You use your Apple pencil to draw, write notes, and control your phone. However, you notice that your battery drains faster while constantly using your Apple pencil.
Sometimes, you think about conserving your battery for future use and discover it drains even when not used.
Knowing fully well that your Apple pencil shouldn’t drain to 0%, you may begin to panic.
Then you wonder if something is wrong with your Apple pencil or if that’s how it’s supposed to operate.
Yes, your Apple pencil battery drains even when not in use. That’s because Apple designed the pencil to be active state, and you can’t turn it off at will. Due to this, the battery drains bit by bit even while not in use. However, the battery’s power discharges less than if the pencil is in constant use.
In this article, I’ll explain if Apple pencil drains while not in use, where to store it, and how to keep your battery healthy.
By the end of the article, you’ll know how to keep your Apple pencil healthy and protect your pencil.
Does An Apple Pencil Battery Drain When It’s Not In Use?
Your Apple pencil will drain even when you aren’t using it. The Apple pencil is without an on/off button or a sleep button, allowing your pencil to always be on standby mode.
Your Apple pencil drains about 5-10% of your battery charge when just in a position without you using it.
Your Apple pencil battery drains even when not used because it currently works in the background.
For example, it connects to your iPad via Bluetooth, which draws a battery charge.
The Bluetooth requires power to operate, which is one of the reasons it drains apart from its always “ON” state.
You must charge your Apple pencil before it drains to 10%, as allowing it to drain damages the battery and reduces its lifespan.
Since your Apple pencil’s battery is small and cannot hold much charge, leaving it to drain without charging is risky.
Furthermore, if your Bluetooth is “on” on your iPad and close to your pencil, it can connect automatically.
Connecting your Apple Pencil to your iPad with Bluetooth, without using the pencil, drains more battery charge and reduces faster than just being idle.
When fully active, your Apple pencil will last for about 12 hours, so without you using it, it lasts much longer.
In essence, when not in use, the pencil battery drain is much less than when it is active.
Although, this can become bothersome as the pencil age and the battery is weaker than a new one.
Should I Turn Off My Apple Pencil When Not In Use?
Suppose that’s possible if you want to preserve your battery. However, that isn’t possible as the Apple pencil is without the on/off button, so you can’t turn it off at will.
The good news is that people have discovered how to reduce the battery Apple pencil drains when not in use. In addition, it will be a way to turn off the pencil without turning it off.
To reduce the battery drain in your Apple pencil, instead of the off option, keep it off your iPad’s radar so it won’t connect.
Another thing you can do when your pencil isn’t in use is to turn off your Bluetooth, so your pencil will not discharge faster than expected.
When you do any of those, your pencil isn’t in its active state; instead, it’s in the form of sleep mode.
That doesn’t mean that battery charge won’t be lost because it will; it just won’t be as much as when it is actively working.
Apple Pencil will lose battery charge in any state; the amount of battery charge it loses depends on how you use it.
Just ensure that no matter what you do to slow down the discharge rate in your pencil, it doesn’t get low, and you charge it.
Charging the pencil is essential because its battery can’t hold much charge and is dangerous to your pencil when it gets drained to 0%.
When this happens, and you leave it uncharged for some time, it drives your battery to a deep discharge mode and can destroy it.
It won’t affect only the battery but also the pencil as a whole. Ultimately you cannot turn off your Apple pencil due to its design.
However, you can reduce the battery it loses when not in use and extend the battery life before it’s due for charging.
In the future, Apple may design its pencils with a control button to help with this issue.
That way, you can conserve your battery and know when the battery is low and due for charging instead of its continuous draining.
How Do I Keep My Apple Pencil Battery Healthy?
There are several ways you can keep your Apple pencil healthy. Here are a few ways to keep your pencil healthy;
- Charge your pencil often.
- Never let it drain below 10%.
- Turn off Bluetooth when not in use.
- Never store for a long time.
#1. Charge Your Pencil Often
One way to keep the battery of your Apple pencil healthy is always to charge it.
Unfortunately, with this small battery, its charge gets drained quickly, unlike a bigger battery.
Depending on how you use your pencil, you may need to charge your pencil more than the next person.
However, as with Apple pencils, you should keep them from not draining past a level before charging.
Instead, charge your Apple pencil according to its generation type to keep your pencil healthy.
That way, you won’t have a dead Apple pencil, and your pencil can last you a long time.
Asides from that, there’s no way you can overcharge your battery, so there’s no need to be scared.
Apple designed its pencil battery so it won’t overcharge, and there’s no need to be scared that overcharging will damage your battery.
#2. Never Let It Drain Below 10%
If your Apple pencil drains below a certain percentage, it’s not healthy for your pencil.
So, allowing it to drain to 0% before charging is unsuitable, just like any other device.
10% is okay to set as a mark for when to charge your Apple pencil if you prefer to charge less often.
However, leaving it to drain below this is not a healthy apple pencil practice.
It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to wait until it’s 10% before charging your pencil; you can charge it anytime if you like.
Charging can vary depending on how you use your pencil. For example, you may need to charge it more than another person because you use it more.
However, whether you use your Apple pencil often or not, keeping it from draining below 10% keeps your battery healthy.
#3. Turn Off Bluetooth When Not In Use
One way to keep your Apple pencil healthy is to turn off your Bluetooth when trying to minimize your battery consumption.
If you want to avoid charging your pencil constantly and not using it, unpair it to retain its battery charge for an extended period.
That way, you are sure the battery will not drain to 0% before you can charge it. To do that, unpair your Apple pencil from the iPad.
Your Apple pencil will still drain but unpairing it from your iPad will reduce the speed and buys extra time before it’s due for charging.
However, ensure you charge it and only let the battery drain partially before you connect it to power.
#4. Never Store For a Long Time
Storing your Apple pencil without using it for a long time isn’t healthy for your Apple pencil battery and will damage it.
That’s because Apple designs the battery in your Apple pencil in a way that requires you to charge it to avoid damaging it.
If you store your pencil that is always in an active state away, you leave it to drain to 0% without knowing about it.
At first, if you get it out of the store, it might work but leaving it to get to that condition will affect your pencil. It might start losing more battery power than it usually would.
However, if it stays in the store a little longer or you do this more frequently, your battery can slip into a deep discharge state.
You have done irreversible damage to your battery when it is in this state, totally damaging your battery.
So avoid storing your Apple pencil in a store for a long time to keep your battery healthy.
Where Do You Put the Apple Pencil When Not Using It?
You can keep your Apple pencil when you are not using it in several places or tools.
In the table below are some places where you can put your Apple pencil from both generations when you’re not using it.
| Where To Put Apple Pencil | Compatibility With Apple Pencil 1&2 |
|---|---|
| ESR Pencil Holder. | Yes |
| Smart Keyboard. | Yes |
| Accessories pouch with pencil holder. | Yes |
| Stylus string strap. | Yes |
| Space on your workspace. | Yes |
Other pencil holders are available where you can put your Apple pencil apart from the ESR pencil holder.
Apart from the places listed in the table above, there are also other places you can put your pencil while not in use. So your options are more than the few ones listed above.
Conclusion
In summary, your Apple pencil is always on and constantly drains the battery even when not used.
Although, the battery drain is smaller than when you’re actively using it.
The only thing you can do to reduce the battery power it loses when not in use is to unpair it and distance it from your iPad.