Do you have to hold the cable just so before your iPhone starts charging? Does charging stop after a few minutes? Or does nothing happen at all? Before you assume a dead battery: in a large share of cases there is nothing wrong with the battery and the problem is in the charging port, the cable or the adapter. That is good news, because it is the cheap end of the spectrum.
Look into the charging port first
This is the most important step and almost nobody takes it. Lint from your pocket or your bag works a little further into the port every day, pressed in deeper by the plug each time, until there is a hard, packed plug of it at the bottom. The cable then no longer seats deeply enough and makes poor contact — exactly the picture behind "it only charges if I hold it a certain way".
Shine a light into the port and look for something greyish at the bottom. If there is debris, remove it very carefully with a wooden or plastic pick, a toothpick for instance. Never use a paperclip, a needle or anything else metal, because that damages the contacts or shorts them. Do not blow compressed air into the port either. If you would rather not, we will do it for you.
The rest of the tests
- Another cable, another adapter. Cables fail at the strain relief and adapters deliver less current after a few years. Test with a combination you know works, and bring your own cable and charger along when you come in.
- Try wireless charging if your phone supports it. If it charges wirelessly but not by cable, you can be fairly certain it is the port or the flex cable feeding it rather than the battery.
- Watch for a moisture warning. If your iPhone says there is liquid in the connector, do not ignore it and do not keep charging by cable. That warning comes from a sensor in the port and means there is moisture or corrosion in there. Let it dry and use wireless charging if you need to. If the warning keeps returning once everything is dry, there is corrosion that needs to come out.
- Check battery health. It is in the battery settings. If it recommends service, or capacity has dropped below eighty per cent, the battery is a serious candidate. Note that a worn battery and a failed port often look the same, so this is an indication rather than proof.
- Do a force restart. Press and release volume up, press and release volume down, then hold the side button until the Apple logo appears. Sometimes charging has simply hung in software.
What it usually turns out to be
- Debris in the port. Then cleaning is the whole repair and you do not pay for a part you did not need.
- The cable or the adapter. Just as often, and just as cheap to solve.
- The charging port itself. On many iPhones that is a separate part including its flex cable, and it is usually about a half-hour job. See charging port repair for prices per model.
- The battery. Especially if it also drains quickly, cuts out without warning, or drops straight to zero in the cold. See battery replacement.
- The charging chip on the board. Less often, and usually after liquid or a poor adapter. Even then no new board is needed: we find the component causing the fault.
Worth knowing about a new battery
If you fit a battery that is not paired to your iPhone's serial number, iOS adds a notice about it in settings and the battery health reading disappears. The phone works completely and the battery does exactly what it should, but that notice comes with it. It is our job to say so beforehand rather than after, which is why it is here.
In short
A light in the port, another cable, another adapter, wireless charging as a test, and a look at battery health. In a great many cases it is lint and you are done in a few minutes. If you cannot work it out, we measure it out for free at Blue Apple on Rijnstraat 76-H and you hear the price before we replace anything.
