Apple Pencil Pro disconnects after iPadOS 26 update – shows battery but not connected

Hello,

After updating my iPad to iPadOS 26 (official release, not beta), my Apple Pencil Pro is not working properly.

  • When I attach it to the magnetic side of the iPad, it shows the preview/intro tutorial for a moment.
  • Bluetooth status shows Connected for a second, then immediately changes to Not Connected.
  • The battery percentage is displayed (stuck at 89%) but it never charges higher.

I already tried:

  • Forgetting the device and re-pairing
  • Resetting iPad and even Reset All Settings
  • Force restart and Bluetooth reset

None of these steps solved the issue.

So the iPad detects the Pencil, but it cannot stay connected and is unusable.

Is this a known bug in iPadOS 26?

Is there any manual way to force update or reset the Apple Pencil Pro firmware?

Or should we wait for iPadOS 26.1 to fix this issue?

Thanks.


iPad model: iPad Pro 2024 M4

iPad Pro

Posted on Sep 16, 2025 6:07 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 5, 2025 11:08 AM

skysetter wrote:

I'm back to report that my apple pencil, which is thankfully within warranty, would not work on any ipad in the apple store. They will replace mine under warranty.

The most common fix the apple store has seen is to attach your pencil that is not working to a compatible ipad and it may reset and work again on your ipad. This didn't work for me but hopefully it will work for you. I purchased a backup apple pencil so hopefully I can continue to work if this happens again.


For the benefit of other readers, pairing and testing with another compatible iPad is recommended - as this test establishes if the Pencil itself is serviceable...


If the Pencil doesn't pair with another compatible iPad, you will have demonstrated that the Pencil itself is defective. By contrast, successful pairing and operation shows that the Pencil is functional; any issues will therefore be with the original iPad.

33 replies

Sep 18, 2025 9:58 PM in response to Cochrana

I have this exact same problem, and it only started happening after my iPad's battery died, but that might be a coincidence.


Since then, I've tried everything that I can think of to get it to stay connected. Resetting the device, the bluetooth / network settings, various combinations of turning bluetooth on / off while resetting, forgetting the pen many times, etc.


I checked my pencil with someone else's iPad, and it works, and my iPad can't connect to any other pencils. It can still connect to other bluetooth devices fine.


I'm hoping that this is just an unfortunate (and annoying) bug in iPadOS 26... but I use my pencil a lot and this problem significantly hampers my workflow, so I'm getting it checked at the apple store later this week unless there's an update or something that fixes this before then.


I'll let you know if the techy people say anything about it or if I can figure out how to fix it.


iPad Model: iPad Air M2

Pencil Model: Apple Pencil Pro

macOS Version: iPadOS 26

My emotional state: :')

Oct 1, 2025 5:16 PM in response to Cochrana

After updating to the public release of ipad os 26.0 I had a connection issue with my apple pencil pro on my ipad air 2025 m3 13". It connects when I attach and immediately disconnects while on charge and while trying use use. I have rebooted my ipad, I have forgotten the pencil and re-connected. It started working fine until today. I see that there is a new update. I have updated to the newest ipad os 26.0.1 release and no joy! I can't use my apple pencil pro. I can't work. This is preventing me from completing a work order and billing my client so I can pay bills. Ummm.... How do I resolve this quickly. Now I'm researching how to back out of the update to 26 back to 18. This is really a problem for those that count on this equipment to work properly.

Oct 20, 2025 9:22 AM in response to juanverdaguer

Reporting back after about two weeks of my first post, unfortunately the issue persists on iPadOS 26.0.1 after trying:


– Forget the pencil and reconnect

– Restart the device

– Resetting Network Settings: although this seemed to help at first, after a couple of days the issue returned. This temporary fix also deletes all your network passwords and known networks so make sure you have a way to regain access to your networks.


Hopefully this gets resolved soon.

Oct 3, 2025 5:25 PM in response to Cochrana

I'm back again and here I am in the 7 oclock hour and my apple pencil pro is not working with my Ipad m3 Air 13" again. AGAIN! I thought there might be a correlation between my focus setting (which is from 7pm to 9pm daily) on my iphone and ipad but nope, there is not a focus setup on my ipad. This is becoming truly frustrating. I was required to purchase the apple pencil pro when I purchased the newest ipad air m3. Please Apple!!!! Figure this out!! Many of us depend on your equipment to make a living.

Oct 19, 2025 7:14 PM in response to Cochrana

when I updated iPadOS 26.0.1 this problem is disappeared. so I knew that this problem is resolved at iPadOS 26.0.1.

But, this problem reopened to yesterday. abruptly, same issue is appeared.

When connect pencil to iPad using Magnetic side. pop-up displayed "connected". and show apple pencil in bluetooth list as "connected". but status is changed from "connected" to "disconnected" after 10s.

I couldn't understand why this problem is shown. it is only assumed software bug. because this error doesn't be shown in iPad OS 18.x.x.

Please, apple developer and QA focuses on this problem.


Model : iPad Air 11(M2)

Pencil : Applie pencil pro

Apple Pencil Pro disconnects after iPadOS 26 update – shows battery but not connected

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