iPad noob - not charging

Adnams Drinker · 19 Jan 2014 at 08:45

Just got my first iPad this week and it's fantastic - wish I'd bought one years ago. There's one niggle I have with it and I'm sure it's just me being a bit noobish with it ...

When I plug my iPhone into my PC, iTunes opens, backs the phone up and the phone starts charging, so I just let it carry on charging while I'm doing other stuff on the computer. The same happens with my iPad mini, except that it doesn't charge - 'Not Charging' appears next to the battery icon and will not budge. The iPad mini charges from the mains no problem, just not while connected to the PC.

Why would my iPhone charge via the USB cable, but not the iPad mini? The USB ports on the PC are USB 2, if that's relevant. The Lightning cable is the one that came with my iPhone - I tend to leave the cable plugged into the computer at all times. The ACTUAL cable that came with the mini is still in its box.

Am I missing something obvious somewhere? Is there some technical spec which I've completely missed saying iPad minis won't charge over USB?

Brenn · 19 Jan 2014 at 09:09

The USB port does supply enough power to charge the iPad.

http://www.techhive.com/article/217116/ipad_usb_charging.html

Pulse · 19 Jan 2014 at 10:06

Some motherboards do support the extra power needed to charge the iPad but it needs to be enabled by the right motherboard header connection and a couple of drivers.

Gigabyte On/off charge

Destination · 19 Jan 2014 at 10:13

Simply put:
They charge from PC while off, they don't charge from PC while on;
They charge from wall whether on of off.

peige · 19 Jan 2014 at 10:15

Try a different port or a powered hub, I dare say the port your using doesn't have the amps to charge.

Pulse · 19 Jan 2014 at 10:48

Hikari Kisugi said:
Simply put:
They charge from PC while off, they don't charge from PC while on;
They charge from wall whether on of off.

If you're referring to what I posted, did you not read it?

It doesn't matter if your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch is plugged into the quick charge USB port while the system is turned on, in sleep/standby mode, or even turned off, as it always enables you to charge your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

Deleted member 77746 · 19 Jan 2014 at 10:50

Asus also has a product out called Asus AI Charger.

http://event.asus.com/mb/2010/ai_charger/

UnworthyBean · 19 Jan 2014 at 11:37

Im not sure if its still the case, But ill post it anyway. We had a Macbook in the office that we tried this out on, In Mac OS it would charge perfectly. But once booted into Windows (identical hardware) it wouldn't charge. It just seemed for some reason that it didn't like Windows.

Destination · 19 Jan 2014 at 11:40

Pulse said:
If you're referring to what I posted, did you not read it?

I wasn't referring to you, I was answering the OP in a simple uncomplicated way, which is what most apple users understand and need to hear.
You posted a potential work around, which might be useful to him, if he has a certain type of motherboard.
As he has stated him noob status, I wasn't attempting to complicate matters, just provide a simple understanding of the stock situation that applies to everyone with a brand new device and how to go about charging it, when it will work and when it will not.
I didn't reference you at all.

Deleted member 77746 · 19 Jan 2014 at 12:04

UnworthyBean said:
Im not sure if its still the case, But ill post it anyway. We had a Macbook in the office that we tried this out on, In Mac OS it would charge perfectly. But once booted into Windows (identical hardware) it wouldn't charge. It just seemed for some reason that it didn't like Windows.

Because windows doesn't over volt by software control. Adding the software as I showed the link above adds the feature to charge iDevices perfectly.

Adnams Drinker · 19 Jan 2014 at 12:17

Thanks for all the replies fellas - I did wonder if USB voltages were part of it, hence mentioning that the ports were USB 2, although there was a little paranoid part of my brain that was wondering if my iPad wasn't working correctly!

I left it plugged into the computer after posting and then went out for an hour or so and have come back to an iPad that is 100% charged, so am happy to report that all is working as you've described ...

MacRS4 · 19 Jan 2014 at 18:10

Mine always says 'not charging' when plugged in to either my Macbook pro or work PC...it does charge though, just slowly!

Naushad · 25 Jan 2014 at 09:34

Ipad not charging

Hi

Some USB ports do not give enough power to charge some devices, mainly on laptops.You check power the USB on some bios setup menus.

Hope this helped.

Deleted member 77746 · 25 Jan 2014 at 09:50

Asus AI Charger - Boost USB Port power to enable charging of all iDevices

Feek · 25 Jan 2014 at 16:01

Some USB ports can't deliver enough current to both charge and power an iPad. This means that it will charge (albeit slowly) when the iPad is off but not charge when you're using it.

So if the iPad is awake, you'll always see the 'not charging' message. Close the smart cover and the message will vanish but of course, you've closed the cover and the screen has gone blank so you'll never know. Just try leaving it for a while and check to make sure the battery percentage has gone up.