iPhone stops charging via data cable when PC is asleep or off.

Question

iPhone stops charging via data cable when PC is asleep or off.

Hello. I noticed some weird behavior with my iPhone. Whenever my PC is turned off or goes to sleep, the phone stops charging via usb. Usually this is caused by power savings settings in windows and or the motherboard BIOS, but after an hour of changing settings to no result I realized my usb mouse and keyboard LEDs were still on, even though my phone did not charge. I then tried charging my battery bank via USB which worked. Finally, I tried charging my phone using a third party power only cable and it continued charging even when the PC was off or asleep.

In other words, when the iPhone is connected to a PC via a cable with data, the phone stops charging when the PC is no longer awake even if the USB port is powered. It appears to be a “feature” of the iPhone to stop charging once the data connection is lost

Is there any way to mitigate this issue besides using one cable for general charging and one cable for syncing my phone? I’d like to plug my phone in when I get home from work and leave it there until the next morning but unless I use my computer a lot it won’t fully recharge by the next morning. Maybe there is a setting in the iPhone that prevents this from occurring.

Thanks.

iPhone SE, iOS 14

Posted on Jul 17, 2021 11:01 AM

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Answer 1

MrHoffman

Level 10

145,891 points

Jul 17, 2021 11:13 AM in response to PurpleKoolAidMan

For the purposes of charging, the iPhone is obvious to the state of the Window system—the iPhone will negotiate the amount of power desired, and whatever is on the other end of the cable will provide the agreed-upon power.

Past that wattage negotiation, the charger or Windows system or Mac entirely controls the provided power, and the iPhone is oblivious to what else might be happening on the Windows or Mac or charger.

An iPhone SE first generation can be charged by a 5W, 10W, or 12W wall charger, with a USB-A to Lightning cable. As an alternative.

There can be UEFI and Windows settings that control this. Windows seems to offer different “sleep states”, and yours has apparently selected a lower sleep state than you would prefer here.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-determine-power-sleep-states-supported-windows-10

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/fix-usb-ports-powered-sleep-mode/

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/enable-hibernate-mode-windows-10/

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Answer 2

MrHoffman

Level 10

145,891 points

Jul 17, 2021 11:56 AM in response to PurpleKoolAidMan

Windows sleep state has a confusing and unstable morass going back to at least 1995, having struggled with that.

Apple offers a USB-A to Lightning cable, and a USB-C to Lightning cable. Other vendors offer Lightning cables, as well.

The Apple Lightning cables are all both power and data, and I’m not aware of a “data only” cable. I have met a few power-only connections, for those concerned about allowing host data access with untrusted charger or untrusted computers.

Check for firmware updates for your system.

Past discussions elsewhere such as those previously linked, and past any potential firmware fixes, you’re headed for a discussion with your system hardware vendor and/or with Microsoft support, around USB power and sleep states.

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Answer 3

Jul 17, 2021 11:45 AM in response to MrHoffman

Thank you for the response! There’s a lot of info on usb power delivery in sleep state and I’ve activated every setting that should allow the phone to be charged while the PC is asleep. The sleep state my system goes into (S3 for the record) delivers enough power to charge an iPhone and powers all other usb devices. The iPhone will charge using any cable other than a data cable while the computer is asleep. My issue is when using a data cable (specifically the OEM Apple cable that came with the phone but I used third party data capable cables) the iPhone no longer has any indication of being plugged into anything at all and stops charging until the computer wakes up.

I’m open to this being a windows/bios issue but I’ve followed every guide on the matter of USB power delivery in sleep states, including links you provided and the only device that does not get power is an iPhone specifically using a cable with data functionality. This issue is obviously not the end of the world but it’s something that has piqued my interest.

Thank you!

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iPhone stops charging via data cable when PC is asleep or off.

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