Some iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Users Encounter Charging Issues
Apple's latest models are experiencing abnormal charging behavior after the battery is depleted, affecting the iPhone 17 Pro series and iPhone Air, raising user concerns. Mayo reported that when his iPhone Air was connected to a USB-C charging cable seconds after completely draining and shutting down, the phone failed to restart and did not display the usual red battery icon indicating charging.
Reports indicate that Mayo subsequently discovered in communities like Reddit and iFixit Answers that multiple users had reported similar issues, but the root cause and actual impact range remain unclear. Apple has not yet made a public comment on the matter, and the anomaly does not appear to have been resolved in the recently released iOS 26.4.1 and iOS 26.4.2 system updates.
He also suspected he encountered the same situation earlier this month while using an iPhone 17 Pro Max. He forgot to charge his phone overnight at a hotel, and the device automatically shut down the next morning due to battery depletion. He then used a USB-C cable to charge the phone, but the screen remained completely black for a long time, with no red low battery icon appearing. Initially, he suspected a problem with the hotel's power outlet, but it remained ineffective even after changing multiple outlets and different chargers, realizing that something was wrong.
Similar to Mayo's experience, the author eventually successfully revived the device through MagSafe wireless charging. He placed the iPhone 17 Pro Max on his portable Anker MagSafe power bank and waited approximately 10 to 15 minutes before the phone lit up and started again.
Some Reddit users reported that the standard iPhone 17 also seems to be affected by this issue, not just the Pro and Air models. From the current information, this phenomenon mostly occurs after the device "completely runs out of battery and shuts down," and then attempts to charge via a wired connection, manifesting as "unstable wired charging or inability to immediately wake the device." However, it is currently impossible to confirm whether all users will encounter this issue, and the actual triggering conditions and affected batches remain to be further observed.
Overall, current indications suggest that some new iPhones have uncertainty in "whether they can successfully start charging again" after the battery is completely drained, but the problem is "probabilistic" rather than inevitable. With the situation having been reported by both 9to5Mac and MacRumors, there is widespread expectation that Apple will respond directly and provide a fix or clear explanation in subsequent iOS updates.