One of the luxuries of using an iPad over an iPhone is that you can relax about charging. Although it might not last as long as an e-ink tablet, you’re still getting about 10 hours of active use or several days of standby time. It’s why I like bringing an iPad with me on long flights. I can binge movies the entire trip and still have spare power by the time I land, only topping up whenever there’s a layover.

That said, bad habits can reduce battery capacity, affect system performance, or even create a fire hazard. It’s not hard to keep things running smoothly as long as you avoid the mistakes below.

Keeping it charged to 100% all the time (or letting it run empty)

Stay in the sweet spot

Since iPads tend to be either used non-stop or left untouched for hours or days at a time, it’s a natural thing to leave one plugged in as long as possible. This isn’t the worst habit, actually. Your iPad automatically slows charging to a trickle as it approaches 100%, and it can run fine for years this way. Owing to chemistry, however, the ideal charge for preserving a lithium-ion battery is between 20 and 80%. Leaving your iPad near or at full all the time will slowly reduce its peak capacity, which may come back to bite you, whether because you need every last drop or you want to maximize resale value. If it’s inconvenient to leave your iPad unplugged, consider going to Settings -> Battery -> Battery Heatlh and toggling on 80% Limit. You can always disable that cap when you need to.

The flipside of this is that you should avoid letting your iPad slip below 20%. If that happens, go to Control Center and turn on Low Power Mode (the battery icon) as a countermeasure. Should your device reach 0%, there’s no need to panic, but you should plug it in as soon as you can. Leaving an iPad empty for weeks will gradually reduce its capacity, and if you push things for months, it might never power back on.

Charging under high heat or intense processor use

Don’t force safeguards to kick in

Apple notes that while iPads run best in ambient temperatures of 62 to 72F (16 to 22C), your battery should still be fine until conditions hit about 95F (35C). Charging with heat over 95F risks degrading battery capacity. In fact, iPadOS automatically limits charging to 80% when that ceiling is exceeded, so it’s in your best interests to cool things down ahead of time.

Remember that if you’re using your iPad while charging, the apps you’re running can have a major impact. Exporting a Final Cut video or playing a high-end 3D game might not matter much under normal conditions — yet if a room is already hot, that could tip things over the edge. Your iPad may even throttle its performance or shut down completely, since there’s a chance of damaging more than just the battery this way. If you don’t have central air conditioning, make sure there’s decent ventilation. And regardless, don’t rest your iPad in direct sunlight for most of the day.

Using damaged or uncertified charging accessories

It’s not worth the hazard

Realistically, you’re unlikely to find many uncertified cables or wall adapters, at least here in North America. Any serious dealer is going to want Apple’s approval despite the cost, and iPadOS will actually block some uncertified accessories if they fail to meet basic specs. That said, there’s a narrow window in which an uncertified product might still work — just with fewer guarantees about reliability. That’s not what you want to ensure safety, let alone prolong battery health.

As for damage, you may be fine if damage appears mostly cosmetic, like the fraying of a braided cable sheath. If internal wires are frayed, however, or you see any kind of browning, replace an accessory immediately. Continued use could cause heat damage or a fire, and that’s not worth it when replacements might not be more than a few dollars.