The moment when you realize your iPhone 5/5S is not charging is the lowest and most terrifying of all smartphone experiences. It gets worse with another decreasing percent of your phone’s battery.
How to fix? iPhone 5/5S is Not Charging
It is hard to guess what may be causing this issue. Maybe the charger faltered or the charging port of the phone stopped working properly. There can be a more complex reason causing trouble. When we are uncertain about the problem, the go-to solution is rebooting the device.
Reboot the iPhone
This is the most obvious solution to a technical problem when the cause is unknown. Not only is this easy to do but also holds a high chance of solving most problems. Whether it was a software bug or an application update that started the problem, restarting the iPhone should resolve it. If you have not tried it yet, we recommend you do it now.
Once you have restarted the phone, check if the phone is charging.
What if iPhone 5 is Completely Dead And Won’t Charge?
Quite often there is a more obvious and simpler reason due to which the phone does not charge such as dust or dirt. The lightning dock goes everywhere with you and its open end is receptive to pollution, dust particles, and other elements.
You might argue you clean your phone every day. But how often do you make the delicate effort of cleaning the ports, including the one where the charger connects? Not only does it feel a bit tricky, but the thought hardly ever crosses a smartphone user’s mind. This gives dust time to accumulate in the dock and stop it from working properly.
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How do You Know if Dust/Dirt is the Real Culprit?
The easiest way to find out whether your iPhone 5 is not charging because of dust is by using other lightning cables. You can even try to use another adapter and even another wall outlet. If the phone still refuses to charge, you can rest assured the problem is with the dock, not the charger. Just to be double sure, you can even try to charge it through USB connection with a laptop or PC. Still nothing? Blame the dust.
There is another and somewhat unusual tell-tale sign that proves dust to be the culprit. If your phone charges for a few minutes and suddenly stops then you have a filthy problem at hand. You put the phone on charging, go to the bath, have breakfast, binge watch a Netflix series, and you come back 3 hours later just to see the charging stuck at 30%.
It is time to clean the lighting dock.
What to Do When iPhone 5/5S is not Charging Due to Dust?
If accumulated dust is preventing the phone from charging, the easiest way to solve the problem is by removing it and here’s how you can do that.
All you will need is either a thumbtack or a paper clip. Whichever one you choose to use, stretch out one of its ends. Use that edge to very carefully scrub the edges inside the charging port. Make sure you are going gentle with the process or you may end up damaging the dock.
Once you have scrubbed the port entirely along its edges, use a thin piece of cloth and pin it on the edge of the instrument you have just used to clean the port. With the cloth, try to clean the dust that scrubbing must have frayed off from the port’s surface. One done, blow in some air and connect the charger to it. See if the phone is now charging.
What to Do If The iPhone Is Damaged and Won’t Charge
Since, you have already tried changing the lightning cable, adapter, and wall socket, it is pretty clear that the problem is with the iPhone. The charging trouble is most probably caused by a hardware glitch or an old battery. Either way, we recommend you to take the help of the experts in Apple Service Centers. While there are several tutorials available online on how to change the dock and battery of an iPhone, it is best to leave these intricate tasks to professionals.
If the problem started after a fallout or water-splash accident, you can be certain that the problem is serious and would need new hardware parts to get fixed. However, if the iPhone 5 stopped charging after coming in direct contact with water, you can dry it out for 72 hours before walking in a service center. Immerse it in a tumbler full of rice. It will soak the water and dry out the phone completely. You can also keep the phone under direct sunlight or near a space heater.
Conclusion to iPhone 5/5S not Charging
It can be extremely frustrating when your iPhone just wouldn’t charge. While it is hard to know what is causing the problem, it is not impossible. In this article, we have listed some common reasons that prevent an iPhone 5 or 5S model from charging. Next to them are appropriate solutions that will help you get rid of the problem.
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