iPhone 12 Pro won't charge after 17.0.3 iOS upgrade

OK. Here's the situation.

On the advice of Apple support, I took the phone in to an authorised reseller. The technicians there tried to remedy the thing with a new battery, but that didn't work. They proposed to replace... the mother board?... and wanted €750. Hello?

I was finally able to have a long phone conversation with an Apple technician this morning after various unfulfilled promises to call me back. Together, we made various attempts to access the phone via the lightning cable (attached to my Mac etc), but were unsuccessful, even in "firmware" mode (accessible by pressing the volume up, then volume down, then holding the power on button very long, past the Apple logo, until the symbol with the lightning cable appears). We were still not able to get the Mac to recognise the iPhone in Finder.

Therefore, he was convinced that it was a software problem, perhaps caused by a glitch during the installation of the new iOS, or perhaps due to a bug in software.

He offered that I send the phone into Apple so that they can get to the bottom of it, or simply to wait for the next release of iOS 17 in the hope that the patch would fix the problem. Given that I need my phone, and can somehow manage for the time being by charging it using magsafe, I opted for the second option. If the next patch doesn't remedy this issue, then I will send it in to Apple directly and they've promised to find a solution.

Stay tuned...

I'm in exactly that situation. Fortunately, I was able to find an old induction charger. That works, fortunately. I have an appointment at an Apple dealer on Friday. Let's see... I bet you I'll be told it's all my fault for having a 12 Pro, old battery, or that I really should shell out for an original Apple charger and cable etc (all of which won't work).

Of course! That ain’t the problem.

Just downloaded and installed 17.1. It worked for a bit… then doesn’t any more. Is that because it’s now charged to 95%? I’ll wait until it’s below 80% and try again.

iOS 17.2 anyone? Three times lucky.

What a story. Apple support has been SOOO disappointing.

Finally, they agreed that it was a problem with the software update and they agreed that they would either repair or replace the phone. A technician called me last Tuesday (14/11/23) evening to confirm that was the case, and that she would recontact me on Friday (17/11/23). She didn't. On Saturday, I initiated a new conversation with one of her colleagues. He said he would re-start the process and get back to me by 9AM on Monday (20/11/23). He did that, but still didn't have an answer. He then called me back and I had to ask him to call back in 10 min as I was in a meeting. He didn't. I've now called again, twice, and sent 4 text and voicemails to the original technician that I spoke to on the 14th. Haven't heard anything back.

What a mess Apple Support is. No continuity, promises that they don't keep, lack of accountability and meaningful engagement, commitments that they later renege on. Another thing: I'm in Luxembourg - they alternate from assuming and insisting that we are German speaking and that we are French speaking (with no option in English). I don't mind speaking any of those languages, but it's such a bizarre mode of operation. Another thing: their online call back service doesn't recognise non-US/Canada telephone numbers. Oh, and while I could previously use chat, that service is now no longer available. Their messaging system clearly either doesn't work, or technicians don't respond to messages.

It's a shambles.

First, Apple forces an iOS upgrade that renders my telephone unusable, then, after much effort, agrees to repair or replace it, then doesn't follow through at all. Is this company all marketing and fluff ("Have a great rest of your day" is a standard text message) with no content?

Now it won't even charge on the USB-Lightning cable in the car, as it did before.

Was in touch with yet another Apple support person (in Cairo this time, where they have plenty of Francophone folks). Waiting on their reply tomorrow.

Just a mess. It's so obvious that there is a systematic problem here. Why doesn't Apple come clean, offer a solution to all of us victims of this thing, and draw a line under it?

Worthy to note that various EU bodies found Apple guilty of this type of behaviour in 2020. The French consumer protection/anti-fraud authority fined Apple EUR 25 million.

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? WHY DO YOU POST THIS REPEATEDLY? WHAT'S THE GAME?

IT IS NOT THE **** PLUG. GOT IT?

What, do you make a hobby of leaving useless messages repeatedly? Why would anyone do that? Just weird.

Dude, your comments are far from helpful. You've repeated the same message umpteen times on various threads like this, and folks have told you that dirt in the socket is not the problem. Do you get a thrill out of gaining points on Apple's community or something? I mean, surely there are more rewarding pass-times in life to pursue.

This is a software issue. Two independent Apple senior advisors have told me so. Various other users, even in this censored forum, have also been told that. Apple does not appear to be reacting well or fairly to this evident systematic problem. That is frustrating.

Your repeated comments about cleaning lint from the socket do not alleviate that frustration, however satisfying you might find them.

Finally, I spoke with a competent senior technician at Apple in Ireland who is dealing with this Apple issue professionally and thoroughly (after so many ineffective interactions with n other Apple techs). She’s gathered all kinds of info and diagnostics and has promised to discuss it all with the engineering team and come back to me by Thursday this week.

Fingers crossed.