iPad Hardware Test: Screen, Speakers, Mic and Sensors

Q: Does the iPad have a proximity sensor?

No. That is why the Proximity Sensor Test stays on FAR on any iPad. The screen of an iPad does not switch off when you cover the top edge; only iPhones do that during calls.

Q: Does my iPad have a barometer?

Most iPads from the last several years do. Open Barometer & Altitude and tap Start Tracking: if you see pressure in kPa, it has one; if the card says Barometer Not Available, it does not.

A suggested test order

Same app as on the phone (it is universal), same tabs. Going top to bottom through Diagnostics with the case off and brightness at max takes just under ten minutes.

Screen & Display > Dead Pixel Test. Five full-screen colours, red first; the counter reads Tap to cycle colors • 1/5. On a 13-inch panel, check the four corners and the strip under the camera on every colour, not just the middle.
Audio > Speaker Test. Tap Play Tone, then each row of Frequency Sweep from 250 Hz up to 8000 Hz. Each tone lasts 3 seconds.
Audio > Microphone Test > Start Test and talk. Mic working! appears once the bar passes 30 %.
Camera & Biometrics > Run Camera Tests (lists the camera hardware iOS reports).
Motion Sensors > Bubble Level on a table, then Environment Sensors > Digital Compass and Barometer & Altitude > Start Tracking.
Wireless & Location > Bluetooth Scanner > Start Scanning, then GPS Accuracy Test > Start GPS Test.
Touch & Haptics > Gesture Test and Keyboard Test.

Three results that look broken on an iPad and are not

Proximity Sensor Test sits on FAR forever. iPads have no proximity sensor, and the card does not say so: it just never changes. Nothing is broken.

Camera Test can finish at 5/7 in orange. Many iPads have no flash, so the Flash and Torch rows come back Not available. Compare with the spec sheet of that exact model before you worry.

GPS Accuracy Test says Moderate accuracy. Move to open area. on a Wi-Fi-only iPad. Those models have no GPS chip; iOS places them by nearby Wi-Fi networks, and the app only says Excellent under 10 m. A cellular iPad outdoors should get under that line.

Worked example: the PDF specs sheet on three iPads

One limitation: Export PDF (share icon, top right) writes a one-page specs sheet, and on iPad two of its screen rows are guesses: PPI is always the screen scale times 163, and the diagonal is worked out from 132 pixels per point-inch. Run through the app's own formula:

Screen rows in the exported PDF vs Apple's published specs
iPad	Screen points	PDF Diagonal Size	PDF PPI	Real diagonal / PPI
iPad mini (6th gen)	744 x 1133	10.26 inches	326.0	8.3 in / 326
iPad (10th gen)	820 x 1180	10.88 inches	326.0	10.9 in / 264
iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)	1032 x 1376	13.03 inches	326.0	13 in / 264

So the 10th-gen iPad gets the size right and the PPI wrong, and the mini gets the PPI right and claims a 10-inch screen. Use the Device Info rows (Model, Processor, RAM, Total Storage) to check a listing; ignore the PDF's screen size on iPad. RAM and storage are rounded down to whole binary GB, so a 64 GB iPad shows Total Storage as 59 GB at most.

What this test cannot tell you about an iPad

Battery health and charge cycles. iOS does not give them to apps; look in Settings > Battery, and if your model shows nothing there, ask Apple to test it.
Pencil and keyboard-case pairing. There is no stylus test; draw in Notes instead.
Camera picture quality. Run Camera Tests only asks iOS which cameras exist, so take a real photo with each camera.
Activation Lock, stolen status or water damage. No app can check those from the iPad itself.

Everything in the steps above is free, with ads between sections. The Face ID or Touch ID check, Touch Latency, the burn-in and gradient screens, and the haptic test are Pro (a weekly or yearly subscription), and iPads have no vibration motor for the haptic test to buzz anyway. If you only need the screen and speakers, the free version covers it.

One more thing: Keyboard Test is worth a minute if a used iPad comes with a keyboard case. The test sentence uses every letter from a to z, so one clean pass presses every letter key once.

Questions and answers

Does the iPad have a proximity sensor?

No. That is why the Proximity Sensor Test stays on FAR on any iPad. The screen of an iPad does not switch off when you cover the top edge; only iPhones do that during calls.

Does an iPad have GPS without cellular?

Wi-Fi-only iPads have no GPS receiver; they locate themselves from Wi-Fi networks, so the GPS Accuracy Test usually lands above the 10 m line. Wi-Fi + Cellular models include GPS.

Does my iPad have a barometer?

Most iPads from the last several years do. Open Barometer & Altitude and tap Start Tracking: if you see pressure in kPa, it has one; if the card says Barometer Not Available, it does not.

How do I check iPad battery health?

Not with this app, nor any other from the App Store: iOS keeps battery capacity and cycle count away from apps. Check Settings > Battery on the iPad, or ask Apple Support to test it.

How to check a used iPhone before buying it: a 10-minute checklist · Device Monitor

How do you run a hardware test on an iPad?

A suggested test order

Three results that look broken on an iPad and are not

Worked example: the PDF specs sheet on three iPads

What this test cannot tell you about an iPad

Questions and answers

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