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iOS 14: No longer charging

After upgrading to iOS 14 on my iPhone XS Max, everything seemed to be okay at first, but then tonight the phone decided it had had just about enough of that whole "charging" business. Tried it on multiple devices, across multiple different cables, including plugged into the wall. Tried hard reset. Tried it while the phone was powered off; in doing this, upon plugging in the cable, the phone powers on, so it clearly *recognizes* the cable plugged into it. No indication of even trying to charge, no chime, no green battery, nothing. As a result, it won't show up in iTunes, so I can't make a backup and restore the system to any previous state. Everything else seems to be functioning as it should.


All I can think is, since the unit clearly recognizes cables plugged into it and so the connector is probably functioning, that this is a software issue with iOS. Any thoughts on things to try?

iPhone XS Max

Posted on Sep 20, 2020 1:23 AM

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185 replies
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Sep 20, 2020 6:18 AM in response to Baphijmm

Thank you for posting. I am dealing with somewhat the same issue. I have the new iPhone SE and was charging just fine prior to the update. The only difference is mine starts to charge and then just stops. I am using all apple charging product cables(no aftermarket items). Its very frustrating. I did a full wipe on the phone and restored from backup and still giving me issues. I just wanted to comment in hopes that this gets enough traction for Apple to address because its clearly a problem.

Sep 20, 2020 5:22 PM in response to Baphijmm

Bit of an update after further testing:


Headphone jack adapter also doesn't seem to function.


Plugging the phone into my (Windows) laptop caused my laptop to completely lose its mouse, and have an inexcusably difficult time shutting down. This, coupled with the aforementioned headphone jack issue, leads me to believe there's something royally wrong with how the phone handles USB now.


A friend of mine has a wireless charging pad he let me borrow. This works to charge the phone, in my case; I understand that's the exception, as many folks are having difficulty with their wireless charging. This is simply what I'm seeing, documenting it so Apple folks have another data point on something they desperately need to fix in the next few days.

Sep 22, 2020 6:36 PM in response to Baphijmm

I have exactly the same problem! I updated my iPhone X last night, went to bed and left it on charge on Belkin wireless charger and this morning was at 10%. I thought I did not place it correctly so I plugged it in my PC and whilst I was on a phonecall I noticed it was at 4% and 3% when finished. I carried on a bit longer on charge but it kept dropping. I decided to hard switch off as that might've solved the problem and guess what - it would not switch on. Icon showing that is charging shows up but battery level never increase. Tried all sorts, wall plug (original of course), computer, wireless charger. Oh dear...

Sep 22, 2020 7:36 PM in response to Erroll

Done, thanks Steve. I have also spoken to customer support (online chat) and the only option they had available to me is to book an apointment at an Apple store. The earliest they have available is Sunday 27th @ 15:20. I had to take it. If they cannot repair they should be replacing it. That's what Microsoft did with a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 which I had for over a year and apparently there was something wrong with the screens - manufacturing defect. In a week I had a brand new one sent to me. Didn't have to go to any stores, a video recording the problem was enough and just posted it with a prepaid label they provided. I litterally did not spend a penny. Doubpt this will happen with Apple though.

Sep 23, 2020 4:16 AM in response to Baphijmm

Just a question, I have the same problem, but I had changed the battery prior. I know that it was not an Apple battery. Because, after it was changed, the phone would not sHow "battery health"... But the phone worked and charged fine before the update.

I'm wondering if anyone else had the same problem, and it was because of the battery not being an "official" Apple battery?

Sep 23, 2020 2:57 PM in response to Baphijmm

Quick update with more data:


Attempted a complete re-install from the ground up, in the hope that this is a problem with the download of iOS 14; as the USB doesn't work, the only way to do this is to "Erase all data". Which, based on what I saw, doesn't actually re-download and re-install the operating system. Is there a means to re-download and re-install the operating system directly onto the phone itself? If not, that's a pretty big blind spot, as right now I am pretty dang convinced the problem that a lot of folks are having is that iOS didn't download correctly, and was missing a bit here or there. That would explain the various disparate nature of these failures across the board.


Unfortunately, as this did not re-download the OS, it didn't solve the problem. One thing I did note, however, is that while the USB is plugged in, the phone recognizes it to the point that it actually disables its own wireless charging. So, again, the hardware is functional; it *must* be a software failure.


To answer Jfs767's question: This is an unmodified iPhone, that might as well be straight out of the box. No battery replacement, no connector replacement, not even a trip to the Genius Bar.

Sep 23, 2020 3:09 PM in response to Baphijmm

Hi Baphijmm,


Try this and report back:


Make sure your iPhone it's backed up both via iTunes & iCloud for ease.


  1. Download the correct IPSW (iOS version) for your iPhone from https://ipsw.me/ and place somewhere convinient.
  2. Open iTunes & plug in your iPhone.
  3. Click on your device and go to Summary.
  4. Hold Shift key on your keyboard and click on Restore iPhone.
  5. Find the IPSW which you downloaded earlier and start your restore.


Let us know how this goes.


Ps your iPhone at least it's still on! :)


Edit: Sorry I just realised that your USB doesn't work!


Try putting your iPhone in recovery mode:


  1. Press and quickly release Volume Up followed by Volume Down buttons and then press and hold Power Button.
  2. If computer/iTunes sees it follow steps 1 to 5 as mentioned above.

iOS 14: No longer charging

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