iPad Pro won’t charge with USB-C to USB-C cable

Be assured, the content of your original post was thoroughly digested before I replied.

As stated in your original post, flipping the USB-C plug is sometime required for the iPad to begin charging. As such, as comprehensively outlined within my explanation, this suggests that the USB-C port on your iPad may have a fault.

This potential diagnosis is supported by your assertion, noted, that your USB-C cables and Power Adapter have been tested with other devices.

Hi, My wife iPad mini failed to charge again on the 23 and 24th Oct 23, again reboots cured the problem, before I rebooted it on the 24th Oct, I plugged into the USB C port a SD Card reader with my DSLR camera card in it, the iPad mini would not recognise the SD card, following the reboot the SD card was there and I could see the images on it. So this proves to me the USB C port is completely unresponsive to the system, The issue stared to show itself around June/July 23 so next time it fails to charge I will roll back the firmware to 16.5 which was released in May 23. I will update this thread on my results.

Which iPadOS have you installed ?

My wife’s iPad mini experience the issue after installing 16.5, the issue was still present with 17. Since I installed 17.1.1 the issue has not troubled her, I know it has only been a few days but I am hopeful.

2018 Gen3 iPad Pro 12.9" here. Was on iOS 15.x and this issue started about a month ago (Nov 2023).

There was some lint in the port, and cleaning it out seemed to fix it. However, last night it happened again. This was with the original cable and adapter that came with the iPad.

Left it plugged in overnight, it was at 38% charged, from 10%. Oddly, I had shut it off to preserve what battery I had left, and it was booted up when I checked it in the morning. Very odd.

Have not tried the USB-A cable method, this has only been with C-to-C cables. And yes I tried different cables and power adapters.

I am disappointed to read all these stories about basically new iPads having the same issues. Thought mine just had a bad port due to some mishap in the past, as I use the iPad Pro relentlessly.

Was planning to upgrade next year, but now I think I am going to do it while this things still functions properly.

I have the same issue on my iPad Pro (11-inch) (2nd generation) running iOS 17.2. It only charges from 5V USB-A and the charging is painfully slow but I am enduring it while waiting for a fix. Here is what works on mine.

1. USB A to USB-C cables. I have a couple of these short cables that work. Strangely though, one cable from the same batch doesn't work. My best guess is that USB-C connector, while the C connector itself appearing to be rotationally symmetric, is NOT symmetric and the charger and the devices work together to make it possible to insert the C connector in any polarity. So depending on how the cable assembly company connects the USB-C connector during manufacturing, it might work only when the USB-C connector is soldered the 'right side up'.
2. It was possible to use this 'working USB-A to USB-C' cable along with a USB-C to USB-A converter dongle and charged the ipad from a USB-C apple charger. But it was not fast charging.
3. Even with this USB-A cable, the ipad charges only when I insert the USB-C connector to iPad last. iPad will not charge if I insert USB-C first and connect USB-A to the charger next. So this makes me believe there is some software issue.

So I am not sure what should be done. Is the iPad charge port faulty? But to what degree? Electrical contacts are worn out? Or only one side of the USB-C connector was working and that's why it shows dependency on the polarity of the USB-C connector, and still refuses to accept USB-C connection which requires some initial preamble between the charger and the device to accept any charge via USB-C, while USB-A side doesn't require any of these, and happily charges the ipad at 5V USB 2.0 standards?

As long as the iPad charges, I guess I can still use it until the contacts wear out.

I am providing the details of my case, hoping it would help someone figure out how to charge properly.

Sadly, I am coming to a conclusion that there might have been some mechanical failure in the iPad USB-C port but some remaining contacts are making it possible to charge it at least under USB-A cable standard.

Wishing you the best and hoping for some more answers.

Best regards

RF Engineer

I’ve been having this issue for a week or so with my 2nd Gen 11 inch Pro. Prior to that, for some time (a year, maybe) I found that I had to flip the USB C cable, I thought it was just the cable getting old and abused. Nope, based on my research this is an iPad issue. So, I reached out to support and they ran remote diagnostics, everything came up roses, no hardware issues and they even said my battery was good at 88% capacity (which is a surprise to me as I’ve dug through the analytics on device and those indicate I’m at around 80 - 83% capacity). Anyway, I’ve tried all the tips and tricks, still no dice. Even after the lates 17.3.1 update the best I go was a quick *bing* and green battery flash. Then, nothing. I’ve cleaned out the USB C port, carefully, of course, and still nothing. I’m wondering if some of the comments that this is a connector issue are right. As I have the Magic Keyboard I can charge through there, but it’s not a 100% solution as there are times I want to charge sans case, or heaven forbid, listen to my nice wired headphones. As the iPad is only 3 years old and according to Apple support the battery is still pretty good I’m not happy and super reluctant to buy a new iPad. Honestly, I’m just happy I have AppleCare on a yearly renewal for my MacBook Pro, hate to be SOL with the ports on that.

Just wanted to add that I, too am having this same problem with my 2021 iPad Pro 12.9"

For the last several months it would have intermittent problems charging and/or syncing using a variety of USB-C to USB-C and USB-A to USB-C cables.

Sometimes resetting the iPad would help. Sometimes rebooting my computer would help (with syncing). Sometimes changing to a different cable would help, only to find that it would later go back to working with the previous cables later.

Sometimes switching the orientation of the cable would help.

Lately I've noticed it absolutely not working with either my travel USB-C to USB-C cable or my home USB-C to USB-C cable and not getting fixed by any of the usual solutions, including changing the charger, changing the outlet used, etc. I tried buying two fresh new USB-C to USB-C cables from Amazon, one is mFi certified, and it did not work with either one! And yet, the new cables charge the other iPads in our house.

This is very frustrating. I managed to find two USB-A to USB-C cables that work, both are brand SMALLElectric from Amazon in case it matters. Another USB-A to USB-C sync cable is also working, provided that I have the orientation in a specific way, and that one also is Amazon brand. But I don't know what else to do if these fail.

Some troubleshooting guide suspect factory resetting the iPad. I really really don't want to do this, but I'll consider doing it if anyone else can verify that that they tried this and worked.

Anyone?

Hey everyone - possible temporary fix here. I'm having the same issue with the 2021 5th generation iPad Pro 12.9".

I hesitate to share this for fear of jinxing it. But I was able to buy a 5-pack of 10-ft USB-C to USB-C cables from the brand "SMALLElectric" on Amazon.com and these do appear to be working for both charging and syncing.

Strangely, you still have to play with the orientation - it works with some orientations and not others. But the charging seems reasonably quick.

Don't know how long this will last, but hope this might help someone else...

The cables in that photo are damaged beyond repair and a likely cause of (at least) intermittent problems. I suggest they should be replaced ASAP. Regardless of manufacturer the individual cores in a USB cable are always small, thin and vulnerable to breaking particularly with excessive or repetitive bending. There is not much anyone can do about this without the cable getting too big and clunky.

If you need any extra incentive to change the damaged cable, consider that there are 4 cores in the cable and you don’t need to be a genius to work out what is likely to happen if a broken 5 volt core short circuits to a broken data line core.

So this issue crept back in for me, after about 6 months of no issues.

I tried the suggestion posted earlier about using a USB-A to USB-C cable, and I noticed the charging would start, then stop. It seems that it might be that the port itself might be bad. I noticed that if I put the cable in, then it started and then stopped charging, if I gently pulled on the cable end housing, the charging would start again, then stop.

I then went back to the original charger and C-to-C cable, and it started charging immediately.

It seems very likely it is the port, or wiring for the port, that is going bad.

This third-party A-to-C cable has a much more snug fit than the OEM cable. I suspect it was tugging on the port/wiring when inserting or removing, and could possibly explain why using a different cable works in some cases (but not others). Perhaps it's more about the fit of the cable connector, than the wiring in the cable itself.

It sure seems that it is the iPad Pro port.

Have been using a third-party charger and a USB A-to-C cable for the past week. iPad Pro charges just fine, but slowly. A bit faster I think because my charger has the fast-charge USB-A ports. Have tried using a C-to-C cable a few times, no luck.

This is a USB-C port failure as far as I am concerned, and based on so many people having this issue, I do not think it's a dirty port/connection. Sounds like a defective or low-quality part that has broken.

And I assume that eventually the A-cable workaround is going to break as well.

Is it the port itself, or the wiring connecting it? Who knows. Have to assume it will be prohibitively expensive to repair that.

Cheaper than a new iPad - when I was having trouble charging mine (pre-17.2 release), I could still charge my iPad via the USB-C port on the Magic Keyboard.

So have any of you taken your device to an Apple Store or authorized Apple repair center for examination and diagnosis? If not, why not?

And there can be hardware failures where it's just a specific combination that no longer works. But if it still works with some combinations, that might be acceptable to you or not. If it's within the warranty it's an easy choice to get it replaced under warranty. If it's out of warranty, then you would need to decide if the replacement expense is worth it.

I have a similar issue with my 2 year iPad that came out of warranty two weeks ago. It will not charge using any USB-C to USB-C cable, or with the power cable for my brand new MacBook Pro. It charges fine with any USB-A to USB-C cable or with the USB-C cable plugged into my laptop. It's unlikely that this is the cable (they work fine with any other device), the USB-C bricks (they also work fine with any other device) or the charging port on the iPad. I've done a number of steps for troubleshooting, including a hard reset and a complete wipe/restore of the device.

When I say these cables and bricks work fine with other devices, I have tested these on multiple producs; both Apple and otherwise (like a Kindle Paperwhite). I have flipped the cables back and forth so much I feel like a gymnast.

When I plug in a USB-C cable that is plugged into a USB-C brick, I get the green battery flash telling me how much battery power remains on the iPad, and then nothing. It feels like the iPad won't charge if the power source is too powerful. The battery on the iPad appears to be healthy with no unusual power drain.

I'm glad I have a way to charge the device, but this is annoying (and somewhat infuriating).