How To Fix An iPhone That Won’t Charge
Your iPhone won't charge? We’ve come up with a few ways to diagnose your battery woes and to help you fix the problem.
Author:Daniel BarrettMay 30, 202272026 Shares1385116 Views
You plug your iPhonein and walk away. An hour later you come back to leave the house and to your surprise, the battery is just as dead as when you left it. Your iPhone says it’s charging, but clearly it has not.
There are a few problems that could be occurring – your device could be refusing to charge altogether, or it could simply be charging really slowly; sometimes so slowly that it’s actually using power faster than it’s gaining it. If you’re experiencing any of these problems, we’ve come up with a few ways to diagnose your battery woes and to help you fix the problem.
There Must Be A Problem With The Battery, Right?
The software on your iPhone controls everything. If there is no increase in charge, it’s more likely than not that there’s an issue with the software, not the hardware. The steps below will help you diagnose and fix the real reason why your iPhone isn’t charging even though it says that it is.
Try A Different Power Source
It’s totally possible that your phone or charger isn’t actually the problem at all, but rather the power outlet you’re trying to charge from. If you’re trying to charge from the wall, try another socket or charging straight from your computer. If you’re charging from a USB port on your computer, switch to another port or try using a wall adapter. If your device starts charging when you change power sources, you’ve found the problem and you may need to look into hiring an electrician or getting your computer fixed.
Check The Charging Cable
There are two components you should check before you start restarting devices and trying to fix USB sockets – the wall adapter and the charging cable. The charging cable is by far the most common charging problem, which makes sense – they endure a lot of unwrapping and rewrapping, flexing, and people trying to plug them in at weird angles. All of these things can damage the cable.
Chances are you have a few charging cables lying around, so try switching out the cable for another to see if that helps. If you don’t have another cable to test out, you may want to borrow one before moving on to a more drastic step.
The other component to check before you start messing around with your phone is the wall adapter. This is particularly true if you’re using an adapter where the cable can be removed. It’s certainly possible that the USB port on the adapter could have broken.
Like with the cable, the easiest way to check if the adapter is at fault is to simply try charging with a new adapter. However, if you don’t have access to another adapter you can also try plugging in to your computer. If it charges with the same phone and cable, chances are the adapter is at fault.
Hard Reset Your iPhone
A hard reset forces your iPhone to quickly restart, which can sometimes fix a software crash. It’s possible your iPhone crashed, making the display go black and giving off the appearance that your iPhone isn’t charging.
There are different ways to perform a hard reset depending on which iPhone that you have:
iPhone 8and newer models: Press Volume Up and let go, then press Volume Down and let go, then press and hold the side button until the screen turns off and then turns back on. You can release the side button when the Apple logo appears.
iPhone 7and 7 Plus: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and down the Volume Down button simultaneously. Keep holding both buttons until the screen turns black and the Apple logo appears.
iPhone 6 and earlier: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons simultaneously until the Apple logo shows up on the screen.
Clean Out Your Charging Port
If a hard reset didn’t do the trick, try cleaning out the charging port. We recommend using an anti-static brush to do this, but if you don’t have one hanging around (most people don’t), you can use a clean, unused toothbrush instead. Just brush back and forth to loosen and dislodge any possible gunk or debris hiding in your charging port.
Put Your iPhone In DFU Mode
The DFU (Device Firmware Update) restore is the most in-depth restore you can do on your iPhone. Before putting your iPhone in DFU mode, you’ll want to back it up to avoid losing all of your data, such as your contacts and photos. When you’re ready, check out our article to learn how to DFU restore your iPhone.
iPhone Repair Options
If none of our software troubleshooting steps fixed your iPhone’s charging issue, you’ll probably have to get it repaired.
Take your iPhone into your local Apple Store, especially if it’s still under warranty. We recommend setting up an appointment first to make sure someone is available as soon as you arrive.
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Daniel Barrett
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