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iPhone 5 not charging

Hi,


My iPhone 5 will not charge has anyone else got this problem?

When I plug the lightning cable in its as if the phone registers this but it will not charge.

I am also unable to transfer any data across to the phone.

The phone has been rebooted several times but still no luck,


Thanks

Jack

iPhone 5, iOS 6

Posted on Sep 21, 2012 12:55 PM

Reply
417 replies

May 6, 2014 8:07 AM in response to Ath3rs

I have had an iphone 5 since the November of 2012. For awhile it wasn't charging well and I assumed it was the cable then it got bad and wouldn't charge well at all. It would display the not reliable message etc. then I read about the lint and removed a HUGE amount of lint and it charged well for a while and then the issues started again. The phone would charge if I blew into the Port and now it will charge only if a wiggle it up a certain way! Is there any way to fix it or what will happen? Can Apple repair the port or is my phone ruined

May 12, 2014 3:24 PM in response to Ath3rs

I went from an iphone 3GS to an IPhone 5 last year in November and the charger had started to be crappy in May or June last year! I replaced it and then in October or November of this year, the same thing! I got a powerful charger from Radioshack named Enercell or something and it was perfect but now in the past week it shortened out and today it's not working at all! So I dug up this old original apple chord and big multipurpose adapter that we use for my brothers ipad and it at first was charging backwards (its going down while plugged in) and that is what happened with this apple chord in the beginning of the year! I don't know why it's doing this and I got a toothpick to see if there was any dust; I found none at all. I am NOT happy okay? This problem never happened with the 3GS that I had for three years. This phone is a little over a year old that I had it and I had to replace the charger several times. AND IT'S JUST HAPPENING WITH MY PHONE! My brother has the same phone in black and we got it the same time and he never had to replace his charger. I am so tired of constantly changing chargers and I demand you get to the bottom of this!

May 14, 2014 7:48 AM in response to Ath3rs

Hi all


I have had an IPhone for about 4 years and have had my current iPhone 5 for just over a year,I never had any problems until recently. Just before Christmas I started having issues with my IPhone not charging, I bought a new charger and the problem continued so I went into the Apple store in Newcastle, they pulled some dust out of the charger port and the issue appeared to be resolved. However after Christmas it happened again, and again I went to the Apple store, they did the same thing and the phone worked fine for a month. However, this last week the problem has come back, this time when I took the phone into the store, they tried pulling dust out the port but the phone would still not charge, I was then told that as the phone is out of warranty there is nothing they can do other than charge me £209 to fix it!!


What concerns me is that after speaking to other iPhone users and doing some online research I have discovered this is a seriously common problem. So now through no fault of my own, I am left with a phone, which doesn't work and costs me £48 a month. Another concern is that I originally took the phone to the store with this problem before my warranty ran out and was given a 'temporary fix', which made the phone last untill just after my warranty has ran out!


I am angry and disappointed, this issue needs to be addressed as the Phones appear to be like a ticking time bomb waiting to break, and for those of you like me, who this happens to you after the warranty is up, you are elft with no solution other than to pay £209!!!!

May 14, 2014 9:53 AM in response to JamR91

I hate paying for warranty programs but AppleCare (two years) saved me last week.

I had the dreaded on off switch not working problem and Apple replaced my phone on the spot no questions.

They would have repaired it for free even if I was out of warranty, that's a pretty good deal too.


I hope the Chargers you are using MFi (made for iPhone) and Apple certified otherwise you are jeopardizing your charging ability. I've paid a lot of money for cheap Chinese cables, but now I make sure they are certified even though they cost a bit more. I refuse to purchase a lightning cable from Apple. There are good and cheap aftermarket cables and chargers just be careful when buying them. You may get a few lemons just learn from that and try again. I have five iOS7 devices and they're all virtually flawless, can't wait for iPhone 6.


I also had the lint in the charging connector problem and I check it every couple of months.

May 19, 2014 6:52 PM in response to Ath3rs

Today was the first time my charger wouldn't work, it worked eariler that day but, I didn't use it much. Anyways, when I got back home, I plugged in my lightning cable and the charging symbol flicked on and off like crazy! I read all the past reviews and used a paperclip and toothpicks, but they haven't seemed to work. Now my phone isn't charging at all. I need some help!

May 23, 2014 6:58 AM in response to peter07043

Hey Peter, A little FYI...In the future, do not use a metal conductive pick in the charging port, think about it, wood or plastic probe would be better, no shorting issues. And be careful to not damage, bent or break the gold pins inside the port, can be a costly repair, a toothbrush is a little stiff. Glad it worked for you. Cheers.

May 23, 2014 10:26 AM in response to keafao

The problem can be the postive (red) power wire heats up on the lightning connector circuit board and creats limited or no power going to the connector.

I would hope Apple would recall these cables and make a better lightning connector circuit board. However I spoke to Apple Support person an they said the cable is under warenty for a year form the purchase date. So anyone that has a bad cable that was purchased less that a year can go to any Apple Store and get a free replacement.

Jun 7, 2014 10:24 PM in response to Ath3rs

Same problem here: iPhone 5 not charging.


The following situation happened yesterday and non the of suggestions earlier worked for me. But this one did:


In Malaysia, there are lots of cheap lightning cables sold on the market. They sell around 2 dollars whereas the original costs US$ 15!!! No surprise, I bought a few colorful cables, distributed them around my home, office and car, and it all worked well until I started getting the message not recognizing the new lightning cable. Initially, i thought the 'non-original' cables where the issue. One by one the cables started rejecting and my recently purchased iPhone 5 would not charge.


What happens is this: plugging in the cable leads to the charging sound and it starts charging. After a while you realize its still at 2% and not increasing. When unplugged, it shows the sign 'plug-in' the cable. So it does recognize the charger.


Yesterday, my iPhone scared the **** out of me as it kept on restarting for hours. I saw that on my Galaxy S2 quite often and so got shocked that a premium product from Apple would do the same. I could not believe it.


However, I took my original cable after reading this thread and 'nada' 'niente' nothing. Same as the fake cables. and now even black screen. The iPhone was dead. There was no lint or dust in the charging port of the phone.


Solution:

One reviewer recommended to clean the contacts with something like a spray and I got the idea to use alcohol for the same purpose. We always keep Isoprophyl Alcohol 70% in the house for desinfection here in Malaysia (helps with insect bites). I first cleaned the lighning cable contacts with a small towel. Next I put a very little amount of alcohol into the charging port of the iPhone 5 (like a drop or two). You can see the evaporating in seconds. Then I tried charging the phone after 2-3 minutes and tra-raaaaa and é voilà - it is now back to normal.


Hope this helps.

iPhone 5 not charging

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