A brand-new iPad can last up to ten hours without recharging. Even though this might seem long, it will still seem way too short on that international flight, or during that outdoors hiking holiday. To make things worse, batteries tend to lose their capacity to last over time, making your iPad to last less and less time. With some easy –and some less easy- tricks, this guide will show you how to extend the battery life of your iPad. It will show you how to handle your iPad most effectively, change the settings to switch off unused connectivity options, and effectively set up email options.

Your iPad is sensitive to extreme heat, and prolonged direct sunlight. Therefore, keep your iPhad out of the sun or a hot car (including the glove box). Extreme heat will degrade your battery’s performance over time. This is one of the most common causes of battery degradation. Your iPad operates optionally when between 32° to 95° F.

Even after your iPad has been released and bought, engineers at Apple continue to develop the product, and may find better and more efficient ways to use the battery of your iPad. You can profit from these improvements by updating your iPad to the latest firmware.

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer.
2. Start iTunes
3. Select your iPad in the source list
4. Click “Check for Updates”
5. If available, click “Update”to install the latest update.
6. Repeat until no more updates are reported.

Connectivity options are some of the more energy-consuming activities of your iPad. While Wi-Fi is great for cheap connection to the Internet ( learn how to set up a free Internet HotSpot at your own home here), it is also an energy consuming function, especially when the connection is not very strong.

1. Go to “Settings”
2. Go to “Wi-Fi”
3. Turn Wi-Fi off.

For Blu-Tooth:

1. Go to “Settings”
2. Go to “General”
3. Go to “Bluetooth”
4. Set “Bluetooth” to “Off”.

If your iPad supports 3G, consider switching it off when not in use:

1. Go to “Settings”
2. Go to “General”
3. Go to “Network”
4. Set “Enable 3G” to “Off”.

If you use an email App on your iPad, the frequency of email retrieval and the number of email accounts may seriously influence your battery life.

• Turn off push mail. Some email providers like Yahoo!, MobileMe and Microsoft Exchange have push mail accounts.

1. Go to “Settings”
2. Go to “Mail, Contacts, Calendars”
3. Go to “Fetch New Data”
4. Set “Push” to Off.

Several Apps need location information or Internet connection. Minimizing usage of these Apps will greatly help to lengthen your battery life.

• Minimize use of location services like Maps. Switch off automatic usage of Location services:

1. Go to “Settings”
2. Go to “ General”
3. Go to “Location Services”
4. Disable Location Services

• Turn off push notifications. While it may be handy to have apps alerting you when new updates are available, your Apps need to connect actively to check out new data. Very active apps, like Instant Messaging Applications, can drain your battery quickly. To switch off Push Notifications:

1. Go to “Settings”
2. Go to “Notifications”
3. Set “Notifications” to “Off”