Fix an iPhone that won't charge

iPhones are one of the most used smartphones in the world, it is the first choice of every user. If you own one, you might be experiencing a common issue with the iPhone which is the battery. Low battery life requires charging your phone repeatedly.

In case, your iPhone does not change when you plug in the charging. This is a huge issue you have only time till your phone’s battery is charged. This too happens at the time your iPhone’s battery is low that's when we plug the charge. There might be a lot of issues that cause this.

How to Fix an iPhone that Won't Charge?

When your iPhone is not charging, you have a big issue you will be soon cut off as your phone’s battery dies. Many things can go wrong here and you can correct almost every error excluding a few that need expert support and fixing. Let’s first detect what’s the issue with basic troubleshooting.

Then your iPhone is connected to a charger and is charging and lightning symbol in the battery on the top-right of your iPhone also as you connect the adapter, "00% charged" pops up on your lock screen.

If you don't see these your phone isn’t charging. Then you need to check for issues and get them fixed to get your iPhone going.

Let's see what are the issues and what can be done to fix this −

• Issue in charging port
  • Dust in port
  • Water in the port
  • Wireless charger issue
• Issue with charging adapter
  • Adapter not working
  • Damage with cable
  • Wireless adapter issue
• Software related issue
• Water damage or any other hardware damage

Many of these issues can be solved and your disturbed charging can be brought back to normal with easy and actionable steps.

Fixing Charging Port Issue on iPhone

One of the two common issues that make your iPhone not change is the charging port. Any issue in the charging port leads to an issue in charging capability or wired connection.

The port can have two issues, either it gets clogged up with dust and debris or it might have water inside.

• For a dirty port, you need to clean it. This can be done using a soft brush and toothpick to gently pull out all dirt from the port. Or if you have access to good-pressure air, you can use it too.
• If your charging port has water inside, then your iPhone will not charge until the water gets out. You might have used it in rain or made liquid contact with it, though iPhones are waterproof but you cannot charge a phone with water inside it. When this happens, you will be prompted with ‘liquid detected’ and your iPhone will resume charging after all liquid inside it is dried.
• Wireless charging can also be hampered sometimes, as it depends on the proper alignment of magnates. The phone cover you use can also make a difference. So for now let’s not go deep into wireless charging issues.

To check if your phone’s ports are working, change to any other cable. If it charges the issue is with the cable, not your iPhone.

Fixing Issues with Charger

Charging unit for an iPhone, the adapter and cable are the most abused. And cable’s getting worn off is the most common issue that you would be facing. With usage, the rubber covering on your cable's tip gets worn off which leads to issues in charging.

• Check your Cable, physically check if your cable has any breakage or not which can arise with time. If yes replace it, even if there are no visible issues outside the cable, there can be issues inside it. Try charging any other iPhone( any phone in case of type c cable) to check if it's working or dead.
• If your cables are ok, the issue can be the adapter. If you are using a docking station check if the port you are using is live or not. In the case of a power adaptor too, try changing cables to check for potential faults.

If you have detected that your charger or cable is the problem. Then you directly need to change it to a new cable. If you are buying it from any other company make sure it’s an Apple-certified accessory.

How to Fix an iPhone that won't charge due to a software issue?

The software can also hamper your iPhone’s charging capabilities. Frozen phones, overheating, battery optimization, and low battery health can be the issues that do not let your iPhone change. These software-related issues can be addressed and worked upon easily to make charging work.

• If your iPhone does not change as it’s frozen a force restart will do your job. Restart your iPhone by pressing and releasing volume up then volume down > hold power button until the apple icon appears. Use this method only when you have at least 10% battery, otherwise, your iPhone may die and you won’t be able to run another diagnosis.
• If you are trying to charge your iPhone in a hot place, it might not charge to avoid overheating. So, you need to cool it down to enable charging back.
• If you are using iOS 18 or later, a feature called optimized battery charging might stop or slow after 80%. Or a battery above a certain 80% might not charge if your phone’s battery health is not good. If your battery health goes too low, you need to replace it.
• Updating iOS to the latest one might also help, avoiding some software issues leading to charging issue. For this method too, 50% battery is a must, otherwise, update will not be done.

Fix water damaged charging issue

If your iPhone comes in contact with water, it will not charge for some time (the port needs to get dry before charging to resume).

In most cases, water will not damage your iPhone in any way. But there are cases when water gets into your smartphone and creates some issues, charging can be one of them. In such a case, you need to take it to Apple’s authorized service center and get it repaired.

All these issues can be the reason for your iPhone not charging when you plug it into a socket. You can check for each or these issues one by one get it fixed by yourself or get professional help when required. In the worst case, you might need to get a new battery or port replacement.