the device though.

 

[Kilrah]

Obviously not enough current to activate the charging circuit on the device though.

That just depends on the device. My iPhone does charge. iPad mini 2 says "not charging" but as said it slows down battery drain. Some Android devices will charge, others will also slow down discharge and yet others won't take it at all.

 

[Alastair]

Ah! Never tried an iPhone. My go to device is an air 2. Good info to know. Thanks

 

[pixl45]

My iPad Mini2 went from 100% charged to 10% today in just 90 minutes. And the temp was not that low -- 40ºF. It'd be great if we could put a spare battery pack on the lightning cable between the RC and the iPad.

 

[Canuck32]

Hello guys,

is it only my iPad that drops the battery voltage very fast? like 2 flights with the TB48 , and the tablet battery reached 10% because outside was -5degrees C.

Otherwise the tablet works great, while the temperatures ware positive I could fly way more, let's say a few hours (2+) but now because it has a metal back it drops like crazy.

I ordered a very thick case for it, I will see how it will perform, but I'm curious if you guys also have problems with metal tablets ?

I've flown 6 batteries in a row ( 3 - Tb47 and 3 - Tb48) with an iPad Air 2 at -11 C and still had over 50% battery left. I've had good battery life on the iPad since apple upgraded to 9.+ Do you have any background apps running?

 

[ovisopa]

I've flown 6 batteries in a row ( 3 - Tb47 and 3 - Tb48) with an iPad Air 2 at -11 C and still had over 50% battery left. I've had good battery life on the iPad since apple upgraded to 9.+ Do you have any background apps running?

WOW .. now that's a record, I flown in -8C but not for that much to drain my battery , but last week I made 2 missions with MapPilot app in a village, it was -2C, each mission was ~14 minutes long, so in total about 30 minutes in the cold, than drived to another village and flown another 2 missions, at -4C, each 12 minutes long, in the last mission litterally I used my hand to warm the back of the tablet, the aluminium part was freezing cold, I moved my hand up and down the tablets back side and you won't belive but it helped as the battery bercentage increased (after a suddent drop to 10%) from 10% to 18% and I could finish the mission, also didn't want to go inside the car as the quad was quite far away in some moments, the longest distance from my position was about 1km

I use this iPad only for flying, no other apps than usual ones like DJI GO and MapPilot ware opened.

The iPad Air has a slight larger capacity battery than the iPad Mini 2, it 7340 mAh vs 6350 mAh, it has a better CPU, maybe more efficient, but the specs for both devices state a 10hour battery life. Is your iPad brand new ? Mine was used about 2 years as a normal device inside the house. But the battery life in normal temperature is awesome, never seen any battery voltage drop like seen now.

 

[The Editor]

I've flown 6 batteries in a row ( 3 - Tb47 and 3 - Tb48) with an iPad Air 2 at -11 C and still had over 50% battery left. I've had good battery life on the iPad since apple upgraded to 9.+ Do you have any background apps running?

That's about what I would expect - better in warmer temperatures with around 60-65% remaining after 6 batteries but 50% remaining in -11 seems right.

 

[ovisopa]

That's about what I would expect - better in warmer temperatures with around 60-65% remaining after 6 batteries but 50% remaining in -11 seems right.

You use the iPad in cold and have the same result s as Canuck ? Or just by judging the specs you think it's normal to have 50% battery after ~90 minutes of usage in -11°C?

 

[Kevin Hancox]

Try using a case...! The iPad is aluminium, and gets cold very quickly, i have an Apple leather case on my Air2 and it does drain faster, but it helps an awful lot in cold weather...

 

[Packetdancer]

Did you have airplane mode enabled? There's potentially a huge battery savings there if you do; even if your iPad is WiFi only, when not in airplane mode the radio will still be searching for WiFi networks to join.

I've found that if I forget to turn airplane mode off and then use the iPad for flights in the cold, I lose battery way faster simply by virtue of "constantly searching for WiFi signal costs battery" combined with "battery performance suffers in the cold".

Based on my own holiday flights, I can attest that after flying a TB48 and a TB47 in -2C weather (the coldest it got around here), my iPad mini ends up with battery in the mid to upper eighties so long as I've remembered to turn on airplane mode.

 

[ovisopa]

I don't remember if it was on airplane mode, but I will make sure I will turn on airplane mode while I will test my Inspire battery protectors tonight, now waiting for the temperature to get lower.

I ordered a case with a plastic back, hope that will protect a little when flying in cold, I should receive it in a week and I'll see.

 

[pepeticos]

well i have problems also with ipad 2 mini ... BUT on hot weather !! about 35º C and after 5 minutes a red thermometer icon show up and then mi ipad turn off ..... any suggestion of android device that does not get hot with inspire 1?

 

[PB30X]

That just depends on the device. My iPhone does charge. iPad mini 2 says "not charging" but as said it slows down battery drain. Some Android devices will charge, others will also slow down discharge and yet others won't take it at all.

Interesting as I have not seen this. But when plugging into either of the iPad's I noticed the Popup CHARGING ACCESSORY NOT SUPPORTED, followed by the TRUST THIS DEVICE.. Not sure I want to plug my iPhone in to find out what that would say because it has Internet.. Trying to avoid conflicts with updates[emoji6]! Interesting though[emoji106]!

 

[ovisopa]

well i have problems also with ipad 2 mini ... BUT on hot weather !! about 35º C and after 5 minutes a red thermometer icon show up and then mi ipad turn off ..... any suggestion of android device that does not get hot with inspire 1?

Haven't used it yet in the summer as I only have the Inspire for 3 months but I will see if I'll have that issue too.

 

[Kilrah]

Yup it is a problem too. In hot environments you want to firstly totally shield the iPad from the sun (black screen in the sun = heats up in no time) and cooling might be needed between flights as well.