Q: iPhone 5 not charging

Ok so I came across this thread on a search for answers to my on going headaches with apple and more specifically this new iPhone 5c that i received through a promotional offer by AT&T maybe two or three weeks ago tops.  Which i was not planning on going with an contact in the first place but was persuaded by the opportunity to get the "new" to me iPhone 5c for practically nothing I believe all I paid was the shipping. So I signed up excited to have my favorite brand of phone back. I am what I consider a 3rd generation iPhone user even older if you count ipod. I had the 3G first and then the 4GS didn't have any problems out of either of them minus at the end of the 4's almost three life the Antena began to mess up and prevent me from making or receiving calls. So I briefly switched to a windows dell phone that was outdated and made me very dissatisfied. This is when I was defeated by the dreaded sales pitch which at that time I was satisfied with. Now barely having time to fully explore this new phone I've already went through the worst experience I've ever had with over the phone support! Trying to resolve what ended out being the simplest fix that any entry level employee should know caused be to be passed around several times before being transferred to a supervisor. It only took several attemps and me resorting to hanging up and re dialing knowing that I would get a completely fresh associate that had no knowledge of my previous inquiry. (Just to mention I've never understood why these call centers do not have current technology especially in relation to their phone system, especially apple who make phone devices!) ...summing it up I finally got the answer I required from the beginning and proceeded to start from s catch with setting up and customizing it to my liking. Now and I'm sorry that i dragged this out for so incredibly l long...after getting my phone just the way I wanted it, for now anyways, stopped charging all of a sudden ! I've your posts I have an idea of what my steps will be to resolve this issue. my question now is and please give me some advice should I go through the potentialy long drawn out process that you all have experienced leaving you subject to a loop hole giving them an out on thier guarantee of their products and services, or go to AT&T and demand a brand new phone and no run around, at this point maybe even a completely different brand and be done with apple?

Forget replacement just use wooden toothpick and gently clean inside the port. By the end of 5 mins I extracted a finger nail size of lint and charger working perfectly -- design flaw is my opinion --maybe needs a special cover ??

my iphone syas chaged ,but not charging batt after i updated new iphone 8.12

One morning I overslept and discovered that it was because my alarm—my iPhones 3S, 4 and 5s have been my alarm clocks for years—didn't go off. And it didn't go off because despite having been plugged in all night, it was dead as a brick.

So, I, too, have this issue, and I have put a flashlight on the port on the phone and it appears to be clean and clear. But  because I can plug my iPad Air into the very same cable and it charges just fine, I suspect it's something more than the cable.

I tried the workaround in which you push the plugged-in cable slightly to the left and affix it that way with a rubber band it to the phone, and it's worked, but it doesn't give me much hope that the cable will last that long or that the problem is in any way fixed. I bought the 5s when it came out, and despite thinking a few weeks ago that I had a battery problem (user error; stupid user!), I still have pretty good battery life—way better, still, than I ever had with the 4.

I have several lightning cables, having got one each with phone and iPad and having bought a couple extra for charging in the car, etc. Of those, I can charge the iPad on all, but can charge the phone normally on only one. This leads me to suspect that because I charge the phone more frequently than the iPad, there's something amiss with the port on the iPhone. Could it be an issue with the inside of the port being dirty in a way that I cannot see? Some sort of glaze built up from repeated plugging and unplugging?

Anyone have any thoughts or done any experiments along those lines?

This is exactly what solved this issue for me, and explains pretty well why I could use the same cables to charge my iPad, but not my phone. Essentially impossible to put my iPad Air in my pocket, AKA Lintville.

After some very delicate digging with a toothpick—if you do this, use a toothpick or other nonconductive material, and be very careful and patient so as not to make the situation worse—excised a fairly good-sized bit of lint from the port. It now charges, emphasis on now. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Stephen is correct. It is lint, people! You cannot see it. Periodically my phone will again have charging issues. Every time I do exactly as Stephen suggests with the toothpick, holding the charging port down so dislodged lint and dirt can fall out. Works each time. Compressed air did not work for me. The first time I tried it I looked in with a flashlight and saw nothing that didn't look like it shouldn't be there. However I pulled out a significantly large wad of lint. Our phones live in our pockets and purses with no cover over the charging port. Lint and dirt. Not your phone. Not your cord.

I have the same issue and I have narrowed down the problem.

the charger only works with the A/C wall adapter. if I try to charge it via the USB plug into my computer no dice. But it charges just fine when it was plugged into the wall.

I'm so pleased I found this thread. I've been having to charge my phone with it in a position to apply pressure because I thought I had an electronic fault but after cleaning out the belly button fluff with the end of a paper clip it's now working perfectly! Hurrah!    

I don't know precisely, but I'd be careful using anything conductive (paperclip) in that space. Maybe someone who knows whether you could short it, get a nasty shock or otherwise damage self or phone could weigh in, but I'd stick with a sturdy toothpick.

Yes I'd agree. I was in a desperate state (5%) so just used what I had available whilst at work. Would advise a wooden toothpick to be careful     

My daughter's iphone 5c has suddenly developed the same problem, as has my iPad Air. Call it a coincidence, but both seem to have started with this problem after the upgrade to IOS 8.1.3. I suspect that the new upgrade has had something added so that the devices reject non-Apple charger cables, as both were working absolutely fine before the upgrade whilst using a non-Apple cables.

It does seem that Apple go out of their way to make life difficult for people - I suspect that I won't be investing in an iPhone anytime soon (or in the distant future!!!).

What kind of cable are you using? I use Amazon cables and Apple cables, and I've had only the most minor issues after cleaning the lint out.

And I'm using the latest iOS version in both my 5S and iPad Air.

Hi - I'm using a non-Apple cable on both iPad and iPhone, which worked perfectly well prior to upgrading to IOS8.1.3.  I have had success with the iPad following another thread on the Apple Forums where I switched the iPad off immediately the charger cable was connected, and when I switched it back on half an hour later it was continuing to charge.

I have cleaned out the lightening socket, but no success with the previously used cable. As an interim measure, we had been using my wife's 30 pin cable from her iPhone 4 with an adaptor (again a non-Apple accessory) which worked on both, hence my suspecting that the latest upgrade may have something embedded in the software to recognise a non-Apple cable. Also, when cleaning the socket last night, when I reconnected I had a message on the phone about an unsupported cable which I have never seen before!!!

I was getting the "not supported" message and could only get the phone to charge if I opened battery doctor first - then it worked fine.  Today a major problem because I let the phone run right down and couldn't open anything.  Eventually persuaded (apple) cable to charge it but I agree - this phone is not a year old - we shouldn't be having these problems.

Thank you so much for this.  We cleaned the nodes (tons of dust) still didn't work.  read more, changed adaptors, etc. read more and finally found your post!  It is charging now.