iPhone 4S Won't Charge After iOS7 Update

The mains charger has an output of 5v 1amp, isn't this the same output as usb2.0 ports? So why wouldn't my 1amp belkin car charger be able to charge my phone at the same rate? If it was a bug surely it wouldn't charge at all from USB as these must be low output too?

NO. USB 2 ports are 5 v, 0.5 amp on most computers. The exception are late Macs, which can supply 1 amp to the first Power-demanding USB device connected.

The Belkin car charger may not work because in addition to supplying the required current the iPhone also requires a signal on the data line certifying that the device is iPhone compliant. So unless the Belkin is certified by Apple it may not work to charge the phone. Also, some car chargers do not have the filtering necessary to safely charge ANY USB device; they can pass spikes from the ignition system and the charger through to the device, which can permanently damage the device.

I've had the belkin charger since I've had my phone (just over 2 years) and has always worked fine, until about the time of iOS 7.1. So does the iPhone have more than one charging circuit? As it charges fine with the AC adaptor, USB (dc voltage at a guess) but won't accept charge from my car? To be honest I do leave the phone connected if I switch the car off and re-start the car, I don't remember if I bought the charger as an apple certified charger or if it was a generic in car USB charger, so if it's feasible that I've damaged my phone through an ignition spike, wouldn't that affect charging the phone by any other means?

I've just tried turning phone off and connecting it to the car charger, with the engine already running, (the new griffin power jolt apple approved charger) and it did power up the phone but still didn't show that it's connected or charging.

Well, applying logic, if the phone works with other chargers and not with the Belkin, the most likely explanation is a problem with the Belkin. An ignition spike could damage the phone, but also the charger. Why not just replace it? They aren't that expensive, and its probably cheaper than wasting time trying to puzzle out the problem with it.

I have replaced it, that's the point! That's why I was asking if the iPhone has more than one charging circuit? As it charges from a wall charger, but not the car charger, of which I have 2, a belkin micro USB (where you plug a sync lead into it) and a new one, a Griffin PowerJolt with a hardwired apple 30 pin connector, the one where I use my sync cable makes the battery symbol go green with a lightening bolt but actually discharges the phone, if I use the same sync cable with my wall charger it charges fine, so I know the sync cable is fine, and the new car charger, the Griffin PowerJolt (also a 1amp charger) doesn't even register with my iPhone (I was lead to believe that these Griffin chargers are Apple verified) but after turning the phone off and connecting it to the Griffin, it did turn my phone on, but didn't show that it was connected to a charger. You follow me now?

Apple used ios7 to enforce usage of Apple accredited products for charging. If they made decent leads in the first place, one wouldm't mind, but the leads are flimsy and break unless used by someone who is extremely careful about not stressing the lead.

If the phone is ready to use, don't switch it off but connect the charging lead to the phone with the power on - then switch the phone off. That way ios cannot 'read' whether the part is approved or not and the phone charges. If your battery has 'died' (run out of power) connect the charging lead to the phone with the power on and when the phone switches on after the minimum charging level, switch it off because that way the charging will resume. If you don't turn the phone off it will remain on, but not charging, until it uses up the minimum charging level and then it will 'die' again.

To say all of this is annoying is to put it mildly. Apple is a greedy conglomerate that seeks to extract as much cash as it can from its loyal customers. Lighning to USB cables cost £15 ($25) from the Apple Store in the UK but can be bought on Amazon for a tenth of that price, so one assumes that the Amazon products are bootlegged - I wonder why there are so many bootleg Apple products ;o) ?

Next time round I will likely go for an android because I can't stand stuff like this. The hassle of simply discovering what Apple surreptitiously did has taken me countless hours because I assumed that it was the chager etc at first. Apple should be more open and respectful with its customers.

Read my reply below please. I have chargers that work and some that don't BUT they ALL work when I ensure the phone is turned off, or if it switches itself on at min charging level then turn it off again: that way they ALL charge my phone. Crapple should be ashamed of this stunt.

I tried the connecting to the charger and turning the phone off, nothing! I tried my sons iPod 4th gen still on the last iOS 6.0.3 or whatever it is, and the griffin powerjolt charges that no probs! So I'm only guessing that either there's a problem within iOS 7.1 that stops my iPhone 4s from taking a charge from a car charger or I've fried a particular charging circuit within the phone, the fact that if the phone is turned off and then connected to the charger and it then causes the phone to turn on but without charging does puzzle me! Especially as I can charge my phone from every other mean! Wall charger, USB2.0 ports, even a cheap iPod speaker dock! So I'm confident there's nothing wrong with the 30pin on my phone, my sync lead or my battery. It just appears that since iOS 7.1 my phone doesn't like the voltage and amps produced by an apple approved in car charger! Is this feasible? Will a 2.1amp output car charger solve this??

I am going to have I concede on this one.

I had all these problems and was convinced it was due to this stupid non-genuine charger issue and iso7 update.

I had all these problems where it would charge through iTunes but not when plugged into the wall.

$10.00 replacement charging dock and watched a YouTube video.

Now it's all fixed.

I had previously replaced the dock connector on my phone a while ago due to it shorting, and after everything was fine, then since iOS 7.1 it's been charging correctly from my car charger, infact it had been discharging, but charging fine from the wall adaptor, I had been using the same sync cable to connect to either charger, since ios7.1 it started to discharge itself when connector to the car charger, I ended up with sound not playing correctly from the on board speaker, turns out the dock connector was at fault, the phone thought it was connected to a speaker dock, so as of this Monday it's had another charging dock/microphone assembly. All previous issues are now resolved, except for the in car charging. So if my phone charges from the wall adaptor, any USB port I connect it to, and a cheap speaker dock, but won't charge from my car (same sync cable as when it's connected to any other USB socket) and a new car charger with a hard wired 30pin lead, how can the dock connector be at fault? And I know both the car chargers work fine because they both charge an iPod 4th gen on iOS 6. Which leads me further to believe it's got to be an iOS 7.1 issue!? Surely?!

Result! The 2.1amp belkin micro USB car charger arrived today from eBay, £7.99, and it works! It charges my phone! So to conclude, I don't know if it's just my iPhone 4s on ios7.1 in particular but 1amp from a 12v source (the car cigarette lighter socket) infact discharges my phone, although the stock apple wall charger, output 5v 1amp charges my phone, but from the car it requires 2.1amp?! But hey it works! Saves me replacing the 30pin dock connector (again) and doing a full restore!

just upgraded from htc evo shift to Iphone 4s. charger never worked. It charges my ipod ok but on the 4s the charge % decreased while plugged in even tho it indicated that it was charging with the lightening bolt sign next to the battery symbol. Anyway, while plugged into the computer USB, the % increased, and the funny thing is that when i tried the HTC charger, the % increased also. Aint that some ..........