Phone not charging properly? It's probably not broken
In short
A phone that won't charge properly usually isn't broken. It's pocket fluff in the port. How to tell, what to try first, and why not to dig it out yourself.
Every so often someone puts a phone on the counter, looks a bit worried, and tells me the charging port has gone.
Fair enough. It is an annoying thing to happen, and it usually happens at the worst possible moment. But most of the time the port is not broken at all. It is just packed with pocket fluff.
Here is how to tell, what to try first, and the one thing I would ask you not to do.
Why it happens
Your phone spends most of its life in a pocket or a bag. Every time you push a cable in, it presses a little more lint into the bottom of the port. After a year or two there is a thin, packed layer sitting right where the cable needs to make contact.
The cable still goes in, so it looks fine. It just cannot go in far enough to connect properly any more. This happens on iPhones and Android phones alike, whether the port is Lightning or USB-C.
How to tell if it's fluff, not a fault
A few signs point strongly to a blocked port rather than a broken one:
- The cable feels loose. It used to click in firmly. Now it sits there loosely, or slides out easily.
- It only charges at an angle. You have found the exact position to prop the cable so it charges, and if anyone moves it, it stops.
- It crept up on you. It got gradually worse over weeks or months, rather than stopping all at once after a drop or a splash.
If it stopped suddenly after the phone was dropped or got wet, that is a different story, and worth having looked at properly.
Try a different cable first
Before anything else, rule out the cable. Cables give up far more often than phones do, especially the ones that live in a car or get wound tightly round a plug.
If a different cable charges the phone perfectly, you have your answer and a new cable is all you need. If a known good cable still feels loose or charges at an angle, it is almost certainly the port.
Worth checking the plug too, by trying another one, or charging from a laptop.
Please don't dig it out yourself
I know it is tempting to have a go with a pin, a paperclip or the end of a SIM tool. I would really rather you did not.
The inside of a charging port is lined with tiny metal contacts. Anything metal can scratch them or bend them, and it is easy to push the fluff in tighter rather than getting it out. What was a free clean becomes a paid repair.
What we do
Just bring it into the studio. We will clean the port out properly while you wait. It takes about five minutes and it will not cost you anything.
If, once it is clean, something really is broken, we will show you what we have found and tell you the price before we touch it. No surprises.
Most people walk out with the same phone they came in with, charging fine again. That is a good day for everyone.
The short version
- A loose cable, or one that only charges at an angle, usually means fluff in the port
- Try a different cable and plug first
- Do not dig it out with anything metal
- Bring it in and we will clean it while you wait, free
Calatech, 21 to 27 Hollands Road, Haverhill.