Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

glenthompson

macrumors demi-god
Original poster
Apr 27, 2011
2,984
848
Virginia
Has anyone have issues with their pencil getting reduced battery life over time? My wife's pencil doesn't seem to hold much of a charge anymore. After a full charge it only works for a couple of hours at best.
 
I got mine right when the 9.7 Pros came out and still use it with my 10.5. Still holding a charge really well—I put it on the charger once a week or less.
 
Just wanted to chime in here - they list the battery as 12 hours of use. After 2 hours this morning, mine was down to 65%. Possibly the dev beta is costing a lot of battery life, or my battery is also bad.
 
I charged mine to 100% at 8pm. 5 hours of sitting idle with no use it was down 40%. I'm guessing this isn't normal? I've had mine since version 1 ipad pro 12.9 came out, so its over a year old now. I've been holding off on ordering a replacement pen. I keep hoping Apple will release a revised pen next keynote with better battery, better charging options and less slippery. An eraser wouldn't be bad either.
 
Bear in mind the battery life will drain faster if it is being moved.

if it is stationary it goes to sleep.

if it is moved, the motion sensor wakes it up and keeps it awake. So if it is in a backpack being carried around all day, it will drain fast. If it is left on a desk for example, it will not.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SnacksGU
Bear in mind the battery life will drain faster if it is being moved.

if it is stationary it goes to sleep.

if it is moved, the motion sensor wakes it up and keeps it awake. So if it is in a backpack being carried around all day, it will drain fast. If it is left on a desk for example, it will not.
I didn’t know this until now. Thanks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: throAU
Bear in mind the battery life will drain faster if it is being moved.

if it is stationary it goes to sleep.

if it is moved, the motion sensor wakes it up and keeps it awake. So if it is in a backpack being carried around all day, it will drain fast. If it is left on a desk for example, it will not.
Ahhh, I didn't know it either. It's stored in my case so I guess if I'm picking up the iPad and moving it around, that drains the pen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: throAU
I did a five hour test and just left the pencil on a table untouched instead of attached to my iPad case. After five hours it was still at 100%. Thanks again for this tip.
 
  • Like
Reactions: greg555 and throAU
Ahhh, I didn't know it either. It's stored in my case so I guess if I'm picking up the iPad and moving it around, that drains the pen.

Mine doesn't seem to hold-a-charge as good as before either. It's about 1.5 years old.

Right, I love my Speck Case that also holds the pencil, but I learned to only store it there when you are actually using it occasionally (unless you want to be charging it ... even after NON-use).

So, I also bought a little leather-like case to store it (and the charger-piece) on the desk where it can sit idle. Here is my test ...
Fully charge Apple Pencil to 100%. Put it in pencil-case, on desk idle and unmoved for 7 days (so, it falls asleep and stays asleep). On day 8, I move it and iPad-Pro says it is now at 85%. Does that sound about right?
 
Bear in mind the battery life will drain faster if it is being moved.

if it is stationary it goes to sleep.

if it is moved, the motion sensor wakes it up and keeps it awake. So if it is in a backpack being carried around all day, it will drain fast. If it is left on a desk for example, it will not.
Thanks this appears to have solved my problem as well. Was in my suit jacket a lot. Wasn’t using it. But was moving all the time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: throAU
After fully-cycling the battery many times, the battery life of my Apple-Pencil-1 is about 80% of when if was new 2 years ago.

If you own an Apple Pencil (Gen 1), my best advice is:
1. Actually use it occasionally
2. It's OK to let it sleep, but don't let the battery get too low ... ever.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.