- Try moving the charger to another electrical outlet. Sometimes I find I have to do this with my clothes iron. It's plug is finicky like that.
- Check to see if the charging port in the iPhone is clear of lint and/or dirt.
- If you have a can of compressed air, use that instead of your own breath to blow into the phone's charging port to clear out any lint that might be in it. The iPhone will not complain about bad breath 😊, but you don't want to introduce any moisture into the port on the phone. Compressed air is cleaner, and it's also more powerful than your own breath. Be sure to hold the can (and straw if it's got one) away from the port by 2 inches (or 5 cm) before dispersing the blast. If you don't have a can of compressed air, then use your own breath.
- BE CAREFUL not to damage the port if you try this next: if it still looks like something is stuck in the charging port, try using a toothpick to pluck it out. AGAIN, be very careful if you do this.
- Check that the charging cord isn't damaged in anyway. If it is, replace it.
- Check that both ends of the charging cord are clean and undamaged. If you can't clean them to work, or they are damaged, replace the cord.
- Check the part of the charger that goes into the electrical outlet. Is the USB port clean and undamaged, and the prongs that go into the outlet okay? If not, replace it.
If none of those suggestions work, and you are using the original charger and cord that came with your iPhone, and the phone isn't too old, I would go back to where you bought it, or to an Apple store, and ask nicely for a new charger or cord. You might have to buy new ones though. I don't think they are overly expensive, but then I haven't had to buy new ones.
I was away for a couple days in December 2014 and realized I had forgotten to bring my car charger for my iPhone 5S with me. I had left it in my younger daughter's car when we switched cars for a few days. My phone battery was very, very low and I wanted to make a call to my older daughter. I was running really late getting to her house to pet sit while she and her husband went away for the weekend, and I didn't want her to worry. As soon as I got off the highway heading into her town, I went to the Walmart right off the exist. It's the only store in that town that I know of that is open after 11 pm and would carry phone chargers. I bought a Belkin brand charger and cord that plugged into my car's cigarette lighter/auxiliary electrical port. Walmart didn't have any real iPhone cords and car chargers in stock. However, when I plugged the Belkin device into my iPhone, I got a message on the phone saying the phone didn't recognize the device. It simply would not charge the phone, which I thought was strange as my regular car charger is not an Apple device either and it works perfectly every time. So, I went back into the Walmart and returned the Belkin device. I decided to skip the charger and went directly to my daughter's house. Luckily, she had a spare, real Apple, charger there and I use that without issue.
