Apple Pencil Gen 2 discharges while connected on iPad Pro after OS update

Question

Level 1

4 points

Apple Pencil Gen 2 discharges while connected on iPad Pro after OS update

I have an ipad pro 12.9 in. running 26.6.1 OS. After the last OS update Aug 2026, my apple pencil started discharging to 0 while connected to the ipad and the ipad is connected to it's charger. It takes approximately 6-12 hrs to fully discharge the pencil to 0 after sitting idle(I'm not exactly certain). I find this out by grabbing the pencil to use and nothing happens. Reconnecting charges it to 100% within 20-30 min. A couple of tests I ran:

1) If I sit the pencil on the desk to the side, it will still discharge if bluetooth is on.

2) If I turn bluetooth off and sit the pencil on the desk, it does not discharge. 2-3 days later the battery reports 100% when I reconnect it to the iPad.

So something appears to be wrong with the handshake between the ipad and pencil, whether magnetically connected or not, to cause the battery to discharge when it should be idle

iPad Pro, iPadOS 26

Posted on Sep 8, 2026 1:34 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

PreCognition

Level 6

8,852 points

Sep 8, 2026 3:02 PM in response to wild_bill_

Your Bluetooth test is a useful clue. Since the Pencil holds its charge with Bluetooth off but drains rapidly when connected, I’d try re-establishing the pairing before assuming the Pencil battery has failed.

Go to Settings > Bluetooth, tap the ⓘ next to Apple Pencil, choose Forget This Device, then restart the iPad. After it restarts, attach the Pencil magnetically and pair it again.

That won’t erase anything from the iPad or Pencil.

If it still drops from 100% to 0% within several hours while idle, especially since this started immediately after the iPadOS update, I’d report it to Apple and have them run diagnostics on the iPad/Pencil combination. Your test results are worth giving them exactly as you described them.

Reply