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Apple Pencil gen 1 won’t charge or hold a charge

I’ve not used my pencil in a few years and decided to try it again and it was at 0% charge and its been plugged in for 4 hours and although the widget within 10 mins says it is fully charged when i unplug it to use it it doesn’t do a thing - and the ipad says it is charged 3%. I’ve even tried using it when the widget says 100% and the pencil still plugged in to a charger and it still does nothing - how can i get this working again? Thanks

iPad Pro 10.5-inch, Wi-Fi

Posted on Jan 17, 2021 4:58 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 17, 2021 6:21 PM

You cannot store Apple Pencils for any prolonged period of time and NOT keep them charged up to some level.

If your Apple Pencil/s sat around unused or unopened and not kept charged up for more than a few weeks, or so, OR

LONGER, then the battery in your Apple Pencil may have failed and is dead and you will have to purchase another

brand new Apple Pencil or get, if still under warranty, a free replacement Pencil from Apple.


Sorry.


And it looks like some things about the Apple Pencil have NOT changed in the new version 2 model, either.


FYI and something Apple will never, EVER divulge to it potential iPad Pro/Apple Pencil customers/users unless the potential customer/user is smart enough to ask about,


Due to the “always on and active/standby” nature of the Apple Pencil and, also, due to its very tiny rechargeable Li-

ion battery ( smaller than the eraser head on a REAL wooden pencil ), the Apple Pencil needs to be constantly charged up to some significant charge level ALL THE TIME, even when not using the Pencil for prolonged periods of time.


The Apple Pencil needs to be kept charged to a minimum of 5-10% all the time.


If the Apple Pencil battery is allowed to drain down to 0% and allowed to stay in that flat condition for more than a few weeks, or so, OR EVEN LONGER, that very tiny little Li-ion battery is too small to keep at a 0% state for a long period of time and it will fail and the Apple Pencil will be dead and you may have to “pop” for another $99 Apple Pencil, once again!


Apple only has a one-year warranty on any Apple accessory items.


You need to keep your Apple Pencil charged all the time, even if it is only to 10%-15% charge. It must keep some charge level in that tiny Lithium-ion battery at all times!



One last ditch thing you can try is to plug the Pencil's Lightning connector into the iPad.

Then, try a simple hard reset of your iPad by holding down both the Home and sleep/wake buttons simultaneously until your iPad goes to black and restarts with Apple logo, then release the buttons.


See if the Pencil starts charging then, when it reaches a sufficient charge, like over 15%, or so, or more, disconnect the Pencil and reconnect it to see if it Bluetooth pairs.

If it does pair, try using it.


Someone else posted another possible idea/solution that you can try before completely giving up on your Apple Pencil.

Try heating up your Pencil using a hair dryer on its highest setting for 5-10 minutes.

Do not get the hair dryer heat too close to the Pencil.

Or try leaving it near a heating register where you live for 10-15 minutes, or so.

See if this will revive the battery, or not.


If still no joy, your Pencil is definitely dead.



Sorry and Best of Luck to You!

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 17, 2021 6:21 PM in response to lakent

You cannot store Apple Pencils for any prolonged period of time and NOT keep them charged up to some level.

If your Apple Pencil/s sat around unused or unopened and not kept charged up for more than a few weeks, or so, OR

LONGER, then the battery in your Apple Pencil may have failed and is dead and you will have to purchase another

brand new Apple Pencil or get, if still under warranty, a free replacement Pencil from Apple.


Sorry.


And it looks like some things about the Apple Pencil have NOT changed in the new version 2 model, either.


FYI and something Apple will never, EVER divulge to it potential iPad Pro/Apple Pencil customers/users unless the potential customer/user is smart enough to ask about,


Due to the “always on and active/standby” nature of the Apple Pencil and, also, due to its very tiny rechargeable Li-

ion battery ( smaller than the eraser head on a REAL wooden pencil ), the Apple Pencil needs to be constantly charged up to some significant charge level ALL THE TIME, even when not using the Pencil for prolonged periods of time.


The Apple Pencil needs to be kept charged to a minimum of 5-10% all the time.


If the Apple Pencil battery is allowed to drain down to 0% and allowed to stay in that flat condition for more than a few weeks, or so, OR EVEN LONGER, that very tiny little Li-ion battery is too small to keep at a 0% state for a long period of time and it will fail and the Apple Pencil will be dead and you may have to “pop” for another $99 Apple Pencil, once again!


Apple only has a one-year warranty on any Apple accessory items.


You need to keep your Apple Pencil charged all the time, even if it is only to 10%-15% charge. It must keep some charge level in that tiny Lithium-ion battery at all times!



One last ditch thing you can try is to plug the Pencil's Lightning connector into the iPad.

Then, try a simple hard reset of your iPad by holding down both the Home and sleep/wake buttons simultaneously until your iPad goes to black and restarts with Apple logo, then release the buttons.


See if the Pencil starts charging then, when it reaches a sufficient charge, like over 15%, or so, or more, disconnect the Pencil and reconnect it to see if it Bluetooth pairs.

If it does pair, try using it.


Someone else posted another possible idea/solution that you can try before completely giving up on your Apple Pencil.

Try heating up your Pencil using a hair dryer on its highest setting for 5-10 minutes.

Do not get the hair dryer heat too close to the Pencil.

Or try leaving it near a heating register where you live for 10-15 minutes, or so.

See if this will revive the battery, or not.


If still no joy, your Pencil is definitely dead.



Sorry and Best of Luck to You!

Apple Pencil gen 1 won’t charge or hold a charge

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