January 30, 2026
iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Owners Report Problems Charging With a Lightning Cable [Video]

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Owners Report Problems Charging With a Lightning Cable [Video]

Posted September 30, 2018 at 1:53am by
A growing number of iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max owners are reporting a problem when charging their devices using a Lightning cable.

In a post on Apple's support forums, users describe several different problems of varying severity. Most commonly, plugging a sleeping iPhone XS to charge fails to wake up the device and initiate charging. Often a tap on the display will wake up the device and cause charging to begin.


Some say that even after tapping to wake, their phones won't charge. Others experience an issue where their phone will freeze and not wake.

Unbox Therapy demonstrates several of these issues in the video below. Take a look, try it on your device, and let us know what happens in the comments!

Apple has yet to officially address the problem. You can follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for updates.

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Comments (17)
Comments are closed for this article.
zetaprime
zetaprime - October 2, 2018 at 4:58am
When I plug in my XS Max it wakes up and starts charging as expected.
zetaprime
zetaprime - October 2, 2018 at 4:56am
No such problem on my XS Max. Charging like always. No wi-fi problems either.
Great!
Great! - October 2, 2018 at 1:25am
Go to Face ID and Password settings and set USB Accessories to ON. Problem solved! It’s a feature not a bug!
Great!
Great! - October 3, 2018 at 12:56am
To prevent the USB Lightning port from being used as an attack vector by hackers, the port is disabled after a period of inactivity. Hence the charging is disabled. It is a feature of ios12. If you want to re-enable the port for always, then go to Face ID and password settings, and turn on USB accessories!
HarryWilly
HarryWilly - October 1, 2018 at 3:02pm
I mostly use wireless charging, so this hasn't affected me as much. Waking the device up before plugging it in seems to be a working workaround.
sunny27jan
sunny27jan - October 1, 2018 at 3:00pm
I’ve been experiencing this issue in iPhone SE and iPhone 5s for a very long time. This issue is not limited to only iPhone XS or newer models.
huudini
huudini - October 1, 2018 at 1:38pm
There is no issue. Their setting for USB Accessories in Face ID and Passcode. They have the setting to turn off accessories after an hour of no usage which in turn will stop the device from charging. You can alter this setting in Settings -Face ID and Passcode USB Accessories at the bottom.
D4xM4Nx
D4xM4Nx - October 1, 2018 at 9:42am
I’ve got no issues with my XS but one of coops does, I suggested him to complain on the Apple forums as well as asking for support either via the app and/or twitter. I’d like to think this can be patched with an iOS update, hoping that the hotfix doesn’t break anything.
odedoo1
odedoo1 - September 30, 2018 at 3:32pm
This report came just in the right time for me, I was going to pick one up next week, now I’ll wait because nobody knows if it’s a software or a hardware problem and for that amount of money I’m not taking the risk, I waited till now I can wait a little longer.
PaladinLV
PaladinLV - September 30, 2018 at 3:22pm
Probably the BEST run down on a alleged problem, I've ever seen! Great job in bringing this to light. BTW, no problem on my phone. I suggest you check to see if their is a relationship between the "batch" (serial number range) or origin of manufacturing plant. Again great job!!!
xctide
xctide - September 30, 2018 at 3:13pm
Works fine on my Xs Max in Sweden but we have a different charger.
CommunistAlpha
CommunistAlpha - September 30, 2018 at 1:29pm
My XS Max is also experiencing the same problem. It might just be a software bug/glitch. Although when tapping on the phone and “waking” it up usually does the trick
mundrarahul
mundrarahul - September 30, 2018 at 11:12am
Mine Xs Max sim unlocked is also working fine.
drsha007
drsha007 - September 30, 2018 at 8:42am
Mine x Max is fine charging
wakbordr
wakbordr - September 30, 2018 at 4:44am
It's frustrating that the iPhone XS Max has charging issues given the high price. Apple needs to address this problem.
cgenecj414
cgenecj414 - September 30, 2018 at 12:00pm
Apple usually addresses these issues. It’s a new device and mechanical things can happen. They have a great consumer report card.
1reader
1reader - September 30, 2018 at 4:41pm
Relax man! If there is enough complaining, they will do something... so let them bring to light any problems and when you are going to be ready to purchase, you will get the best phone. Win - win!
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