FREE OF CHARGE
Pricey new iPhones play dead while plugged in
This Apple is leaving a sour taste.
Apple’s latest iPhone upgrade is fresh on the market, but it seems the highly anticipated XS and XS Max are already glitching when it comes to charging.
Dozens of users have expressed frustration with the fact that the new devices won’t charge properly when plugged into a lightning connector, or become unresponsive when left attached to a charging cable.
The issue first came to light thanks to a post on an Apple Support forum from a user who noticed the problem last week.
The customer wrote that it’s been a struggle at times to get the new XS Max to respond to the lightning cable, and that it will only work if the screen is tapped to wake it up after it’s plugged in.
“I’ve noticed several times plugging the phone in and no charge comes up,” user xMASTIFFSx wrote, noting that they’d also tested the glitch on their wife’s phone, and had the same problem.
Dozens of users responded with similar complaints, noting that their shiny new Apple products were also giving them trouble – and that the tech giant was staying frustratingly mum.
“I contacted Apple support. They kept giving me the usual canned responses,” one user wrote.
Most seemed to agree that the phone would charge when first plugged in, but if left alone for periods of time, such as overnight while the user was sleeping, it would at some point become unresponsive.
“You have to unplug it and replug it with the screen awake for it to start charging,” one user wrote. “If I do this before bed and FORGET to check the phone’s charging status, I’ll be upset to wake up to a dead phone.”
The frustration — dubbed “chargegate” — seemed amplified by the fact that the phones, which hit shelves last month, cost a pretty penny. The XS retails for about $1,000, while the XS Max goes for $100 more.
The apparent bug was dissected in a YouTube video uploaded by the tech channel UnboxTherapy.
In the clip, which has more than 5 million views, gadget guru Lewis Hiltsenteger tests nine different iPhones in an attempt to nail down the issue.
Some, like the XS and its predecessor the X, charge with no problems. But the issue pops up with the XS Max, as it fails to charge when plugged in. It comes around eventually, however, after Hiltsenteger taps the screen.