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iPhone XS Max new iPhone XS Max charging issues

G

Gogol

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 1, 2013
58
2
The Netherlands
When the iPhone is sleeping (black screen) and you connect the lightning cable the iPhone XS Max will not charge. The screen has to be active and then you have to connect the lightning cable to charge the iPhone XS max.
I want to bring to attention the following thread on Apple Discussions: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8551504

I don’t know yet if this is a hardware or software problem and I like to see other experiences with this issue and with other types of the new XS iPhone.
I have a iPhone XS Max 256 GB
 
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Gogol said:
When the iPhone is sleeping (black screen) and you connect the lightning cable the iPhone XS Max will not charge. The screen has to be active and then you have to connect the lightning cable to charge the iPhone XS max.
I want to bring to attention the following thread on Apple Discussions: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8551504

I don’t know yet if this is a hardware or software problem and I like to see other experiences with this issue and with other types of the new XS iPhone.
I have a iPhone XS Max 256 GB
Click to expand...

Just tried with my MAX.

With black screen when I plug in, I get a single chime and the unlock screen showing a lightning bolt on the battery just as it should. It also displays the charge % of the battery.
 
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I've noticed this issue as well. First I thought it was a faulty cable and used the one from my iPad. But the same thing happened with that as well. It seems like a software issue it works every time the screen is on.

Another thing I've noticed is I don't even need to wait 20 seconds after screen turning off to reproduce this issue. It's pretty much instantaneous. I unplug my phone from the charger, turn off the screen, and after a couple of seconds I reconnect the charging cable. It won't charge.

I could reproduce the issue EVEN WITH SCREEN ON. The factor is inactivity for at least 3 to 10 seconds - screen on or off. What I mean is- don't move the phone, don't touch the screen, do not give any inputs or do anything on the phone for a few seconds. Plug in the lightning cable. It won't work. Now touch the screen and replug the cable, it starts charging. Verified this many many times.

Very disappointed with this issue. Can't believe an almost $1400 device has such issues with basic functionality.
 
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I returned my first max for this issue and also because True Tone was missing from the phone entirely. It’s a known issue. I saw a post about it on reddit today too.
 
tonybarnaby said:
I returned my first max for this issue and also because True Tone was missing from the phone entirely. It’s a known issue. I saw a post about it on reddit today too.
Click to expand...
Did you get a replacement device without these issues?
 
geekback said:
Did you get a replacement device without these issues?
Click to expand...
Yeah I did. My next one gave me headaches but also had the charging issue. It seemed like it would do it depending on which side of the cable I plugged in. If it didn’t acknowledge the charge and I immediately flipped it over, then it would. It must be a fairly common issue.
 
Gogol said:
When the iPhone is sleeping (black screen) and you connect the lightning cable the iPhone XS Max will not charge. The screen has to be active and then you have to connect the lightning cable to charge the iPhone XS max.
I want to bring to attention the following thread on Apple Discussions: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8551504

I don’t know yet if this is a hardware or software problem and I like to see other experiences with this issue and with other types of the new XS iPhone.
I have a iPhone XS Max 256 GB
Click to expand...

Are you guys charging from a pc/mac? Try charging it directly from the charger and see what happens.

Settings>Face ID & Passcode>USB Accessories then enable it.
 
Last edited:
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kanshu said:
Are you guys charging from a pc/mac? Try charging it directly from the charger and see what happens.

Settings>Face ID & Passcode>USB Accessories then enable it.
Click to expand...
Thank you for this. I turned off that option and the problem went away.
I knew Apple introduced this feature and suspected this would be the reason. But couldn't find it despite searching in settings.

Hoping for a fix on this soon.
I plugged in and out my charging cable some 70 times experimenting. Hope that doesn't mess things up in the hardware.

EDIT:

Even with the option USB setting off, the issue is STILL there. I tried it a few more times and its back.
 
Last edited:
Im having the same problem. Plug it in while the screen is black and nothing. Unplug and plug back in and it works. Wireless works everytime. The USB Accessories toggle did nothing for mine.
 
reyalP said:
Im having the same problem. Plug it in while the screen is black and nothing. Unplug and plug back in and it works. Wireless works everytime. The USB Accessories toggle did nothing for mine.
Click to expand...
Same thing. I thought the turning off the USB option fixed it, but sadly it didn't.
I tried it at work and it didn't charge. I'll test it out again with other chargers at home.
This is ridiculous.
 
Here's the Apple support doc on it: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208857

I think the toggle is confusing. By default it's off....which means that it will prevent USB access after an hour. I believe you turn it on to allow USB access all the time.

geekback said:
Same thing. I thought the turning off the USB option fixed it, but sadly it didn't.
I tried it at work and it didn't charge. I'll test it out again with other chargers at home.
This is ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Are you using just a power brick or are you connected to a computer? Apple notes in that doc:

Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch charges as usual when it’s connected to a USB power adapter.

So if you are trying to charge connected to a computer, then I think you might have the issue. They state:

If you don’t first unlock your password-protected iOS device—or you haven’t unlocked and connected it to a USB accessory within the past hour—your iOS device won’t communicate with the accessory or computer, and in some cases, it might not charge. You might also see an alert asking you to unlock your device to use accessories.
 
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netnothing said:
Here's the Apple support doc on it: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208857

I think the toggle is confusing. By default it's off....which means that it will prevent USB access after an hour. I believe you turn it on to allow USB access all the time.



Are you using just a power brick or are you connected to a computer? Apple notes in that doc:

Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch charges as usual when it’s connected to a USB power adapter.

So if you are trying to charge connected to a computer, then I think you might have the issue. They state:

If you don’t first unlock your password-protected iOS device—or you haven’t unlocked and connected it to a USB accessory within the past hour—your iOS device won’t communicate with the accessory or computer, and in some cases, it might not charge. You might also see an alert asking you to unlock your device to use accessories.
Click to expand...

I tried connecting it to a mac. I tried both off and on options.
The issue is that the behavior isn't consistent. If it always doesn't charge - its ok, I'll know it doesnt work that way.
But sometimes it starts charging, sometimes there's nothing.

Its a problem because I left my phone on the charger one night, and it had not charged at all the next morning.
 
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geekback said:
I tried connecting it to a mac. I tried both off and on options.
The issue is that the behavior isn't consistent. If it always doesn't charge - its ok, I'll know it doesnt work that way.
But sometimes it starts charging, sometimes there's nothing.

Its a problem because I left my phone on the charger one night, and it had not charged at all the next morning.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, definitely sounds like a larger issue is going on then. Sorry I couldn't help more.
 
netnothing said:
Hmmm, definitely sounds like a larger issue is going on then. Sorry I couldn't help more.
Click to expand...
I appreciate the help. Lets see how this issue pans out.
Really love this phone, hope I can exchange it for something without the issue.
 
It seems that when I connect the lightning cable to the iPhone when screen is black nothing happens. When I wait around 20 seconds and then tap the screen I can hear the charging sound and see the large battery status symbol.
I see some response (maybe max 100 people worldwide) about this problem but it seems to me that not everyone with an iPhone XS Max has this problem then it would be more widespread. So I suppose it is not a software issue but a hardware one.
 
I’ve been running 12.1 beta since I got my XS Max and haven’t seen this issue but other threads I’ve read all seem to have the issue on 12.0, specifically when the phone is left alone on standby for 20 seconds and then plugged into a charger.
 
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Gogol said:
It seems that when I connect the lightning cable to the iPhone when screen is black nothing happens. When I wait around 20 seconds and then tap the screen I can hear the charging sound and see the large battery status symbol.
I see some response (maybe max 100 people worldwide) about this problem but it seems to me that not everyone with an iPhone XS Max has this problem then it would be more widespread. So I suppose it is not a software issue but a hardware one.
Click to expand...

This is the exact same problem I have with my Max.
 
Xs MAX - Weird, just tried with my MacBook Pro - USB to Lightning - shut off screen, plugged in cable, bam, iTunes started up, phone vibrated and showed 100% green battery charging. Tried with my USB C to Lightning (Apple) cable, same thing. I'll report back if my wife's Xs MAX doesn't do the same thing.

Same results with the 5w brick and an Anker Lightning cable and iPhone cable. :/ Hope this isn't a hardware issue.
 
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BigMcGuire said:
Xs MAX - Weird, just tried with my MacBook Pro - USB to Lightning - shut off screen, plugged in cable, bam, iTunes started up, phone vibrated and showed 100% green battery charging. Tried with my USB C to Lightning (Apple) cable, same thing. I'll report back if my wife's Xs MAX doesn't do the same thing.

Same results with the 5w brick and an Anker Lightning cable and iPhone cable. :/ Hope this isn't a hardware issue.
Click to expand...

Waiting to hear if your wife’s phone also has the same issue.

I’ve tried plugging in the lightning cable so many times that now I’m worried if I’ll wear out the port out.
 
Had my max since launch and haven’t had this issue until last night. Took about 30 seconds to actually start charging. Don’t know if it’s a one time thing or if it’ll keep doing it.
 
When i plug in my phone with black screen i get the following:

Macbook pro- it starts itunes and charges no problem
Wireless charger- place on charger it starts charging immediately
Charger that came with phone- it does not charge until i plug it in and touch screen. Can take up to 20 seconds
12 watt charger with apple cable or Anker cable- it does not charge until i plug in and touch screen. Can take up to 20 seconds.
If i plug it in and nothing happens and then unplug it and plug it back in again it will start charging.
 
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