Every year with the release of the new iPhone some people start looking for the problems in the new device which are commonly known as the “iPhone Gates“. This basically refers to any sort of problem that an iPhone might have, like if anyone spots something wrong with the iPhone that may be unintentional or some kind of a problem which in any way affects the user experience that is not supposed to be is known as the gate. In the past years, there have been a couple of iPhone gates popping over the internet such as the Antennae gate, the Chip gate, the Hiss gate and the famous of all time the iPhone 6 bend gate.w
Similarly, this year also with the release of iPhone XS and XS Max a number of its users have started complaining about a specific problem which they are referring as the ‘Charge-gate‘ and have taken it to their online communities (e.g. the MacRumors forums). According to these sources the users are claiming that their new devices do not recognize the lightning cable plugged in for charging when the phone is in standby or idle mode. The phone only starts charging when you wake up the device, in some cases, the users also need to unplug it and then plug it again in order some start charging but this is not the worst scenario either. Some people have also reported that their phone completely freezes and does not wake up at all and then only the reboot will restore the normal interaction.
This problem is much better explained by Hilsenteger in his YouTube video posted to the Unbox Therapy channel. In his demonstration, he laid down a bunch of iPhone XS and XS Max and then tried charging them using the Apple’s standard AC adapter and the lightning cable that came in the iPhone box. Nearly half of the devices were facing this charge-gate problem which means they were not charging until you tap on the display. Many people have commented on this video that they are having the same problem.
The main thing to note here is that it is not clear whether it is a software or a hardware based problem. Some are suggesting that it has something to do with the a feature first introduced with iOS 11.4.1 which is software-based restriction on using data cables for transfers while a device is idle or sleeping. This has been instituted to manage the risks of direct-access hacking and device sabotage. But if this was the case then it must affect all the new iPhones running iOS 12. This is seriously worrying some users and on the other hand, Apple has not taken any serious action up till now.
They are being completely arrogant like always and are being completely silent about it. The news has been public for more than 4 days as of the publication of this article, and Apple has refused to comment to its customers or to the world’s press, including the BBC:
Apple has remained silent amid complaints that its new iPhone XS and XS Max smartphones fail to charge consistently when plugged in…
Apple has not yet responded to the BBC’s request for comment.
So what can the user do now? Well, you can try charging it wirelessly with a Qi-compatible charger as no one has experienced any issues with this process. Also, Apple has been rumored to be offering replacements for devices under warranty or AppleCare coverage plans.