Apple Pencil Connected But Not Working? Here's How to Fix It

Apple Pencil is no doubt a fantastic tool to have when using an iPad. It makes your experience much better as you can effectively use it to perform various tasks like drawing or sketching, taking handwritten notes, and also navigating on certain iPad models. However, there are instances when the Apple Pencil may suddenly stop working even when connected. There can be various reasons why this happens like low battery, pairing problems, and so on.

Fortunately, there are fairly easy fixes that can help you resolve this and that’s what we’re going to cover. Below, we will tell you some of the possible reasons why you’re having your Apple pencil connected but not working and then give you several fixes that can help you resolve the problem and get your Apple Pencil working again as normal. The troubleshooting methods we provide apply to both the Apple Pencil 1st generation and 2nd generation, on compatible iPads. So, let’s dive in.

Reasons of Apple Pencil Being Connected but Not Working

Here are some of the possible reasons why you may have your 1st or 2nd generation Apple Pencil not working but connected.

• Low battery - when Apple pencil says connected but not working, then a low battery is usually the most common reason behind it. If the battery charge of your pencil drops to about 1 to 2%, it will certainly stop working, so you got to charge it immediately.
• The tip is not properly screwed in - the tip has to be tightly screwed to the Apple pencil. If it’s not, the iPad may not detect the Pencil touch. This is probably the reason why you’re having the Apple pencil connecting but not working.
• Hardware problems - sometimes hardware issues such as a damaged fragile metal transducer in your Apple Pencil or irreplaceable battery damage could be the cause for the pencil not working and this can leave you helpless.
• Pairing problem - there are some instances where the cause could be something minute, like a pairing problem. Maybe the Apple Pencil failed to pair properly with your iPad or a small glitch may have appeared after a recent iOS update.

How to Fix “Apple Pencil Connected but Not Working” Issue

Ensure the Apple Pencil Has Sufficient Battery Charge

It’s easy to overlook your Apple Pencil’s battery level yet it’s often the main reason why the Apple Pencil says connected but not working. Therefore, confirm that your Apple Pencil still has enough battery charge. If not, get it charged through your iPad or using a lightning cable.

You can check whether your Apple Pencil’s battery is charged by attaching the Pencil to your iPad through the magnetic connection. The battery indicator should show up on the screen. If you’re using the 1st or 2nd generation Apple Pencil, open Today View by simply swiping right or left on the home screen or lock screen. From there, you should see the battery indicator.

In case you want to charge your Pencil, just remove the cap that’s on the stylus and then insert it into the iPad. You can as well place the Apple Pencil right next to the iPad. When it snaps into the iPad, it will start charging.

Confirm the Compatibility

The Apple pencil may not work but connected simply because of compatibility issues. Apple Pencils are currently available in only two generations and each is compatible will different iPad models. Therefore, before proceeding to the next fixes, it’s important that you check your Apple Pencil’s compatibility, otherwise, it won’t work.

Here are the iPads that work with 1st Gen Apple Pencils

• iPad Pro 9.7-inch
• iPad Pro 10.5-inch
• iPad 12.9-inch (both 1st and 2nd generation)
• iPad Air (3rd generation)
• iPad mini (5th generation)
• iPad (9th generation)
• iPad (8th generation)
• iPad (7th generation)
• iPad (6th generation)

iPads that work with 2nd Gen Apple Pencils are the following:

• iPad Pro 11-inch (including 1st generation and later)
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (including 3rd generation and later)
• iPad Air (4th generation)
• iPad mini (6th generation)

App Doesn't Work with Apple Pencil

Not every app supports Apple Pencil. To confirm that your Apple Pencil actually works, you can open a specific app that supports the Pencil, like the Notes app. In fact, Notes is a reliable and great app for testing your Pencil. You can find it on the iPad home screen. If it’s not there, then you can download it.

Inspect the Apple Pencil’s Tip

In case your Apple pencil says connected but not working, it’s possible the tip is loose. You can fix this by just gently twisting the tip into the Apple Pencil until it gets screwed in tightly. Should the Pencil still not work after doing that, try removing the tip and then twisting it back in gain. You can as well try replacing the tip if it looks worn out.

Forget the Apple Pencil from Bluetooth Devices

As mentioned earlier, pairing problems can also cause your Apple Pencil to fail to connect to your iPad. The Pencil may have enough charge, but it just won’t connect or work. However, immediately it snapped into the iPad or gets attached to the iPad’s edge and you try using it once more, it will start to work as usual. This mostly happens because of pairing issues. So, you need to forget the Apple Pencil right from the Bluetooth devices list and then reconnect it. Follow these steps to do so.

Open your iPad’s Settings App. Select Bluetooth and tap on My Devices. Next, tap on Apple Pencil and then tap on the i icon. Finally, just tap on Forget this Device. Now Apple Pencil will show up in Available Devices where you can tap on it to connect it again to your iPad.

Restart the iPad

In some instances, the problem resulting in Apple pencil connecting but not working could be on the iPad side. In such cases, restarting your iPad can solve it as it will give the device a fresh start by clearing its temporary memory. In the process, minor bugs and glitches that might have occurred will get removed. To restart an iPad featuring Touch ID, follow these steps:

• Concurrently long-press the Home button and the Power button.
• When an Apple logo appears, release the two buttons.

To restart an iPad featuring Face ID, follow these steps:

• Head to Volume Up button. Press it and then release it
• Head to Volume Down button. Press it and then release it.
• Now long-press the iPad’s Power button and then release it once an Apple logo appears.

After the iPad has restarted, try using the Apple Pencil.

Fix iPad OS with FoneGeek iOS System Recovery

You can solve this issue of Apple pencil 2 not working but connected by fixing your iPad OS with a third-party tool such as FoneGeek iOS System Recovery. If the cause of the problem is an unknown reason and errors or glitches in the iPadOS, then FoneGeek iOS System Recovery will be able to fix it automatically and allow your Pencil to function again as expected. It’s an affordable yet very effective tool that goes down to the root cause and fixes it immediately.

Main features of  FoneGeek iOS System Recovery:

• Repairs various iOS and iPadOS problems without causing any data loss.
• Downgrade iPhone/iPad/iPod without jailbreaking.
• Reset IPhone/iPad without requiring the password.
• Enter Recovery mode or exit it with just one click.
• Bypass all kinds of iTunes errors.

Steps on fixing Apple pencil 2 not working but connected with this program.

• Download the FoneGeek iOS System Recovery from the official site and get it installed on your laptop or PC. Launch the tool and choose Standard Mode.

• Take your iPad and connect it to the PC using the lightning cable.
• Put the iPad into DFU mode to recover a stable firmware package without any issues. Just follow the displayed prompts to put the iPad into recovery mode.
• Now the tool will automatically search for the right firmware for fixing the iPad. When it finds the firmware, click Download to begin downloading it.

• When the firmware completes downloading, hit Fix Now to begin the repair process. After the repair is done, reboot the iPad, and that’s all.

Update iPad OS

If you can, check whether the Apple Pencil actually works on other iPad or not. If it works, then your iPad may be at fault. As such, updating the iPad OS is the ideal way to fix the issue. Just follow these steps to update the iPad OS.

• Launch your iPad’s Settings app.
• Open the General settings.
• Select “Software Update”.
• Your iPad will search for updates. If it gets any, select “Download and Install”.
• The iPad will now download the update. Wait for it to finish and then try using the Pencil with the iPad to check if it works.

Time to Contact Apple

If these troubleshooting steps still don’t fix the problem, it’s now time you consider contacting Apple Support. The Apple Pencil usually has a one-year limited warranty. However, if it’s not covered by the warranty anymore, then it will cost you around $29 to get battery service from Apple. You can choose to call apple directly using 1-800-MY-APPLE or make an appointment via Apple Genius Bar. Alternatively, you can try a mail-in repair/replacement by visiting the Apple support website.

Conclusion

We’ve looked at several quick solutions for Apple pencil connected but not working. These quick fixes will be able to deal with the problem and enable your Apple Pencil to work again if you try them out. They don’t require any experience or expert knowledge to implement. They are just simple, quick solutions that work.

But, in case the cause of the problem is linked to the iPadOS and the basic solutions fail to solve it, use FoneGeek iOS System Recovery. We highly recommend this third-party tool as it will be able to fix the problem automatically if it’s related to the iPadOS. So, if all the basic fixes fail to work, you should definitely use Umendit to deal with all firmware-related issues leading to Apple pencil not working but connected.