You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Issues with Apple Pencil 1st Generation

My Apple pencil 1st generation is not charging at all, showing 3% battery life when connected. Its been charging everyday, I’ve been using it with my 7th generation iPad.

Strangely when I managed to pair the pencil with the iPad with the pencil inserted, the charging status jumps from 3% to 100% within minutes but when you remove the pencil, pairing disconnects. When plugged in again it shows 3% again. I disconnect it's showing not connected in Bluetooth.

I bought the iPad and pencil in June of this year from Best Buy, I’ve done every step imaginable and also chatted with someone in Apple support and the lady told me to reset the iPad to its factory default so I done that and it still didn’t work. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Posted on Sep 29, 2020 10:40 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 29, 2020 10:49 AM

Here is one of the better troubleshooting guides for the Apple Pencil that may be helpful in working through common issues.

https://appletoolbox.com/apple-pencil-not-working-heres-our-troubleshooting-guide/


If you have checked through potential issues using the linked troubleshooting guide, then your Apple Pencil may be displaying symptoms of a dead battery - that will not accept or hold any charge.


Assuming that you do not have any other iPad charging issues - and that the Lightning Port of your iPad is free from debris - whilst the Pencil is plugged-in to the Lightning Port of your iPad, verify that the Pencil is recognised:

Settings > General > About


Scroll to the bottom of the page - and you should find either one or two entries for the Pencil (for iPadOS13.x and earlier, one each for the physical and Bluetooth connections - for iPadOS14, you’ll have only a single entry). Finding these entries suggests that the Pencil electronics are good.


Check the Battery Widget for the charge status of the Pencil. Is it 100%? If not, let the Pencil charge; if it is fully charged, disconnect from the iPad. 


When disconnected from iPad, does the Pencil disappear from the Battery Widget - or it’s indicated state of charge suddenly fall? If either of these are true, then the Pencil battery is likely to be dead.


The tiny internal Li-ion battery is susceptible to permanent/irreversible damage through being left discharged for long periods. Even some “new” pencils can exhibit signs of failure out-of-the-box if they are “old stock”. It is essential that if you have an Apple Pencil that you charge it regularly - whether used or not - so as to protect the battery from deep-discharge. Do not allow a pencil to remain in low-charge state for any period of time - as the internal battery will fail, rendering the Pencil useless. Setting aside an unused Pencil for long periods often results in almost certain death of the battery.


If the Pencil Battery has failed, the only remedy is to replace the Pencil. If the battery has failed and your pencil is within its one-year warranty, you should look to having it replaced at an Apple Store.


I hope this information proves to be helpful in both diagnosing and resolving the problem.

Similar questions

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 29, 2020 10:49 AM in response to Rileysnana

Here is one of the better troubleshooting guides for the Apple Pencil that may be helpful in working through common issues.

https://appletoolbox.com/apple-pencil-not-working-heres-our-troubleshooting-guide/


If you have checked through potential issues using the linked troubleshooting guide, then your Apple Pencil may be displaying symptoms of a dead battery - that will not accept or hold any charge.


Assuming that you do not have any other iPad charging issues - and that the Lightning Port of your iPad is free from debris - whilst the Pencil is plugged-in to the Lightning Port of your iPad, verify that the Pencil is recognised:

Settings > General > About


Scroll to the bottom of the page - and you should find either one or two entries for the Pencil (for iPadOS13.x and earlier, one each for the physical and Bluetooth connections - for iPadOS14, you’ll have only a single entry). Finding these entries suggests that the Pencil electronics are good.


Check the Battery Widget for the charge status of the Pencil. Is it 100%? If not, let the Pencil charge; if it is fully charged, disconnect from the iPad. 


When disconnected from iPad, does the Pencil disappear from the Battery Widget - or it’s indicated state of charge suddenly fall? If either of these are true, then the Pencil battery is likely to be dead.


The tiny internal Li-ion battery is susceptible to permanent/irreversible damage through being left discharged for long periods. Even some “new” pencils can exhibit signs of failure out-of-the-box if they are “old stock”. It is essential that if you have an Apple Pencil that you charge it regularly - whether used or not - so as to protect the battery from deep-discharge. Do not allow a pencil to remain in low-charge state for any period of time - as the internal battery will fail, rendering the Pencil useless. Setting aside an unused Pencil for long periods often results in almost certain death of the battery.


If the Pencil Battery has failed, the only remedy is to replace the Pencil. If the battery has failed and your pencil is within its one-year warranty, you should look to having it replaced at an Apple Store.


I hope this information proves to be helpful in both diagnosing and resolving the problem.

Issues with Apple Pencil 1st Generation

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.