Hover stopped working on M4 iPad Pro with Apple Pencil Pro on iPadOS 27

Update #2

Per LotusPilot’s suggestion I Reset All Settings and hover was back! I then started to go through the various system settings to restore them to my preferred states/options. It was getting late so I stopped for the night but wanted to make sure hover was still working and discovered it was not [ugh]. So now I’m thinking that something I changed affected the response to hover. This morning I went back and reversed things I changed one by one and discovered that it was Settings > Accessibility > Zoom that caused the issue. I turned it off and hover worked properly again. Not sure why turning on/off Zoom affects hover but there it is. It’s definitely an iPadOS 27 thing because it all worked fine before I upgraded.

The Apple Pencil Pro documentation states that the Pencil's Hover function works with your iPad Pro M4:

Apple Pencil Pro - Tech Specs - Apple Support

1. Apple Pencil hover works with iPad Pro (M4 and M5), iPad Pro 11‑inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (6th generation), iPad Air (M2 and M3) and iPad mini (A17 Pro).

Ensure that you have updated your iPad to the most recent version of iPadOS. At the time of writing, iPadOS 27.0.1 is current.

If you have already updated the iPad and it is not operating as expected, try a forced-restart - as this will often clear an isolated or post-update software issue:

Force restart iPad (models with Face ID or with Touch ID in the top button)

If your iPad doesn’t have the Home button, do the following:

1. Press and quickly release the volume button nearest to the top button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume button farthest from the top button.
3. Press and hold the top button.
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the top button.

If the problem persists after performing the restart, it may be necessary to reset your iPad settings. While this reset will not cause any loss of data, as a precaution, it is always wise to ensure that you have a current iCloud or iTunes backup before performing the reset:

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

When you are happy to proceed, you can perform the reset from iPad settings:

Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset > Reset All Settings

If the problem still doesn’t clear, the next step is to reset the iPad to factory settings:

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

Otherwise, you would be best advised to seek assistance directly from Apple Support. You can contact the Support Team using the Support link at top-right or bottom-left of this page. Alternatively you can initiate and manage your support cases using the excellent Apple Support App. If not already installed on your iPad, the App can be downloaded from the App Store:

https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-support/id1130498044

Should the problem remain unresolved, you might also consider submitting a Bug Report via Apple's Product Feedback portal. For iPad and iPadOS:

Feedback - iPad - Apple

When submitting your Bug Report, please ensure that you include details of your device model and installed OS versions within the body-text of your report along with details of the problem.  Do not rely upon the pick-list alone - as this often fails to include the most recent OS versions.

Every Bug Report counts. Unless sufficient reports are submitted (with adequate detail), Apple may not assign resources to investigate and correct the issue.

Excellent fault-finding.

Please don't waste the opportunity to submit this hard-won information to Apple - by way of a Bug Report. For iPad and iPadOS:

Feedback - iPad - Apple

When submitting your Bug Report, please ensure that you include details of your device model and installed iPadOS versions within the body-text of your report - along with full details of the problem and the offending device setting.

Every Bug Report counts.  Unless reports are submitted (with adequate detail), Apple may not assign resources to investigate and correct the issue.

Reset All Settings seems to have restored hover. Unfortunately I have a bunch of things to re-add and reconfigure, but that was to be expected. Thanks!!

Any chance that you cloned one iPad from the other when you were setting it up? I recently bought a Mini. For convenience, I cloned it off of my 13" M4 Pro. Everything looked normal until I realized that Pencil pressure wasn't working. It would not surprise me if other settings could be corrupted as well.

It turned out to be something in the settings that got copied from the previous device. Rather than pairing itself to the Pencil Pro, I think it assumed everything was moving permanently from one device. to the other.

Apple Pencil Pro not responding to pressu… - Apple Community

Update...

I used my Apple Pencil Pro on my wife's iPad and hover worked as it is supposed to. I used her pencil on my iPad and hover did not work. We are both running iPadOS 27.0.1. So it seems that the problem is with my iPad. To add another wrinkle, I turned on Hover Text in the Accessibility Settings and that shows up. It's just the regular hover effect that is not working. I rely on it when using some apps so this has become quite inconvenient. Any help would be appreciated.

Tsaxman wrote:

Reset All Settings seems to have restored hover. Unfortunately I have a bunch of things to re-add and reconfigure, but that was to be expected. Thanks!!

You're very welcome. I'm delighted to learn that the problem has been successfully resolved.

oh my god.. it’s been 3 months and now I can finally use my pencil without losing my mind again!

It was a problem in the beta, and it’s crazy the bug made it through the public release. Do people really not use the zoom feature?

Nope...this device wasn't cloned. But thanks for the response.

I changed one by one and discovered that it was Settings > Accessibility > Zoom that caused the issue. I turned it off and hover worked properly again.

Thank you so so much 🫶