April 27, 2026, 4:33 pm | Read time: 2 minutes
Some users of current iPhone models report unusual behavior after a complete discharge. Despite being plugged into the power supply, the devices show no response: The screen simply remains black. Apparently, devices from the iPhone 17 series and the iPhone Air are affected.
iPhones “Dead” After Complete Discharge
After a complete discharge, the iPhone should automatically start when connected to a charger, or at least a charging indicator should appear on the display. However, as “9To5Mac” now reports, this was not the case with one of their own iPhone Air devices.
Even after several minutes of power supply, the device showed no activity. Neither a restart using the hardware reset key combination nor changing the charging cable led to success. A computer also could not establish a connection to the device via USB.
Also of interest: Apple warns against charging the iPhone in bed
According to “9To5Mac,” the iPhone Air was practically completely “dead.” The owner of the device had already assumed a defect that would require sending it in for repair.
Apple Warns Against Charging iPhone in Bed
The Coolest New Features of the iPhone 17 That No One Is Talking About
Not an Isolated Case
On Reddit (1, 2) and in the user forum of the repair site iFixit, there are several reports of similar problems with the current iPhone generation. The most common solution seems to be charging the iPhone wirelessly via MagSafe for 10–15 minutes to revive it. Several comments also suggest that it might help to remove the iPhone from the MagSafe case before charging.
Not only current iPhone models are reportedly affected by this issue, as users write in the “9To5Mac” forum. Among others, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Vision Pro (M5) are mentioned.
Charging via MagSafe as an iPhone Savior?
Whether this is a problem with the protective function that Apple uses to prevent excessive battery discharge is unknown. Generally, the battery must reach a certain voltage again to restart the device. However, this should only take a few minutes.
In the cases described, wired charging seems to be less reliable for the fully discharged iPhones. In online forums, users speculate that the device in this state cannot establish a stable power intake via the cable. Apparently, for this reason, employees in Apple Stores often use MagSafe chargers to restart inactive devices.