What to Do When Your iPhone Won't Charge

If your iPhone isn't charging, there are several common causes — most of which you can fix yourself in minutes without going to a store.

In this guide (6 steps):

1.Clean the charging port gently
2.Try a different cable
3.Try a different power adapter or outlet
4.Restart your iPhone
5.Let a deeply drained battery recover
6.Contact Apple Support if nothing worked

Clean the charging port gently

~30s

Lint, dust, and pocket debris collect in the small charging port at the bottom of your iPhone over time — and even a thin layer of lint can prevent a good connection. Shine a flashlight into the port. If you see anything inside, use a wooden toothpick (not metal) to very gently loosen and remove debris. Never use water or compressed air directly into the port.

Quick Tip

Quick Tip: Lint in the charging port is the most common reason iPhones stop charging — and cleaning it out is free and often works immediately.

Try a different cable

~16s

Charging cables wear out, especially near the connector ends. If you have another Lightning cable (older iPhones) or USB-C cable (iPhone 15 and newer), try it. Use an Apple-brand or MFi-certified (Made for iPhone) cable. Cheap uncertified cables often stop working after just a few months.

Try a different power adapter or outlet

~15s

Plug the cable into a different USB charging adapter or wall outlet. The power brick itself may have failed. You can also try plugging into a computer's USB port to see if the iPhone charges that way.

Restart your iPhone

~15s

Sometimes a software issue prevents charging from registering. Restart your iPhone: hold the side button and either volume button until the slider appears, then slide to power off. Wait 30 seconds, turn it back on, then plug in the charger again.

Let a deeply drained battery recover

~15s

If your iPhone battery is completely drained, it may need 10–15 minutes of charging before the screen will turn on at all. Plug it in, leave it alone, and come back in 15 minutes. You should then see the low-battery charging indicator.

Contact Apple Support if nothing worked

~17s

If you've tried everything above and the iPhone still won't charge, the issue may be hardware — a damaged charging port or a battery that needs replacement. Go to apple.com/support to chat, schedule an appointment at an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider, or call 1-800-275-2273.

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Your iPhone isn't charging — the battery icon isn't changing, or the charging symbol isn't appearing. Before you head to the Apple Store, there's a good chance you can solve this yourself. Most charging issues come from one of just a few causes: a dirty charging port, a cable that's worn out, a power brick that stopped working, or a minor software glitch.

This guide walks through each possible cause in order, from the most common (and most fixable) to the least common. Work through the steps in order and you'll likely find the problem quickly. If you reach the end and nothing has helped, that's when it makes sense to contact Apple Support.

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