iPhone won't charge? Here's what to do!
iPhone basics and jargon busters
Anyone who owns an iPhone will have a charger plug and a USB cable. The USB end of the cable will be bigger than the phone connection end. You can charge your phone simply by plugging the USB end into the plug, which then goes into the mains plug socket. You can also take the plug off and use the USB end to charge your iPhone from a laptop or computer. Hardware is the external equipment like wires and plugs and software is on the phone itself.
Why won't my iPhone charge?
So you have plugged your phone in and it doesn't appear to be charging, what now? First thing is to double check it is in fact not charging. You do this by turning your phone on and looking for the lightning bolt sign next to where your charge bar usually is. If you cannot see it then you need to follow the following steps:
Step 1: It may sound obvious, but make sure your plugs/laptop is switched on. Especially extension cords. If it is switched on you can move to step two. If it wasn't switched on and you now see the lightning bolt, your crisis is over!
Step 2: Restart your phone. Sometimes Apple software has issues which means your problem may not be related to the hard ware. By restarting your phone, it may correct itself and show you that it is charging via the lightning bolt. Still not working? Roll on step 3!
Step 3: Check that your ports are clean. This is a widespread problem with smartphone users, and often, people end up paying for somebody to just clean dust from their port. Get a little make up brush or some small Tweezers and see if you can pluck out bits of dust from your charging port.
Step 3: Check your plugs and ports. Your phone needs electricity to charge and if that connection is disrupted then the device will not work. Grab something else that uses a plug and see if you can power it on using the plug/port. You can't? Then you have a problem with your plug/port and need to attempt in a different plug/port, try cleaning it and try again. If you can power something else with the plug/port, then you may have a different hardware problem.
Step 4: Damage. If your iPhone cables are split open exposing wires inside, snapped cables, bent cables or your plug looks a little frazzled; this could potentially be the problem. If the wires are just exposed, try some electrical tape wrapped around the wires. if that doesn't work, the safest option is to buy a new cable. The cable doesn't have to be produced by Apple, but it needs to comply with Apple.
Step 4: Damage to the actual phone. Think back and consider if your phone has been through any every day trauma like washing machines, falls, puddles, baby antics etc. This could be your entire problem. Your phone may appear to be dry, but internally it might not be. Place your phone into some raw rice for 48 hours and re-try charging your phone.
You can find the original article here.