iOS Tip: Show The Battery Percentage Meter From The Lock Screen Of Your iPad 2

This Mac tip is provided by Mark Greentree and was originally posted on Mark’s blog – Everyday Mac Support. For more of Mark’s tips visit his site, follow him on Twitter, or browse his archive of posts here.


How To: Show The Battery Percentage Meter From The Lock Screen Of Your iPad 2

Many users would have the battery meter in the top right hand corner of their iPad 2 showing the percentage of battery life, along with the battery icon.

Some people may not like the percentage meter, or have yet to turn it on as it is turned off by default.

The following guide has been tested on iOS 5 on an iPad 2. I also tested this on iOS 4.3 with an iPad 1 but it did not work.

Please note the percentage meter will only be presented when the iPad 2 is connected to a power source and charging.

In order to proceed we will assume you have the percentage meter turned off. To check go to the Settings > General > Usage area of your iPad 2 as shown below.

When your iPad 2 is on the lock screen all you need to do is hold down the Home button for a few seconds.

Doing so will change this view of the lock screen from this:

To this view of the lock screen:

You may notice that the screen on the iPad 2 goes black just after the percentage is shown. If that happens simply press the Home button once and you will be presented with the percentage again.

When you unlock your iPad 2 you will only be shown the normal battery icon and the percentage meter will disappear.

Mark Greentree

Mark Greentree is the principle blogger and podcast creator of Everyday Mac Support. His aim is to inform users at all levels of experience how to get the most out of the Apple hardware and associated software. He is the lead host of Not Another Mac Podcast, an Apple based round table discussion with Mac users and experts from all over world.