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

Top-ranking reply

LotusPilot

Community+ 2025

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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.

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