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Iphone 5 charger keeps on breaking.

Over the past five months, I have purchased over five different charger cables for my iphone 5 which i bought new in December. For some reason, after months, weeks or even days, he latest charger stops working. Sometimes the phone is plugged in and it doesn't respond at all to the cable, other times, the cable only functions when in a certain position. I am so angry at this as I'm spending and will continue to spend a lot of money to charge my phone. Am I doing something wrong? (This was never an issue with my iphone 3 and the cable even worked when the connector head seemed half broken off). What should I do? And also, is anyone else having this issue, because if not, then it must be an issue with my actual phone, no?

Thanks

iPhone 5

Posted on May 5, 2013 11:55 AM

Reply
125 replies

Apr 15, 2014 10:56 AM in response to Sabina.Lall

I, too, have seen a number of original Apple iPhone charger cables for the iphone 5s fail. Disapointing, but hardly cause to condemn the company or forsake the brand. Apple cheerfully repllaced the defective cords-althjough i suspect the replacements will prove no better. I did discover that the 2 meter cable is much sturdier. Overall, the iPhone 5s is such a great phone, I will just deal with the cable issue by continuing to rotate out the bad ones and return them to the Apple store.

Apr 24, 2014 8:00 AM in response to Sabina.Lall

I am having the same problem with my chargers. I accidentally left the one which came with my phone at my parent's house, and didn't have time to make the 3 hour round trip back to get it, so bought a new cable. Now, just over 2 months later, both cables have broken. I'm a uni student and don't have a bedside table so I put my phone on top of 2 cushions instead when I charge it when I'm asleep, meaning the charger isn't bent at all in any way. It seems to be a manufacturing problem which I think needs to be fixed as soon as possible as we shouldn't have to fork out £10+ every few months for a new charger cable! I've resorted to buying one off amazon for £1.36. I wouldn't usually buy one so cheap but seeing as the proper ones don't last long anyway I'll probably save money buying lots of cheap ones!

Apr 24, 2014 8:09 AM in response to KateLouise.

KateLouise. wrote:


It seems to be a manufacturing problem which I think needs to be fixed as soon as possible as we shouldn't have to fork out £10+ every few months for a new charger cable!

Why not save all your money and simply get thge Apple cables replaced for free at the Apple store?



I'm a uni student and don't have a bedside table

Uni students are not allowed/ cannot have bedside tables?

Apr 24, 2014 8:36 AM in response to Chris CA

I'm home from university at the moment and there isn't an Apple store by me, I plan on doing this when I go back to uni though, although I can only do this with one as I didn't buy the other one from the apple store and I've lost the receipt.
Haha, obviously uni students can have bedside tables, it just so happens that in my student house, we weren't given any and the rooms are so small there isn't room for one!

Apr 24, 2014 9:58 AM in response to KateLouise.

These lightning cables are complete junk, do not buy them. Even if Apple will in fact replace them for free with no questions asked AND they are really close by, do not do it.


You shouldn't have to have these cables straight at all times, they should be allowed to bend. I don't know of any place anywhere built where the electrical outlets or computer USB ports are at level with the table. You should not have to place your phone on whatever objects you can find just to make it level, that's asinine. There is a major manufacturing problem with these cables and Apple has known about it for quite some time and they refuse to address it.


My girlfriend has the last of our lightning cables now and had kept the cord as humanly straight as possible and it still broke 26 days later. Then there is me, still using the 63 cent cord purchased off Ebay. My boss bought 10 of these things (2 for me, 1 for everyone in our office, and the rest for him). None of ours have broken yet, and we've been using them for almost 6 months.


You can buy these cords in different colors (you can't miss them on ebay) and they are far more resistant to the "accessory not supported" message. As many of you have probably noticed, the breaking/fraying of these lightning cords aren't their only problem, they also frequently get the "accessory not supported" message which causes your phone to stop charging. These messages pop up even when the Lightning Cord is not broken. With every patch Apple implements, these messages get more frequent making it far more difficult to charge your phone. This is also where those 63 cent cables shine, that message is nearly non-existent. You can charge your phone freely and not worry about it, and they are very durable as well.


Another thing to keep in mind; we've now had 4 fires in our district now in the past 7 months that are being traced backed to these Apple Lightning Cords. Electrical engineers have ruled out a problem with the actual electrical socket and their Iphones were not burned (just the cord) Consequently, all these cords had broken/frayed ends on them. These cords from what I've seen are also a fire hazard and should not be used. We've sent out district wide mail notifications warning people on the dangers of these cords.


End result, look on ebay for phone chargers that are meant for Iphone and are not lightning cables. Their are plenty on there for dirt cheap and are far more safe and durable.

Apr 30, 2014 10:14 PM in response to Westcoaster35

These lightning cables are complete junk, do not buy them. Even if Apple will in fact replace them for free with no questions asked AND they are really close by, do not do it.

You're completely right. These cords are complete and utter garbage. It's not the phone's fault, or ours, that they're not meant to handle daily use.


I am now having to purchase my second cord since I got my iPhone 5. The first cord, that apple provided, lasted up until a month ago. (Got them in September) This cord has lasted since around April 5th, since I got the new cord for my birthday.


I'm going to be purchasing one off of e-bay, but I don't know what the best cord to get is. I want one I don't have to be GENTLE with. I'm extremely accident prone and have a terrible habit of tripping over the cord on my way into bed. (I have 1 & 1/2 feet between my bedside and the wall, and the cord lays on the floor, exposed)


Any suggestions?

May 3, 2014 7:21 PM in response to Sabina.Lall

My original cable started to split a few weeks ago but was bunching before that and would click back and forth into charging state. I had the 'this accessory is not supported' message after iOS 7 was released and only when my phone was fully charged but now that I think about it, I wonder if it was related to the fraying cable as well. I only upgraded os a few weeks ago and haven't since had that msg. So will Apple replace the cable even if you're outside of your phone warranty? I put a pen spring on my back up cable but really need another one but I don't feel like I should have to pay for something that is obviously defective.

May 14, 2014 12:02 PM in response to ryanstefan

In your case, it sounds more to me like you have some debris in the charging port keeping the cables from making proper contact. Using a clean, dry toothpick, I was surprised how much crap I got out of my wife's iPhone 5 Lightning port. I got more out than I would have thought the port could hold. I guess that's a side effect of stuffing the thin in her pocket without regards for pocket lint, or anything else. Her cable wouldn't plug all the way in one night, and I had to clean the port out to get it to plug in properly.

Aug 9, 2014 2:17 PM in response to buzzman215

i have bought too many cords that cost way to much that don't last at all and everyone i know has this problem. i just get the 10$ ones from the corner store probably just as good and the apple cords and my first one broke today after about a month. and it was at 7% and i'm currently at work so i decided to cut it open i little around the end of it and give the cords a little push upwards and it works just fine luckily maybe you guys will have the same luck and can use your broken cords a little longer. hope this helps guysUser uploaded file

Iphone 5 charger keeps on breaking.

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