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My iPhone 4s will not charge

I've had my iPhone for almost 2 years now, my upgrade is due in a couple of months- so it may just be that the battery is worn out, but any alternative possible solutions would be great.


All of a sudden its just stopped charging- never had any previous problems or signs that the battery was on its last legs- just plugged it in last night and it wouldnt work. Tried 2 other charges, tried usb, all in all ive tried 4 different chargers and nothing. I've blown into it, checked for dust and it still won't work.


I'm on 19% battery and getting desperate so any help would be greatly appreciated.

iPhone 4S, iOS 7.0.2

Posted on Oct 9, 2013 2:21 AM

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Posted on Dec 6, 2015 3:28 AM

I got the same battery icon with 2-3 red bars on an iPhone 4S. A picture for a charger port appears below. It disappears when I plug the phone in, but it doesn't charge and the phone does not turn on.


So after reading a few a lot of postings here suggesting the dock port is faulty or dirty, I cleaned the charging port and the cable plug with a bit of cleaning alcohol and a small toothbrush. After letting it sit for 5 minutes or so, I did a reset by holding home+power (this does not wipe your data), and the phone actually turned on. If you are unlucky your dock port might be too dirty or rusted and might have to be replaced.

128 replies

May 10, 2014 2:14 PM in response to gail from maine

Have been experiencing same problems with my 4S. Phone would only charge when powered off.


Having read one of your recent posts about barely pushing the charger onto the contacts, i tried that. That didn't exactly do it, but I worked the charger over the contacts (kind of "cleaning" the contacts with the charger) by wiggling the charger back and forth while on the charging dock.


BANG! Charging normally again!


Bottom line: contacts were dirty.

Jun 2, 2014 8:29 PM in response to xcaryspugh

Iphone Charging Problem SEMI-Fix


Ok so throughout my multiple years with an iphone 4 i have realized that its an exceptionaly ok device. I understand from the reading of these comments that some of u have small solutions but all of u have the same problem. I have came up with a SEMI-fix to this problem that will get ur iphoned charged but with a couple issues just follow these steps and u will get the charge u need.


1. Shut off ur device then plug it in... If it turns on but doesnt show a charge than u do have the problem that other people are having.


2. Lock ur screen and DO NOT CHECK TO SEE IF ITS CHARGING... Just let ur device sit on the charger but left alone if u fiddle with it and what not it will start to die even when its on the charger!


3. U do have to let it sit on the charger for a LONG TIME but u will get a charge after awhile... You can check to see if it is charging after an hour or 2 but otherwise leave it alone.


Problems with the SEMI-Fix


1. It takes an incredible amount of time for it to charge maybe to 40-50%


2. This is a SEMI-Fix not a complete fix that will forever give u the original way ur phone was.


3. You cant do things while ur phone is charging or else the battery will slowly die.


I hope this helped for the people with almost dead phones. I needed some way to charge my phone and this way worked for me.

Jun 8, 2014 3:46 AM in response to xcaryspugh

I had the same problem. My iphone 4s not getting charge. I have updated ios and almost ready for upgradation. Tried different chargers and outlets including car charger and laptop. Nothing worked. At last battery died. Going through all the answers, just picked a needle and clean the bottom slott of phone, got some dust out, blowed up . Hook it up again for charging with the same old wall charger. Start working now. May be some dust get in, was not touching the battery socket because of dust. You can use paper pin to clean out end of charger and inside bottom of phone. Just Try....



With You Good Luck....

Jun 11, 2014 11:09 AM in response to xcaryspugh

Well... I just cleanned the connectors with a needle and some contact cleaner (turn your iPhone off first). Finally, I dusted with an air can. Problem solved immidiatelly.


It makes perfect sense too. How many times have you cleaned your iphone adapter connector? How many cables have you used to charge your phone?


By the way, don't go "all Rambo" scrubbing the contacts with a needle or pin. Light, no-pressure moves should do it. The contact cleaner should dissolve most of the gunk, if any. Hope it helps.

Jun 15, 2014 10:59 PM in response to xcaryspugh

I've noted a strange thing and a bit weird too but it might help you:

When I plugg my phone in to my computer; If I plug the cable in to the comuter first and then plugg the phone to the cable there is no problem and the phone charges as it is supposed to. But if I have the cable already hooked up to the phone and then plug the cable in to the computor I get the "The device may not be safe" comment and the phone does not charge. Weird but there you go.

Jun 26, 2014 7:58 PM in response to Lars Erik Swede

My iPhone4S stopped charging exactly 2 years to the date of purchase and as most of you described - all of a sudden with out any prior issues. I plugged it in overnight and woke up to find it at 1% even though it looked like it was charging. I tried multiple chargers, cleaning with a pin and toothbrush, reboot, charging while off and none of that helped. Took it to the Genius bar, they reported the water damage strip was red and it could be water damage but they took the battery out of the unit and docked it and it was functioning just fine. They concluded nothing was wrong with the phone and it's connectors so that the issue must be with the battery. They replaced the battery and now the issue is fixed! It does seem strange that the battery failed so suddenly but replacing the battery did work for me. I would have preferred if the cleaning worked instead because it would have been cheaper.

Jul 12, 2014 10:38 AM in response to jameshunt99

It's rather dismal, but unifying to read this email thread and see how many similar iphone 4S problems are out there. I hope the volume of posts and viewers gives people courage to face Apple with the problem. I'm happy to accept that phones need repairs at times, but not if it's forced on so many users in this way. I thought Apple had more 'environmental conscientiousness' than to create a situation where they effectively sing dumb and thus enable a kind of "forced obsolescence" of all these phones. A posting from Apple to help us resolve the problem would be really "progressive".


Thanks to this forum, I can stop trying the fixes I've been at all day. However, I'm in Europe, a 5 hour drive from the nearest apple store. I've no other phone, just my computer to send emails to let folks know I've got no phone now. I have to take a full day out of my work to travel and attend to this.


Like many others, I've had my iphone 4s for just less than 2 years, meticulously careful with it. No battery degradation problems and I did not do any major s/w upgrades, because I didn't want to risk "problems." This morning, suddenly my iphone 4s sat at 1% charge all day though plugged in. I followed the advice from an on-line forum to power it off and back on. Alas, now I have no iphone use at all as it won't switch on again. Come on Apple. Take some responsibility and help your customers be conscientious consumers too.

Jul 15, 2014 6:08 AM in response to xcaryspugh

Had similar issue as posted on the thread.....iphone 4s would not charge unless it was powered off after 2 1/2 years. Very frustrating!


It started with the phone only sometimes charging when plugged in, to having to hard reset the phone, to then having to leave it powered off. I think the firmware/software is detecting the amount of power coming through the cord and as stuff builds up on the contacts it becomes lower and lower until it will not 'sense' the cord at all.


I resolved the issue by taking a dental scaler (plastic end) and cleaning out the build up in the charger port and cleaning the outside contacts on the inside of the port with a Q-tip and a tiny amount of rubbing alcohol. In less than 5mins all my cords, even non-iphone branded ones work great. (Maybe use sharp skinny toothpick if you do not have a scaler)


I think this may solve some people's issues on this thread, others may have ports that have gone bad. Worth a try!

Jul 17, 2014 3:42 AM in response to mark405100

Hello, I'm adding my updates from my post on July 12th and I appreciate the tips on cleaning given by Mark in the meantime.

Unfortunately the cleaning did not work me. I managed to charge my iphone 4S one more time and it worked all day, confirming that the battery is still working fine despite the 1% display, but I could not recharge it again since. The nearest mobile data repair shop (1.5 hours drive away) confirmed my phone connection was perfectly clean and they determined the problem is a faulty internal connection between the charger port and the battery. They do not have the capacity to repair the iphone but were courteous enough to give me a list of dealers who specialize in fixing iphones, the nearest being 3 further hours drive away. Thanks Apple, for this extensive reliability issue!!! I expect to be able to trust my (well cared for) iphone when travelling and working abroad and this doesn't cut it in my view. Pardon my venting, but I had a Nokia 6230 data-phone for 8 years, which served as my primary phone for 5 years and as a back up / travel phone for 3 more years. Didn't think I needed to carry a back up phone once I moved to iphone! Time for a re-think on iphone reliability.

Jul 22, 2014 10:52 AM in response to BackcountryOne

A good news update - a surprise iphone problem fix. My phone is working perfectly and I didn't have to send it away for 2-3 weeks to a phone repair center, which is what was suggested by the repair shop, because staff were on holidays (Scandinavian summer time.) I took my phone home to consider my options in posting the phone to a repair center and continued to fiddle with it, trying to get it to charge up. At one point, quite by accident, I held the power button on, WITHOUT the home button pressed and WITHOUT the power plugged in and suddenly the Apple Logo appeared. I simply continued to hold down the power button until the full functioning home screen lit up, displaying 100% battery charge. I have to admit I was surprised, after days of fiddling and frustration and a day spent driving to find my repair options.


Here's how I can best explain the fix. The various attempts to charge the phone (over 2-3 days) had finally, finally resulted in a full charge. It was only when the phone was fully charged that the reset would work (using Power button hold). Once the reset happened (Apple logo comes on) the iphone started to properly recognize a charger. It took me a day to trust that the phone was going to continue working and charging and it has now for 3 days.


One solution to the problem of battery hanging at 1% (or whatever) is doing a physical reset. However, an important missing piece of information is that you must somehow ensure that you drip feed enough charge into the phone so that the battery is 100% FULL (though you can only guess when this happens), and then attempt the reset. Perhaps Apple might add this key point to their repair suggestions.


I've lost my naive ideas about the reliability of an iphone, but have learned some new survival solutions. When working or visiting remote locations (i.e. no established wifi) I will once again to bring a back-up phone OR a tablet with a 3G option. Before travelling, perhaps I'll also remember to reset my phone and perform any needed software updates, while I'm still within striking distance of an Apple store or a repair center.

Thanks for the many clues to finding solutions from users on this thread.

Aug 9, 2014 6:12 PM in response to xcaryspugh

I take very immaculate care of my iPhone and very surprised that it suddenly stops working after 2 years. It's too coincidental that many others are having the exact same issue. What is the deal here? I would almost think that there is a timer built into the phone to make it stop working after a certain amount of time. It sounds ridiculous that any company that markets a "great design" would stoop so low to deceive the consumer. However it also fits Apple's competitive strategy to sell more devices. I'm not very happy about this one bit. 😠

Aug 24, 2014 4:26 AM in response to richielau

Two days ago my iphone 4s just stopped charging. The phone recognises that the cable is connected, but will not indicate charging. It holds power when connected at 1-3%, but will not charge to 100%. I have cleaned the 21 pin connector, I have tried resets and powering on and off. I have left connected for long periods. Nothing seems to work. My iphone is also 2 years old and has been working perfectly up to this point and I am now due an upgrade to a 5S/C.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/magazine/why-apple-wants-to-bust-your-iphone.h tml?_r=0


I thought it was common knowledge that Apple incorporates 'inbuilt obsolescence' in all its products, especially with iphone batteries. Companies have been doing it for decades.... just take OSRAM filament light bulbs which started the whole planned obsolescence. Why would you make something that lasts forever and effectively do yourself out of more sales?


http://qz.com/141297/of-course-apple-is-engaging-in-planned-obsolescence/


http://www.inc.com/erik-sherman/planned-obsolescence-a-good-way-to-make-your-bus iness-obsolete.html


I'm either going to have to replace the battery, charging port or upgrade. Welcome to the 21st century.

My iPhone 4s will not charge

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