Imagine seeing an Instagram-worthy scenery that you want to take a picture of, when suddenly you realize that your iPhone’s battery is about to get drained. As you plug the device into an electrical outlet or powerbank, you begin to unravel one of the biggest frustrations of this generation: Your iPhone won’t charge!
You’ve probably encountered low-battery situations before, but nothing will disappoint you more than discovering that your iPhone won’t charge. In this article, we will dissect some of the reasons why this non-charging state happens, and share with you some easy-to-follow fixes to these iPhone charging issues.
Table of Contents
Are You Sure Your iPhone Won’t Charge?
Before going into the nitty-gritty details of troubleshooting the charging error on your iPhone — regardless if it’s an iPhone 8 or an older model — you need to check first whether it’s really busted. The clearest sign that your iPhone is actually charging when you plug it into a power source is when you see a lightning bolt on the battery icon, which you can see in your iPhone’s status bar.
Five Quick Fixes For A Non-Charging iPhone
If you don’t see the lightning bolt icon, then you can already suspect that there’s something wrong. Here are five fast tips on how to address an iPhone that does not charge:
1. Check the power source
No matter how you configure your device and use the best charging cables, your iPhone won’t charge if your power source is not working. Check first if the electrical outlet is still working, or if the wiring doesn’t have any problems.
If you’re using a powerbank to charge your iPhone, make sure that your portable charging console has enough juice to power up your phone. After all, what good is a powerbank if it’s got no power to give?
2. Inspect the iPhone port
One of the common reasons why the iPhone fails to get charged is obstruction in the port. The design of the charging port at the bottom of your Phone may make it possible for dust or dirt to accumulate. This may disrupt the connection between the phone and the charging cable.
If this is the case, use compressed air to blow out the obstruction in the port. You may also use a toothpick or safety pin to manually pull out the accumulated dirt from the port.
3. Check the charging cable
If you’ve gone through the first two steps and still see the dreadful red battery icon at the center of your iPhone screen, look at the bottom part of the screen. When you connect your iPhone to a power source, does the cable and lightning icon disappear from the screen? If not, there may be something wrong with the charging cable.
The design of Apple’s Lightning cable makes it prone to damage. The Lightning plug may get disconnected from the charging cable wire, and this may lead to the scenario where your iPhone won’t charge anymore.
You may try wrapping the end of the charging cable with electrical tape, so that the plug becomes securely fastened to the wire. Unfortunately, if the damage involves internal wiring in the cable, your best bet may be to replace the charging cable with a new one.
Due to the high cost of Apple accessories and cables, some people have resorted to buying either knockoffs or cheaper charging cables designed for the iPhone. Apple may not be able to vouch for the quality and effectiveness of the third-party charging hardware, and a possible incompatibility of the cable may have prevented your iPhone from charging.
4. Restart your iPhone
There’s a possibility that the charging issue has something to do with software rather than hardware. If you have checked the hardware as listed in steps 1 to 3, then your next troubleshooting step is to restart the phone.
To do a hard restart, simply press and hold the Power button and Home button simultaneously. As soon as you see the phone has restarted successfully, plug the device back into the power source and check if it’s already charging.
5. Check for possible water seepage
Water damage may cause your iPhone to fail the charging process. If your phone dropped into a vat of water or immersed in water for a long period of time, then the seepage of water might interrupt the normal charging process of your phone. Although it may look dry on the outside, you might not know how much water is already in the phone’s internal elements.
To extract any water out of the iPhone, insert your phone in a bowl of silica or uncooked grains of rice. These household items are popular for being able to absorb moisture well.
During the drying process, don’t connect the iPhone to any charging port.
Tips to Optimize Battery Life
The reason why some people reach the point of having an empty iPhone battery boils down to poor use of the device. If you want to stretch the battery life of your iPhone, here are some tips recommended by the folks at Apple:
- Make sure that you have updated to the latest software version.
- Protect your iPhone from exposure to extreme temperatures.
- Reduce screen brightness to a level that’s comfortable enough for you to read.
- Use Low Power Mode when the device alerts you to switch.
- Prefer WiFi connection over a cellular network.
When All Else Fails…
If not one of these five easy hacks can solve the issue of your iPhone’s failure to charge, your last step is to bring your phone to the nearest Apple store. From there, you can refer your device complaint to Apple Support. They are the best people to ask about what to do when your iPhone won’t charge.
Conclusion
The iPhone can work its magic through amazing technology and user-friendly interface. Make sure that in the same way that you care for your phone’s external case, you also need to be on top of things when it comes to your phone battery.
(iPhone image via Pexels)
