While your charger is plugged in, do you notice that the USB adapter is hot or even hot? One can then quickly wonder if this presents a danger for oneself or for one's iPad. The answer is: it depends. Indeed, several factors can cause your iPad charger to heat up. It can be a natural factor but also reveal dysfunctions that will have to be taken care of. So, find out in this article what to do when your iPad charger heats up?
First, learn about the causes that may be responsible. Then, learn how to fix the problem if your iPad charger is overheating.
IPad charger that heats up: the responsible causes
When your iPad charger heats up, you should know that several causes may be responsible. Indeed, the origin of the heating can quite be Nature and present no risk. However, in some cases it may be a dysfunction that should not be overlooked. So, first learn how to recognize the origin of the heating of your iPad charger :
Natural origin when heating the iPad charger
If your iPad charger heats up slightly when charging, it's exactly normal. The increase in temperature of the charger is due to the energy consumed which is dissipated as heat when the USB adapter converts AC to DC current. You will understand, it is therefore natural that the temperature increases in a certain proportion.
Note: A fast charging iPad charger will tend to heat up more than a normal charger. Moreover, the apple chargers tend to have a higher temperature than Android chargers. If you have just changed manufacturers, then you may be surprised at the first charges.
Heating due to malfunction
If your iPad charger starts to heat up much more strongly than other chargers, much more than usual and / or on a regular basis, the problem can then come from a dysfunction. In this case, it is a overheated which requires your intervention.
The various unnatural causes that may cause your iPad charger to overheat are:
- an environment unsuitable for loading (temperature too high, room not ventilated)
- an electrical installation in poor condition causing voltage peaks
- a damaged charger
- an unsuitable, counterfeit and / or poor quality charger
When your iPad charger starts to heat up more than usual, he is important to remove the cause of the malfunction to avoid dealing with larger issues such as charger component failure, short circuit, or damage to your iPad. Then go to the second part of this article to find the solutions to your problem.
Note: If your iPad charger gets hotter than usual once in a while, it may be due to the context (charging while using the iPad, long charging time etc). In this case, it does not necessarily indicate a problem.
What to do when your iPad charger overheats?
To find the source of the overheating of your iPad charger, then carry out the following checks and operations in order. Thus, you will be able to solve the problem in a targeted and effective way.
Check the charging environment
As we have seen previously, when your iPad charger heats up abnormally, this may be due to a bad charging environment or a poor electrical installation. Here are the checks you must perform to rule out this hypothesis, or on the contrary correct it:
- Make sure the mains socket that you use to charge your iPad do not have voltage concerns. To do this, you just need to charge your iPad on another outlet.
- Check that your charger does not show any damage (that it is not burned, damaged, melted, folded or stripped). Indeed, this external damage can mean that its internal conductors are damaged and this can cause the transformer to overheat.
- Check that you charge your iPad in a good environment. Namely, in a dry, ventilated environment, away from heat and sun. Make sure to keep it away from heat sources (radiator, sunlight, etc.) and not to cover it (under a cloth for example) during the charging process.
- Plug your iPad charger directly into a wall outlet, without intermediary such as a multiple socket or an extension. This equipment can cause electrical noise and voltage variations that can cause the iPad charger to overheat.
Note: It is recommended to unplug the charger from the wall outlet when it is not charging to prolong its life.
Use a qualitative iPad charger
If you respect the prerequisites seen previously but you notice that your iPad charger continues to overheat, the problem may come from the charger quality. Indeed, you need at all costs avoid counterfeit chargers and choose one charger at least compatible, and at best Apple certified.
Note: In most cases, the overheating issue is with the USB adapter and not the charging cable. However, you can still test the two accessories in turn with another compatible and working accessory (borrow from someone for example), to avoid having to buy the cable and the adapter again.
1 / Avoid low-end chargers
If your iPad charger that heats up is low-end, that is to say bought at a low price or counterfeit, then the problem most certainly stems from its manufacturing. Indeed, it is necessary at all costs to avoid this kind of chargers for several reasons:
- The materials and components used in low-end chargers wear out much faster than those of genuine chargers. For the sake of efficiency, their assembly is less well done.
- Counterfeit chargers do not have security to regulate the internal temperature of the charger, stop charging and protect the device from overheating.
- the chargers do not always comply with the indications on the box and with the applicable international and regional safety standards.
Read also: My iPad Pro no longer turns on, what should I do?
2 / Choose the right iPad charger
How do you choose a good replacement charger for your current iPad charger that gets too hot? We recommend that you purchase a Apple compatible and certified charger. They will be adapted to avoid overheating of the charger but also to avoid damaging your iPad. Concretely, this translates into several points:
Choose compatible charger that is to say who has the same nominal current and therefore whose direct current must be identical to the original one. In other words, the amps (A) should be similar to your original charger, or at least should not be lower. This is explained since a lower charging current is the most common cause of overheating of an electronic device. Be aware that you may also notice the non-accounting due to the charging time. Indeed, a charger with an under load capacity will take much longer to charge your iPad than a compatible charger.
Know that iPhone and iPad chargers are compatible. However, watch out for the power of the charger! The iPads are supplied with a charger with a power of 10 Watts. While the iPhone chargers provided at the time of purchase have a power of 5 Watts. The charging intensity is therefore lower on a basic iPhone adapter. And as we have just seen, an under load capacity is the most frequent cause of overheating of an electronic device! It is therefore strongly recommended touse a minimum 10 Watts USB adapter.
The best to choose a quality charger and adapted is redeem an Apple certified adapter and / or cable. Indeed, they have technologies and safety standards, for example to avoid the excessive heating of the iPad charger that counterfeit or low-end products do not have. You will find the genuine apple products on sale on their website, in Apple Stores, independent stores and online sites. But once again be careful that they are reselling Apple certified products. That is to say that they wear the MFI “Made for IPhone” badge.
Read also: IPhone charger making noise, what to do?
