iPad Pro Face ID stopped working + quick battery drain

[KenAFSPC]

About two weeks ago, the Face ID stopped working on my 2018 iPad Pro, which I purchased about 15 months ago. My screen is clean and resets don’t make a difference.

The iPad frequently displays a message stating that Face ID cannot be activated even though I’ve turned it off in settings. My battery drain is now 3-4x application usage, with about 2 hours of usable life and 2-3 hours of standby time, which I suspect is due to the iPad constantly trying to poll / activate the Face ID hardware. Prior to two weeks ago, the iPad got 10+ hours of battery life and several days of standby time.

Has anyone encountered anything like this? And if so, did you find a solution? I understand Apple wants $499 to fix the Face ID hardware on an out-of-warranty iPad Pro.

 

[0128672]

When you say you turned off Face ID, did you Reset Face ID or did you only disable the functions that use Face ID? Did you also ensure that any Accessibility settings related to Face ID are also disabled? You mentioned "resets don't make a difference." Which resets did you try?

 

[KenAFSPC]

I tried the hard reset and the “erase all content and settings” reset. No programs installed besides the default iPad apps. No difference.

Yes, I disabled all of the Accessibility settings linked to Face ID. It had no effect on the battery drain. Between the time I posted my original message and this response, my battery life dropped from 100% to 67% without any usage aside from these posts.

 

[0128672]

I tried the hard reset and the “erase all content and settings” reset. No programs installed besides the default iPad apps. No difference.

Yes, I disabled all of the Accessibility settings linked to Face ID. It had no effect on the battery drain. Between the time I posted my original message and this response, my battery life dropped from 100% to 67% without any usage aside from these posts.

Yeah, that's a big drop for so little activity. Do you see anything surprising in the Battery app usage setting?

 

[AutomaticApple]

About two weeks ago, the Face ID stopped working on my 2018 iPad Pro, which I purchased about 15 months ago. My screen is clean and resets don’t make a difference.

The iPad frequently displays a message stating that Face ID cannot be activated even though I’ve turned it off in settings. My battery drain is now 3-4x application usage, with about 2 hours of usable life and 2-3 hours of standby time, which I suspect is due to the iPad constantly trying to poll / activate the Face ID hardware. Prior to two weeks ago, the iPad got 10+ hours of battery life and several days of standby time.

Has anyone encountered anything like this? And if so, did you find a solution? I understand Apple wants $499 to fix the Face ID hardware on an out-of-warranty iPad Pro.

The Face ID sensors are likely malfunctioning. I have seen this occur on a 2018 iPad Pro, and Apple confirmed that it was a hardware issue.

 

[ericwn]

The Face ID sensors are likely malfunctioning. I have seen this occur on a 2018 iPad Pro, and Apple confirmed that it was a hardware issue.

Same thoughts here, especially if it happens after erase and restore (assuming no ID was entered and no backup restored). In that case it’s likely hardware.

 

[darren.wilkes]

Exact same issue here, 3rd Gen iPad Pro 12.9, all of a sudden Face ID stopped working, then dramatic battery drain on standby.

I could shut my iPad before bed and wake up with the exact same percentage. Now it's draining about 9% per hour on standby, about the same levels as when I use the iPad.

Just set up as new iPad and its still draining.

Did anyone find any solutions?

 

[Scryer]

Hello. I have the same issue with ipad pro 12.9 2018. Face id error and battery drain. I have change the battery- no luck. Then I physically unplug face id sensor from mainboard, and battery issue disappeared, but i lost front mic. No sound when voice memos and face id calls. Looking for software solution how to completely disable face id without mic. Any ideas?

 

[konbini]

I had issue come up for me after my 12.9 2018 iPad just decided to stop working and turning on. I had someone take a look at it and the iPad turns on, but ran into the issues of no FaceID and battery drain. I was told that it was a FaceID hardware issue, and that only Apple is able to provide the parts for a replacement.

I temporarily fixed it by kind of massaging the FaceID sensor area and restarting it, but the issues came back a after a week. Updating to iPadOS 17 a couple days ago seemed to have fixed it again. Really hoping it doesn't come back.

 

[dazz87]

Same here on my Ipad Pro. no point for me to fix the issue, trying to replace it with another newer ipad pro. Not sure if the OLED pro is worth the extra money over the LCD pro.