Guys,
I have a 2nd Gen Pro 10.5” which I use extensively every day but Apple aren’t going to upgrade the software to V18. Because I hate the disposable culture of today I was going to have the battery replaced but it would seem that after 7 years bite the bullet and trade in?
Thoughts?
Regards,
Lindsay
I also have a 11 inch 2nd generation model MXE42B/A - it’s on v 18.1.1 and going strong, so not sure you are correct? are yous sure? I would replace the battery if needed.
I’m in a similar situation with a 2017 iPad 9.7 (5th Gen)
No more updates and its stuck on V16.
No, I’m not changing it until the battery goes or it limits any Naim app functions.
Back in the summer, the battery died on my last iPad, at about six or seven years old. I don’t recall for certain but it may have been the same generation as yours. Other than Decreasing battery capacity over a period of time it had been working fine, And at that point it had still been updating to latest OS. I wanted to change the battery, but was informed that Apple had recently ceased doing battery replacements on my model! I therefore had no option but to get a new one, which was most annoying because like you I hate the modern disposable culture. I still have the old one somewhere, and may take it to Hong Kong when I go there in a few months time, where I can probably get the battery replaced to give it a new lease of life: It will then probably go to my wife, who currently is still using an iPad that must now be 10-12 years old, and hasn’t been able to update the OS for a good few years now. The biggest practical problem I think with an OS that doesn’t update is that in due course various apps will cease to function because they will require the latest OS. That has not been a problem for my wife because she uses her For less things than I use mine. If I were in your shoes Right now, I would see if the battery can be replaced, at reasonable cost, and if so I would do that and leave Updating the iPad until you have a problem with apps you want to use, getting at least another year, maybe two or three out of it.
Thanks guys. @BrendanD no my iPhone SE has moved onto V18 but the Pad has stuck at 17.7.3 and says it’s up to date. I don’t mind the 2 being on different OS and as I mainly use the Pad for reading the paper etc and operating the NDX2/Qb it probably doesn’t really matter, I guess my own only concern would be if it increasingly became a security risk.
Thanks again,
L
Non-trivial question.
As you mention, the biggest concern will (over time) be the security implication. Especially, since on i(Pad)OS all system apps are bundled with the OS itself. This especially effects the browser (engine), iMessage app, and similar built-in things.
To all I know, this is not immediately critical, since previous i(Pad)OS releases still get updates, usually for critical security issues. So I don’t think it’s “broken” one day to another. But risk will increase over time.
And of course it depends a bit on what you do with the iPad and the connected Apple Account. E.g. doing online banking and exploring the wilds of the web vs. using well-known applications or web sites.
Other implications of old OSs can be, that you cannot enable certain new (security) features new OS versions offer - but this usually takes a bit, until this really holds you back. (But 1 reason, not to keep “totally outdated” devices on the same Apple Account.)
It’s a bit of a shame for well working, high-quality hardware - especially with the Pro devices, which had more RAM, than many iPhones still supported by iOS 18. (RAM was the main cut-off point for old devices in the 2010s by Apple.) Then again - today’s devices are so much more powerful, I can understand Apple, at least from a financial and effort for development and support perspective.
The next interesting question could then be - which new device to get.
(My view in very short: the current standard iPad is outdated in too many ways, unless it shall be “cheap” (there can be use cases for that). The Airs and mini are very nice devices, having enough performance for about everyone. Choose by size. The Pros are superb devices most people will never really fully utilize and are really expensive. Then again, if you can and want to effort them, they e.g. have the greatest screens of all current Apple devices.)
PS: The entry level iPad is due for refresh soonish, likely in the coming months (2025Q1 or H1). Possibly with a generous CPU+RAM upgrade, unless Apple allows it to run without “Apple Intelligence”. Would be a point to re-evaluate the model.
I was going n the same boat but decided to trade my old iPad in with Apple Store and they will recycle it…. Plus brought the price of a new iPad 10th gen with Black Friday deal to £284…
Can’t remember exactly which insulting epithet Apple applied to my 8 year old 12.9 Pro. Was it “vintage” or “legacy”? Either way, I need a new one as my battery slowly dies and the smart keyboard proved to very much not be, and repeatedly. I’ve the money to go sort it out now, albeit I’m leaning toward the Logitech keyboards, but I’ve decided to just flog it to death on the mains and then part ex it and two Minis for the latest Pro.
First point to make is dont trade in as you will get next to nothing for it from apple. eBay will get you a lot more.
Getting battery change will give it a new life, but go somewhere fairly reputable. My iPad battery change was not fully successful, but my Mums iPhone battery was changed twice over several years, and worked well.
I still have the old IOS12 (2018) iPad with the battery changed, and whilst the battery change means it powers itself off (suspect the power off button is trapped), I use it as a backup for a specific app I use for Guitar music. Whilst I dont get IOS updates, there are many other apps on it that still seem to get updates.
Thanks guys for the inputs.
With regard to the OP I strongly doubt there will be an option to replace the battery. Even more annoying, Apple stores will accept a booking for battery replacement knowing what the device is and despite knowing there is no option for battery replacement. Worth knowing if your journey to an Apple Store is an out of the way one.
Personally I wouldn’t touch eBay for many of the same reasons I wouldn’t touch AWS, Google, Meta et al but we all draw our lines on different places.
Have the iPad Pro 9.7 which remains on iPadOS 16.7.10, so a few major versions behind the current 18.2 release. Battery is ok, it gets charged during the day, while WAH or out & about.
However everything I want to use on it still seems to work re HiFi system access, Smart home apps and general browsing.
I don’t use Banking apps on the iPad. I do that from my iPhone 12 Mini, which is current on iOS 18.2
The iPad Pro stays on my WiFi behind my Firewall router.
I also still have an iPad Mini 2, which is 6 versions behind, but this runs Roon display at home for ‘Now Playing’ on a shortcut and also comes with me on business trips to Africa, where I have a Laptop to hand, but it can still access Netflix, Amazon Prime and AppleTV for in-hotel room/on-flight entertainment.
Not sure what is new in iPadOS that would justify a new iPad purchase. Not only is the new hardware cost, but the leather case (I like Vaja cases 
) and new long charging leads, as new models are USB-C rather than Lighting.
I have a iPad (5th Generation) iPadOS Version 16.7.10 which main function is running the Naim App for my NDX 2. Occasionaly read/send email or message. Still running strong but will eventually go obsolete.
Happy with the Naim app functionality for easily playing music with my iPad and iPhone.
Should have been more specific. eBay to sell the OP’s iPad, not buy one, of they go down that path. I’ve sold a few old Apple products for more than Apple will give part-ex. Nice thing is that you know it’s going to get a new life with the new owner rather than broken down.
In terms of a battery, then find a reputable laptop fixit corner shop, again rather than Apple. For probably £40ish, you will get a new battery, and can probably stretch out the life of the OP’s current iPad.
No, that’s what I understand you to mean. Hard to sell my devices as there’s no battery replacement for one; the screen is dead on another and the other is frozen. Apple have given me the option to part ex all three and, in store, they have given prices for all three (albeit small ones).
As regards to the battery, I’ve spoken to a few fixit type shops and resellers and to a man they can source batteries for recently discontinued models but beyond that they can get you one if you give them two months and up to double the price for a battery which is rather old and made to look like it’s running at 100% when it’s really running at around 90% or less when you get it.
I use a first gen. SE as an alarm clock which has a £30 battery sourced this way. Has lasted 4 years so far on a battery which drops from 100% to 85% overnight even with the screen and wi-fi off. Took a month for any GM shop to get that battery. I’m not having that fight over other devices 
Yes, maybe. Apple certainly use at least one of legacy or heritage but I may be confusing it with similar language recently adopted in the social security system.
Interesting. My iPad Air (1stgen I think) had the battery and screen swapped 6 months apart towards the end of covid lockdown. Both were in stock at my local corner shop, and each cost around £40-45 supply and fit. Perhaps just lucky, or end of stock items, and unlikely to be apple approved spares.
Last month I sold my Mums iPhone 5S for £16 on eBay (her second battery was only replaced in Oct), and purchased a new replacement for her from Argos, which was cheaper than going to Apple. Online, Apple would just take the 5C off your hands for nowt, but then again I never went into a store to ask.
I’ve just dig it out, and can confirm it is a Gen6 9.7” from 2018 - so battery replacement support stopped at a mere 6 years old, which I think is abysmal.
I’m in the same boat with the original 12.9 iPad pro - poor battery life, sluggish at times and wi-fi issues (probably the old sec?). Mrs Mike Air 2 has a dodgy button too. Might just need to replace them when they die.
Check the link - ‘obsolete’ even if working fine typically refers to something 7 years after it was sold. Sadly I have quite a few of those and not many current items!
