Apple Pencil Not Charging: Here's How to Fix?

Binay Konwar August 26, 2023 6:51 PM Tips & Tricks

The Apple Pencil is an essential tool for iPad users. It’s the best digital stylus for writing notes and also digital art. The experience of using an Apple Pencil attempts to simulate using an actual pen and paper, and it’s much better than just drawing with your fingers. It has pressure sensitivity and angular detection, making your strokes more realistic and expressive.

The first Apple Pencil came out in 2015, and we got a follow-up second generation in 2018. There were quite a few differences between them. The first one charged with a lightning connector, and the second generation charged directly from the iPad via Wireless charging.

The second generation also has more features like Double Tap and Hover. It’s also a lot more convenient since it directly charges at the side of the tablet.

A key change between both models was how they rested on a flat surface. The first generation Apple Pencil was round, and the second has a more modern design. It’s flat and sits comfortably on a table without rolling off. Newer iPads and the more expensive ones support the second generation. The base variants are still stuck with the first-generation Apple Pencil.

The Apple Pencil (second generation) only needs to charge for 15 seconds for 30 minutes of use. It’s a great combination of precision and versatility.

Unfortunately, there are many reports of the Apple Pencil simply refusing to charge. This renders it useless since people can no longer take notes, create digital art, sign PDFs, design graphics, annotate PDFs and documents, and more. This article will try to help you address the problems with the Apple Pencil not charging.

We can mostly put it down to a software glitch. While we can’t pinpoint an exact cause, the Apple Pencil relies greatly on Software (iPadOS) to work correctly. If there are optimization issues, the Apple Pencil won’t charge properly. If there’s a bad update due to unintentional developer overlooks, it could cause bugs that prevent charging.

Charging gadgets in low temperatures is also challenging, which is a potential reason. Hardware errors rarely occur, so while it’s a tiny chance, there’s still an unfortunate possibility that your Apple Pencil is a victim of this. There are also compatibility issues and problems with dust entering ports.

Since there are two generations of the Apple Pencil, it’s always a good idea to check whether you have the right one for your iPad. Refer to the lists below for a clear idea.

List of iPads compatible with Apple Pencil (First Generation):

List of iPads compatible with Apple Pencil (Second Generation):

If you want to check how much charge your Apple Pencil currently has,

Note: If you have a second-generation Apple Pencil, you can directly check the battery percentage from the Apple Pencil sidebar in the Settings app.

If the Apple Pencil wasn’t used for a long time or there was a complete discharge, we recommend waiting at least 15 minutes before deciding it isn’t charging. Then, you can try restarting your iPad and plugging in the pencil again (1st gen) or attaching it to the side (2nd gen).

If you’re on the first-gen Apple Pencil, there’s a chance you’re using a third-party cable to charge the Apple Pencil. Sometimes, they don’t play nicely with iPads, and this could prevent charging. It’s worth noting that the first generation is also significantly slower at charging.

You also might want to turn on Bluetooth. While Bluetooth isn’t necessary for charging, you still need it to update the battery percentage status. Turn it on from the Control Center or the Settings app in the Bluetooth submenu.

If none of these work, then it’s time to perform a restart. Restarting fixes common software glitches since it restarts RAM and cache. You can shut it down from the Settings app and then power it on later or use the power and volume button combination to force it to turn off.

If you’re running a Beta of iPadOS, these glitches might also happen because of that. Betas aren’t optimized for daily use, and we recommend downgrading to stable iPadOS to try and fix this problem. Also, check whether your alignment with the side is correct.

Open the Settings app and go to the Bluetooth submenu. You may try unpairing and re-pairing the iPad from the Apple Pencil. This will fix any potential software glitches. Tap on Forget, and pair it again to see if it solves the problem with charging.

The Apple pencil relies on existing charging from your iPad to charge. If your iPad itself is low on charge and is on Low Power Mode, it cannot charge your stylus.

Open the Settings app and go to the Battery submenu. Disable Low Power Mode from here, or you can directly turn it off from the Control Center. Your Apple Pencil will resume charging if there is a problem with this.

Make sure the ports are clean, too. If there’s dust in there, it could block the charge. Keeping ports away from moisture is also a good idea. Lightly dabbing around with a toothpick could work, or you can use compressed air. A light vacuum cleaner or a hair dryer is ideal.

Wipe down the flat sides with a clean microfiber cloth for second-generation users. Also, wipe the magnetic connectors on either side to remove dust or accumulated oils.

We also recommend removing any bulky cases until your Apple Pencil charges. Some instances might interfere with the charging if they are too bulky and collect plenty of dust.

A user on Apple’s Forums recommends slightly warming up the Apple Pencil. If restart, repair, and the other solutions don’t work, this could work as a last-ditch attempt.

Also, batteries do not charge very well in freezing temperatures. If you are in a really cold place and it stops charging, then it needs a bit of heat to get going again.

Try it out if you have another cable or dongle for charging your Apple Pencil. There’s a chance your dongle is corrupt since they’re not very durable and are fragile components.

If you have one, you can also try directly plugging it into the Lightning port on an iPhone to see whether it charges up. If it does, your dongle needs a replacement, or the port on your iPad is faulty. We recommend using Apple’s official cables and dongles since they have the best compatibility with Apple products. Third parties could be a reason for charging failure.

You may also try charging the second-generation Apple Pencil using another iPad Pro. Please attach it to the side of another iPad Pro and check the Batteries widget. If it works, there’s an issue with your iPad, not the Apple Pencil.

Apple constantly pushes OTA updates to keep improving the user experience of its products. Approximately every two months, you’ll get iPadOS updates. These will mostly contain security updates and important bug fixes. There’s a chance that they could solve the problems with the Apple Pencil not charging. To check for updates,

After exhausting all these methods, you can contact Apple Support via their feedback. You may also submit feedback to Apple about the Apple Pencil. You can narrate your problems to Apple Support, and they also have remote assistance. If it’s a problem they can fix remotely, they’ll help you.

If it requires a service centre visit, Apple will generate a unique number that you can go to the service centre with. It’ll already have your problems explained neatly. At the service centre, they’ll try to charge it via a cable or by snapping it to the side of their products. Unfortunately, the Apple Pencil isn’t a repairable product, and it’s useless once the battery degrades significantly.

We recommend resetting your entire device to factory settings only if the lack of charge on your Apple Pencil is severely affecting your daily life.

Note: Take a full backup of all your data on your iPad, including iCloud and local storage, since this method will completely and permanently wipe all user data. You will lose all your apps and games, Photos, Videos and Music, Wi-Fi Settings, etc.

To back up your iPad to iCloud, open Settings and tap on your name. Tap on iCloud and find the Backup section. Turn on the iCloud Backup switch. It will take a while to back up your data entirely. You can also choose to go back to iTunes or another PC.

Here are the steps to completely reset your iPad to factory settings:

There’s another way to reset your iPad, and that’s using a Mac or another laptop using iTunes.

First, check for any physical damage on your Apple Pencil. If it wasn’t properly maintained, or if there are cracks, there’s a chance of internal component damage.

You might have to get a new Apple Pencil if none of the fixes worked. If you have Apple Care or Apple Care Plus, you can get a free replacement from Apple Support. If there’s no visible physical damage, you might get a free replacement even if the product is under warranty.

These were the various solutions to fix an Apple Pencil that refuses to charge. We hope they were helpful, and you may comment if we missed out on any.