How Long Should I Charge my iPad the First Time?

You just got a brand new iPad, peeled off the protective plastic and connected your iCloud account to download all your apps, music, photos and other settings. The iPad battery comes with some charge, but the iPad isn’t at 100% battery power right out of the box. How long should you charge your iPad the first time before you can start enjoying all those great apps?

My suggestion for how long to charge your iPad the first time is until the battery indicator reaches 100%. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use it in the mean time. Take the wall adapter out of the iPad box, connect the USB cable, and let the iPad charge the first time while you use it.

You can configure your WiFi on the device, browse the app store to find and download your favorite apps, and play movies and music, all while keeping the iPad connected to the charger. It won’t charge as quickly if you do this, because some of that power will be diverted to actually using the iPad features, but you also won’t have to suffer waiting for the charge to complete.

If you go to bed for the night before the charge completes, just leave the iPad on the charger overnight. it will be fully charged and ready to go from that first time iPad battery charge and you’ll be able to take it where ever you go.

The iPad uses some newer battery technology that in general shouldn’t be fully depleted the way older batteries are. When the battery gets to about 30-40%, plug in your iPad and charge it to help prolong the battery life. The iPad has excellent battery life and easily lasts through a very busy day of usage, so have no fear of losing your iPad mid-day after making sure it’s charged.