How to Fix Phone Not Charging?

Try a different cable first, then clean the charging port. Those two account for the large majority of phones that won't charge, and both are free to rule out. Work through the causes in order of likelihood rather than jumping to the battery.

1. Swap the cable. Charging cables fail far more often than anything else in the chain, because they get bent, yanked, and wound tightly. Damage is frequently invisible from the outside. Borrow a cable you know works rather than looking at yours for signs of wear.

2. Clean the charging port — the most common physical fault. Pocket lint compacts into the bottom of the port over months until the connector can no longer seat fully. A telltale sign is a cable that feels loose, or only charges when held at an angle.

1. Power the phone off.
2. Shine a light into the port — you'll often see a grey felt-like plug of lint.
3. Use a wooden or plastic toothpick, or a plastic dental pick.
4. Scrape gently along the sides and lift the debris out. Don't jab at the centre.
5. A short burst of compressed air at a distance can help afterwards.

Never use a metal pin, needle or paperclip — the contacts inside are delicate and easily shorted or bent. Avoid liquids too.

People are routinely surprised by how much comes out, and the phone charges normally again straight away.

3. Try a different adapter and wall socket. Plug adapters fail silently. Test the socket with something else, and avoid charging through a low-power source like a laptop USB port or a car socket while diagnosing.

4. Force restart the phone. A frozen system can stop the phone registering the charger even though power is flowing.

• iPhone 8 and later: press Volume Up, then Volume Down, then hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.
• Android: hold Volume Down + Power for 7–10 seconds.
• Samsung: hold Volume Down + Side button for 7–10 seconds.

5. Check for a software issue. Install any pending system update, and think about whether the problem started right after one. Charging bugs after an update are not rare, and a follow-up patch usually fixes them.

6. Test wireless charging if your phone supports it. If wireless works but the cable doesn't, the problem is the port or cable, not the battery. That's a useful split in the diagnosis.

7. Let it charge for an hour. A deeply discharged battery can take 15 to 30 minutes before it shows any sign of life. A completely flat phone may show nothing at all at first, so don't conclude it's dead after two minutes.

Reading the symptoms:

On heat: phones deliberately pause charging when too hot. If it's in sunlight, under a pillow, or in a thick case, move it somewhere cool and try again. This is protective behaviour, not a fault.

Water in the port. iPhones and many Android phones block charging when they detect moisture, and show a warning. Don't override it. Leave the phone unplugged with the port facing down for a few hours to dry. Don't use a hairdryer, and rice does not work as well as people believe.

Signs the battery itself is failing: the phone dies suddenly at 20–30%, drains unusually fast, gets hot in normal use, or the back has begun to bulge. On iPhone, check Settings → Battery → Battery Health — anything below about 80% capacity is worn.

Stop and get help if the battery is visibly swollen — if the case is separating or the screen is lifting. A swollen lithium battery is a genuine fire risk. Don't charge it, don't press on it, and take it to a repair shop.

When it's time for a repair: you've tried another cable and adapter, cleaned the port, force restarted, and nothing has changed. At that point it's likely a failed charging port or battery, both of which are common and usually affordable to replace.