Are you going to sit down at your iPad and brainstorm your next brilliant idea, but notice that Apple Pencil has stopped working... There are several possible reasons why your Apple pencil is not working. Below are a few troubleshooting ideas to get your Apple Pencil back online.
Check the battery
Is your Apple Pencil not charging? Could the battery on your Apple Pencil be dead? To check if your pencil is charged, follow these steps:
1. Check the view widget on iPad and look at the battery status. Widgets can be found in the " Today". To get there, slide your finger directly from home screen, lock screen, or while you are looking at your notifications.
2. You should see the widget " Batteries". If not, make sure you have it enabled, pencil setting with bluetooth.
3. If the battery shows 0%, connect it, recharge and try again.
Bluetooth is off
As mentioned in the Battery Check section, if your Apple Pencil doesn't appear in the device list under the battery widgets, or the Battery widget is missing at all, it's likely Bluetooth is turned off. To check this, follow these steps:
1. On iPad, tap “ Settings».
2. Tap Bluetooth.
3. Tap the switch to enable Bluetooth.
4. If you can't get it to turn on, or you see a rotate / load icon, restart your iPad and then try again.
Note: This is also a great way to troubleshoot Bluetooth issues.
5. That's all.
Bluetooth not connected
If your Apple Pencil isn't pairing, or your iPad hasn't lost pairing, re-pairing with Bluetooth might fix your Apple Pencil problems.
1. Make sure iPad is turned on, unlocked, and Bluetooth is turned on.
2. If you see your Apple Pencil, you may need to re-pair.
3. Click Apple Pencil, then select Forget this device».
4. Release your Apple Pencil and plug it into the iPad's lightning port.
5. Bluetooth Pairing Request a dialog box should appear. Click " Create a pair»To start the pairing process.
6. If the dialog box above does not appear, continue looking for additional problems.
Pencil tip worn out
If your Apple Pencil behaves erratically or doesn't work at all, the tip of the pencil may be frayed. Replacing the tip is simple.
Note: Although the tip of a pencil has no exact wear time, many wearers replace it when feel, finish, or functionality begins to wane. If the finish or feel is rough or gritty, you should replace the pencil nib as it can scratch the surface of your iPad.
1. Unscrew the tip counterclockwise until it stops.
2. Replace the old nib with a new one by screwing the nib clockwise until it feels secure in your pencil.
App does not support Apple Pencil
Not all apps fully support pencil. To make sure your Apple Pencil is working, open a known supported app. The Notes app is a solid and great choice for testing your pencil, and should be on your home screen. If it is not, you will need to download and reinstall it.
Not Supported iPad Model
If your Apple Pencil is still not working, make sure your iPad supports it. Apple Pencil works with the 2018 9.7-inch iPad and all. If your iPad is not one of these models, your iPad does not support Apple Pencil, and will not work.
AppleCare contact time
If you've followed all the troubleshooting steps above, it might be time to contact AppleCare; Apple Pencil is backed by a one-year limited warranty. If your pencil is no longer covered under warranty, Apple has a $ 29 battery cost. You can either buy it from your local store or call AppleCare on the phone. You can also visit Apple's website for repair or replacement.
Personal experience after 48 hours of operation.
What we have been waiting for has come true. Apple released the iPad Pro, we wrote, and two weeks later the guys from Onlyphones.ru suggested plunge into the world of fine art and test all the capabilities of the Apple Pencil stylus.
What is iPencil capable of, is it worth the candle, and how does the owner of the iPad Pro, in whose hands fall Apple Pencil, live? Let's talk about the pros and cons of the stylus.
Reason # 1: no delays
For people who use the computer as a professional tool, the worst enemy of all time remains delay... The sound engineer struggles to minimize the time it takes to convert audio from analog to digital; designer - wins back precious milliseconds by putting the next stroke on a graphics tablet. The Apple Pencil is free of these flaws.
As soon as you touch the huge screen of iPad Pro with the tip of the stylus, it instantly responds to your touch. The lines are clear and straight, and the artist has the feeling that they are drawing on a slate board or a piece of parchment. Response speed this accessory is above all praise, and the signal reading frequency reaches 240 times per second.
Reason # 2: very sensitive
Despite its small size, comparable to the size of a regular ballpoint pen, Apple Pencil is crammed with all kinds of sensors to ensure its smooth and trouble-free operation. The stylus distinguishes not only pressing force (up to 2048 degrees), but also the tilt angle.
By setting a slight slope, you can quickly shade a section of the drawing as when working with a regular pencil.
Reason # 3: long lasting
Inside the Apple Pencil is a miniature battery that only holds 80 mAh. Despite its small size, once fully charged, the stylus is ready to 12 o'clockcontinuous work.
What's more, your universal Apple Pencil charger is always close at hand. The gadget is equipped with a traditional Lightning port, and a simple connection to the corresponding port of the iPad Pro for just 15 seconds will give the stylus 30 minutes of work. Full recharging takes about 50 minutes.
A miniature adapter is provided for charging via a regular network: an Apple Pencil is inserted on one side, and a Lightning cable on the other.
Reason # 4: the palm is not the enemy
Even an experienced artist knows what the risk of touching with the palm of your hand to a drawing just drawn with a slate or charcoal pencil. This is the case when the hands that created the drawing can ruin it. Apple has provided that too.
Despite the fact that according to all the "laws of the genre" of the technology of the performance of a capacitive screen, it must respond to the touch of a human hand, working with Apple Pencil you can touch the edge of your palm to the screen, leaning on the tablet screen like on a regular sheet of paper. The tablet from this action will not go berserk, and the clarity of the stylus will not deteriorate at all.
Reason # 5: works through "obstacles"
Another interesting feature of the Apple Pencil is the ability to work through a sheet of paper. Suppose that you want to copy as accurately as possible a fragment of the original drawing printed on paper.
To do this, just hold the sheet to the iPad Pro screen and trace all the required contours. The tablet counts all touches of the stylus, despite the fact that there is an impromptu obstacle between the screen and the tip of the pen - a sheet of paper.
Reason # 6: instead of a finger
The main purpose of the Apple Pencil is drawing. However, the stylus is compatible with almost everything you would normally do by touching the tablet with your fingers.
Opening links, launching apps, scrolling, interacting with menu items, typing (support for third-party keyboards and handwriting keyboards) - Apple Pencil can do it all. The accessory's limitations include the inability to open the Notification Center, Control Center, or switch to Slide Over or Split View mode. Most likely, this limitation has a purely programmatic nature, but "so decided by Apple."
Reason # 7: app support
The ingenuity of engineers and the bright eye of a designer are not enough to implement a really good product. Need software support. The number of apps compatible with Apple Pencil is growing exponentially.
Already today, the following are compatible with the Apple stylus: Pixelmator, Adobe Comp CC, Paper, Adobe Phoroshop Mix, Adobe Photoshop Fix, AutoCAD 360, Autodesk SketchBook, Evernote, Adobe Illustrator Draw, Canva and a number of other applications. The inclusion of stylus support by developers allows not only to optimize the interaction of the accessory with the interface, but also to enable support for iOS features such as Split View.
A little about the sad
Ask any marketer and they will confidently say that there is no “perfect product”. Apple Pencil is no exception, and the list of disadvantages of the "Apple Pencil" looks like this:
- The stylus is compatible only and only with iPad Pro. It will not work with other devices, including Apple products.
- Unavailable multitasking. Apple Pencil does not allow you to switch to Split View and Slide Over modes - the main innovations in iOS 9. You can make such a transition with just a finger.
- No eraser. Users familiar with alternative stylus that work with capacitive screens find an eraser as one of the advantages of this product category. Touching the screen with the other end of the stylus - activated the eraser mode. Apple Pencil doesn't have this feature.
- Apple Pencil does not support multi-touch gestures. However, not a single stylus can do this.
A skeptical user will certainly classify the next Apple development as "expensive and unnecessary toys." A professional designer or artist, being a creative person, will think about purchasing an Apple Pencil, because the desire to experiment is the main engine of creativity. A fan of Apple products and a user who has been waiting for a "big iPad" will take the stylus without a grain of doubt.
Where to buy Apple Pencil? We suggest staying at the Onlyphones.ru online store. First, it is available today; secondly, among the impressive assortment of accessories for Apple devices, you will definitely want to buy "something else."
Apple Pencil can be used not only for drawing, but also for full control of the operating system. However, there are tasks that iPad Pro can't do.
You can open apps and links, scroll and navigate
Obviously, you can use the Apple Pencil to launch programs, follow links, scroll through content, and navigate the system. This works in all applications, including those not adapted for using a stylus. In this case, you use the Apple Pencil just like your finger. The system recognizes long presses, so you can uninstall applications or open links in new tabs.
You can't open Action Center or Control Center
You can't swipe from the top or bottom of the screen with Apple Pencil. To access the corresponding sections of the system, you must use your finger. It's only about Apple's decision, not any technical limitations.
IOS 9 multitasking features not available for Apple Pencil
The stylus cannot be used when calling up Slide Over or Split View. Swiping on the right side of the screen does not produce any results.
If you have an open application in Slide Over, then you cannot remove it from the screen with the stylus. Apple Pencil will not let you control the invocation and position of windows in Split View.
You can type on the keyboard, enter the password on the lock screen and invoke Spotlight
If you're used to typing with one finger, you can use Apple Pencil with the iPad Pro virtual keyboard when typing in Safari, Spotlight, App Store searches, and any other apps.
If you don't want to unlock your device using Touch ID, use the stylus to enter your password.
Third-party keyboards work great with Apple Pencil
The regular Apple keyboard doesn't offer the fastest input method, so using third-party solutions that support gesture control may speed up typing.
System does not respond to palm touch
Want to give your hand a rest by using Apple Pencil to scroll through pages in Safari? This works great.
You can rest your hand on the iPad Pro display while navigating the system, typing, or taking handwritten notes. Apple Pencil works great with apps that haven't received a specific update to interact with the stylus.
You can charge Apple Pencil with the Lightning cable
While you can charge the stylus battery directly with iPad Pro, Apple Pencil can be charged via a standard Lightning cable using a dedicated adapter from Apple.
You can draw through a sheet of paper
When you place plain print paper on top of the iPad Pro screen, the display detects pen movements. Depending on the thickness of the sheet, you can change the brightness level to view the resulting pattern. The display also does not respond to touching the palm through the sheet.
You cannot use the opposite end of the stylus as an eraser
Despite its name and round lid, the Apple Pencil does not come with an eraser sensor. Though instinctively, you can try to erase the excess.
In adapted applications, to erase something, you must programmatically select the eraser mode.
You cannot use multitouch gestures (obviously)
There is no way to go back to the home screen or switch to another app in iOS 9 using the Apple Pencil.
If you are using gestures to control the system, you must use your fingers. Of course, a pencil cannot replace four or five fingers at once.
But if you want, then press the stylus on the Home button to return to the home screen.
Apple Pencil won't work with other iPads or iPhones
This accessory was designed specifically for the iPad Pro and only works with Apple's new 12.9-inch tablet.
iPad Pro has a low-latency display by reading the pen position 240 times per second. The device will accurately recognize when you use Apple Pencil or your fingertip to operate.
These technologies are not implemented in the iPhone 6s or iPad Air 2. So you don't have to worry about buying a $ 100 Apple Pencil if you haven't spent your money on an iPad Pro.
For some reason, many thought that one of the key functions of the iPad Pro was the presence of a stylus, which they called the Apple Pencil, although the company strongly emphasizes that this is not a stylus at all, but something else, for example, a pencil, as the name suggests. The reason for the dislike of the word "stylus" is understandable. Apple founder Steve Jobs argued that all control on the company's touch devices will be done by hand, and the stylus is a relic of the past. Steve Jobs is no more, which means that the current leaders of the company can release whatever they want, which is what they do. Nevertheless, you still have to give explanations for your ingenious finds, otherwise the crowd of fans remains at a loss and does not know what to tell others about the next great invention. Jonathan Ive, who in the past few years has not given away anything interesting and worthwhile, in an interview with Wallpaper Magazine told why and how the idea of \u200b\u200ba pencil came about, here is his direct speech: “We realized that there is a well-defined group of people that can appreciate a tool that will allow them to draw or draw, but not in the way they draw with their fingers. And I suspect this is a large group of people. ”
Almost five years after the release of the first Note, the launch of this line from Samsung and its rise in popularity, Apple suddenly saw that there was a niche in the market for those who love to draw. And we decided to make our own product. There was no need to invent anything, since all kinds of styluses for Apple tablets were produced by many companies, but they all suffered from one drawback, they were poke sticks, while other manufacturers created full-fledged input devices that respond to pressure, pen tilt, and others. "Little things". In particular, such devices include all stylus from Samsung, as well as a pen to Microsoft Surface, which is part of the standard delivery in the latest versions of tablets. Once again, Apple comes out with its solution to the market, where analogues already exist that have come a long way in several generations. If Apple had not ignored other people's experience, they could have created their own “pencil” completely different, and it would have been much more useful for iPad users, but everything turned out differently, the story developed as usual.
For starters, the Apple Pencil is an optional accessory, sold separately from the iPad Pro, and marketed as an optional part of the tablet. This accessory is not intended for everyone, and the fact that so much attention is paid to it is due solely to the successful PR efforts of the company. Every day there are more and more revelations from designers, user interface developers, as well as those who design cars, planes and steamships, in which these people admit that they had no life before, and with the advent of the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, they first got the opportunity to work fully, and not the way they did before. Of course, there are adequate reviews in this PR hubbub, but they often drown in the delight of those who have never worked with a stylus and for whom Apple Pencil is the first such experience.
The price of Apple Pencil in the US is $ 99 excluding taxes, in Russia - 7,790 rubles, which makes this pencil, if not gold, then close to that. On the other hand, professional styluses from Wacom are not cheap, but this is a very different class of products, and their consumers know exactly what they are paying for. This is not a mass toy for bored people who want to portray something on a tablet screen. I doubt that professionals in graphics, design and the like will begin to use Apple Pencil en masse, everything here depends on the force of habit, but the main thing is the software that will be available to work with the pen. And so far everything is very sad with the software, but more on that later.
So, take the Pencil out of the box, open the lid on the upper end and see the Lightning connector. The box shows how to insert it into the tablet to recharge it.
Forgive me, but this is pornography in the literal and figurative sense. Apple engineers have lost all their skills, as they have created an ugly, visually, bad and unreliable solution, in this position it is not difficult to break off the connector. And they sincerely warn about this! The caring, crooked creators of the Apple Pencil, who quickly realized that their solution was not very good, and therefore added an adapter for charging the pencil from a computer or from the mains. This is a small adapter, on the one hand we plug in the usual charger from the iPhone / iPad, on the other hand - the pencil itself. Adapter! For the stylus! Had Steve Jobs been alive, he would have had a very sharp conversation with Jonathan Ive, after which the latter would have rushed to fix and redo everything.
I did not dare to post a photo of how it looks in a state of charging, I was afraid that we would be closed for pornography, so look at this moment in the video, everything is shown there. But I can say one thing, Apple engineers have surpassed my worst guesses, they made a pencil in the worst possible way. The same stylus on the MS Surface does not require charging and works great with the built-in software. But more on that later.
Apple's pencil is glossy, and if you have wet hands, it starts to slip. No rough surfaces, the creative tool should be smooth and sliding, both on the surface and in the hands of a person. Seriously speaking, it is evident that most of those who produce stylus do not make them smooth for nothing, but prefer a rough body. Let's guess why. Apparently, they put the device's ergonomics higher than its appearance, but Apple does exactly the opposite.
In terms of ergonomics, the Apple Pencil has another drawback - it does not attach to the iPad body. It is magnetized from the underside, but the force of attraction is not enough, so it will not work. You will have to carry it somewhere else, but not with the device. This is stupid? In my opinion, this is damn stupid and shortsighted, and most importantly, inconvenient. But one can deny quite obvious things and say that this is correct and that it is only necessary.
Now about the good and the pleasant. Apple Pencil only works with iPad Pro, it won't work with other tablets. The reason is that the company has slightly changed the screen technology to support such a stylus. I don’t know whether it will be supported in other products, but it is justified only on large diagonals, on the same iPad Mini there is little point in pencil.
We insert the pencil for charging, and then the iPad Pro invites us to synchronize the device via Bluetooth, connect it. We agree. In notifications, you can find a widget that shows the charge level of Apple Pencil. The company claims that a fully charged pencil will run for about 12 hours, with 15 seconds giving a runtime of 30 minutes. A full charge of Apple Pencil from iPad will take about 45-50 minutes. In principle, this is a small problem, it will not be difficult to charge this stylus from time to time. When a low battery level is reached, a corresponding warning will appear.
There is a downside to the coin, which no one thinks about or pays attention to. Using the Apple Pencil increases the power consumption of iPad Pro. For half an hour of operation on the screen, the battery loses 7-8 percent of the charge. For comparison, watching a movie at maximum brightness eats up 10% per hour. Feel the difference and the difference.
Software - all names are familiar
The stylus from Apple understands up to 2048 degrees of pressure, as well as deviations from the horizontal. This means that by clicking on it, you can make the lines thicker, and by tilting the pencil, you can get shading. And in this it resembles an ordinary pencil, which is very good.
But now is the time to talk about what programs and how support work with Apple Pencil. With it, you can move around the screen, select icons. And there are no problems, everything works. Another thing is that for creativity you need programs that can work with the Apple Pencil, and there are already more than a dozen such programs. For example, in standard notes you can write by hand, but your text is not recognized, there is simply no such function in iOS9. This is the first disappointment, no handwriting and typing in this way, this pencil is for creativity and not for boring handwritten notes.
I tried a dozen programs that the App Store recommended for my pencil, most of them already had stylus support, that is, the appearance of the Apple Pencil was not unexpected. For example, Evernote has long been able to enter notes by hand; on the iPad, you could draw with your finger, as, indeed, you can do it now. About the same in each of the programs, the Apple Pencil does not give any special precision, you draw exactly the same way as you drew before, with the same programs or similar input devices.
I did a little experiment and asked my colleague, who is fond of drawing, to try out the device and give his opinion. She enthusiastically began to draw from a photograph taken on one of her trips, but very quickly put Apple Pencil aside and said the following: “I don't really need it, here you can draw all this with your hands in the program, some parts are probably more difficult than usual, but not fundamentally more difficult. " After chatting on this topic, I realized a simple thing: you don't need a miracle device to draw, you only need a desire, and the choice of a tool is secondary. The surface of the device cannot replace paper, its quality and other sensations, since it is not only a pencil, a brush or paints that are important, it is also important how they interact with the paper and what result you get. In theory, it would be possible to emulate paper in software, but no one has done this yet.
All the software that I have tried can be used with any stylus, the device from Apple is extremely simple and does not have any special functions. Moreover, there is no integration into the operating system. And it puts an end to the most popular use cases that have opened on the Note line in almost five years of its existence. For example, people often cut something out of pictures and send them by mail, add annotations to such pictures. And on the same Note, this can be done in a matter of seconds, there is an option to “write on the screen”, instantly a screenshot is obtained, which you decorate to the best of your ability. Or you can cut out a piece of the picture and at the same time recognize the text on it, send both the picture and the text from it, and in any language. But this is already such a high class that I will not even talk about it, since Apple in this case looks like a poor relative. The key benefit of the Note is its deep integration of the stylus into everything that can be done on the device. It was created not only and not so much for those who paint, but for everyone who wants to get new opportunities, and the device gives these opportunities to the fullest. It is possible that they are not always needed, but sometimes they are necessary and very useful.
What about the integration of the stylus on the MS Surface? Exactly the same story, at Microsoft, oddly enough, they understand that the stylus itself is not important, it is necessary to integrate it into the system, for example, to give the ability to launch OneNote in one click, add handwritten text or drawings, recognize all this. If necessary, erase without resorting to additional movements and pressing the button on the stylus. And on the same Surface Pro 4, the stylus is magnetically attached to the body, it can be carried along with the device. It turns out that the engineers at Microsoft are much better than at Apple, where they could not implement the simplest function, although they themselves came up with many chips with magnets in the days of Steve Jobs.
Also a slightly different level of software and stylus binding to the system. Why is this so? Probably the answer lies in what people think, why and why they do it, to whom it may be important. They work out the use cases. Apple doesn't do this, but rests on its laurels. In fact, by copying other people's products, Apple does not contribute anything to them, and the implementation from an engineering point of view is the worst possible. Why is that? We relaxed, there is no owner inside the company who would monitor how everything should work.
It’s interesting how, with the release of the Apple Pencil, many of the world's leading publishers discovered this topic and started writing about it. It doesn't matter that dozens of styluses existed before, and the software initially supported them, including on the iPad. It doesn't matter that the only strength of the Apple Pencil in the small stylus market is the name of the manufacturer and not something else. The main thing is that the company was able to create a myth that it repeatedly releases successful products that are needed by millions. And it doesn't matter at all that the same watch didn't take off and Apple doesn't say anything about it in terms of real numbers. Never mind that the iPad Pro is a very niche device with an idea stolen from Samsung and Microsoft, a bit of each. And it's not so important that no one thought to collect a hundred dollars for a stylus. On the other hand, you have to pay for stupidity. Apple thinks stupidity is worth a hundred dollars. And that's the right price.
As an additional comment, here's a review of the Apple Pencil from our UI / UX design reader.
This accessory, like a drop of water, reflects where the company is going and how its helmsmen relax and rest on their laurels. This is not the best product that Apple has come out with, although over the past couple of years I can hardly name anything that would attract attention. Copying other people's ideas, their poor implementation, but for now Apple can afford it. But the credit of trust is a rather fragile thing, it can disappear.
We thank UP-house.ru for the provided pencil from Apple.
Apple Pencil can be used not only for drawing, but also for full control of the operating system. However, there are tasks that iPad Pro can't do.
You can open apps and links, scroll and navigate
Obviously, you can use the Apple Pencil to launch programs, follow links, scroll through content, and navigate the system. This works in all applications, including those not adapted for using a stylus. In this case, you use the Apple Pencil just like your finger. The system recognizes long presses, so you can uninstall applications or open links in new tabs.
You can't open Action Center or Control Center
You can't swipe from the top or bottom of the screen with Apple Pencil. To access the corresponding sections of the system, you must use your finger. It's only about Apple's decision, not any technical limitations.
IOS 9 multitasking features not available for Apple Pencil
The stylus cannot be used when calling up Slide Over or Split View. Swiping on the right side of the screen does not produce any results.
If you have an open application in Slide Over, then you cannot remove it from the screen with the stylus. Apple Pencil will not let you control the invocation and position of windows in Split View.
You can type on the keyboard, enter the password on the lock screen and invoke Spotlight
If you're used to typing with one finger, you can use Apple Pencil with the iPad Pro virtual keyboard when typing in Safari, Spotlight, App Store searches, and any other apps.
If you don't want to unlock your device using Touch ID, use the stylus to enter your password.
Third-party keyboards work great with Apple Pencil
The regular Apple keyboard doesn't offer the fastest input method, so using third-party solutions that support gesture control may speed up typing.
System does not respond to palm touch
Want to give your hand a rest by using Apple Pencil to scroll through pages in Safari? This works great.
You can rest your hand on the iPad Pro display while navigating the system, typing, or taking handwritten notes. Apple Pencil works great with apps that haven't received a specific update to interact with the stylus.
You can charge Apple Pencil with the Lightning cable
While you can charge the stylus battery directly with iPad Pro, Apple Pencil can be charged via a standard Lightning cable using a dedicated adapter from Apple.
You can draw through a sheet of paper
When you place plain print paper on top of the iPad Pro screen, the display detects pen movements. Depending on the thickness of the sheet, you can change the brightness level to view the resulting pattern. The display also does not respond to touching the palm through the sheet.
You cannot use the opposite end of the stylus as an eraser
Despite its name and round lid, the Apple Pencil does not come with an eraser sensor. Though instinctively, you can try to erase the excess.
In adapted applications, to erase something, you must programmatically select the eraser mode.
You cannot use multitouch gestures (obviously)
There is no way to go back to the home screen or switch to another app in iOS 9 using the Apple Pencil.
If you are using gestures to control the system, you must use your fingers. Of course, a pencil cannot replace four or five fingers at once.
But if you want, then press the stylus on the Home button to return to the home screen.
Apple Pencil won't work with other iPads or iPhones
This accessory was designed specifically for the iPad Pro and only works with Apple's new 12.9-inch tablet.
iPad Pro has a low-latency display by reading the pen position 240 times per second. The device will accurately recognize when you use Apple Pencil or your fingertip to operate.
These technologies are not implemented in the iPhone 6s or iPad Air 2. So you don't have to worry about buying a $ 100 Apple Pencil if you haven't spent your money on an iPad Pro.
