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iPad Pro 5th Generation iPad Pro 12.9" only charges when connected to Mac Studio
- Thread starter DLary
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I too use Apple cables and Apple 20w USB-C charger with my 5th Gen iPad Pro. Sometimes I have to not charge it from the Magic Keyboard, and plug it directly into the iPad. Sometimes the battery gets a memory and won’t budge until I let it totally run down, and then fully charge it. Also try turning on Airplane mode will speed up charging/testing.
If all the other charges don't work, get another cable. Cables are consumables and will break, some sooner some later. Apples cables are not the most robust ones.
There seem to be broken connections regarding the high power charging which uses several lanes/pins of your USB-C cable, very likely the CC lanes for USB PD communications.
Charging via USB-C computer connections uses low wattage aka slowest charging mode.
You can try any USB-C cable. Higher rated ones can provide more power delivery, but for your iPad any generic cable will do.
There seem to be broken connections regarding the high power charging which uses several lanes/pins of your USB-C cable, very likely the CC lanes for USB PD communications.
Charging via USB-C computer connections uses low wattage aka slowest charging mode.
You can try any USB-C cable. Higher rated ones can provide more power delivery, but for your iPad any generic cable will do.
I have tried multiple cables and chargers. The same cable that works with my Mac Studio, doesn't work when using other chargers. I have tried the Apple 20 watt, 30 watt, and 65 watt chargers and a 75 watt charger from Amazon. I think the problem may be with the iPad rather than the cables or chargers.
I took it in to be looked at. Diagnostics found nothing wrong. Technician said that the diagnostics does not test the port itself. I can get a new 13" iPad Air for $719.00. Apple wants $749.00 for a flat rate repair on the 4 year old iPad Pro. I will order the new iPad next week.
I'm having the same problem with my M1 11". I noticed last week I was having some trouble charging... would only charge with the cable flipped a certain way. Then I plugged it in a few days ago and it would not charge regardless of the cable's orientation. Figured it was a bad cable, but it works fine to charge my iPhone, and trying several different ones on the iPad yielded the same result.
Also tried several different chargers, from a low-powered iPhone charger to a high-powered MBP charger, along with several in between. The only that that would work was plugging it into my MBP. Also tried shutting down / restarting, and reinstalling the OS. Nothing helped.
I was on the verge of going to buy a new one (which I really don't want to do at this point... the M1 is just fine for me), but prompted by a Reddit post from several years ago from someone with this issue, I let the battery run all the way down to shut-off... plugged it in to my regular charger, and it worked, charging fully. Hallelujah!
Unfortunately, my joy was short-lived. I tried to plug it in today, and once again it's non-responsive on any number of regular chargers and cables that I try, but it will charge when plugged into the MBP. So, now I need to decide if this handicap is bad enough to justify buying a new one.
Also tried several different chargers, from a low-powered iPhone charger to a high-powered MBP charger, along with several in between. The only that that would work was plugging it into my MBP. Also tried shutting down / restarting, and reinstalling the OS. Nothing helped.
I was on the verge of going to buy a new one (which I really don't want to do at this point... the M1 is just fine for me), but prompted by a Reddit post from several years ago from someone with this issue, I let the battery run all the way down to shut-off... plugged it in to my regular charger, and it worked, charging fully. Hallelujah!
Unfortunately, my joy was short-lived. I tried to plug it in today, and once again it's non-responsive on any number of regular chargers and cables that I try, but it will charge when plugged into the MBP. So, now I need to decide if this handicap is bad enough to justify buying a new one.
this seems really odd. I would bring it in to Apple along with other cables/chargers and ask about it. This really does not make any sense to me.
Yes, it's truly baffling. You would think that if there was some problem with the port or the charging circuitry, it simply wouldn't work at all... but it does charge under those very limited circumstances. If it charges from my MBP, why won't it charge from a regular charger? And if it charges from a regular charger after the battery is fully drained, why won't it charge after that?
I suppose I could bring it to Apple, but it's far out of warranty, and I think they'd just tell me that it'd broken and I need to buy a new one.
Here is a link to the Apple Repair Manual for the iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) Wi-Fi. There is a chapter on Battery or Charging Issues. 2025 was the first year iPad repair manuals were made available to the public.
support.apple.com
iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) Repair Manual - Apple Support
Technical instructions for troubleshooting an Apple device
One observation I just made. I realized that I was using a Thunderbolt cable when successfully charging from my MBP. Changing that to a USB-C cable yields no charging. So perhaps the explanation there is that the iPad Pro has different charging circuitry when it’s a TB connection vs. USB-C, and it’s just the USB-C portion that is bad?
But that doesn’t explain why I was able to charge via USB-C once the battery was fully depleteted.
But that doesn’t explain why I was able to charge via USB-C once the battery was fully depleteted.
I don't have one near me, so it would mean several hours in the car... if I knew there was a service bulletin for this issue where they would take care of it, it would be worth it, but I don't want to drive that far just to have to pay $699 for a replacement M1. So, I went ahead and got a new M4, and will sell the M1 on ebay or something (fully disclosing the charging issue, of course).