Phone Not Charging? 12 Fixes for iPhone and Android

Start here even if the cable looks fine. Charging cables break inside, usually right at the neck where they bend every day, and the outer jacket hides it. The phone may get just enough contact to light up the charging icon but not enough to actually charge.

Test the cable and adapter on a second device. If they charge your partner's phone, the problem is your phone. If they do not, you just found it.

Apple says the same in its own charging checklist: check for breakage or bent prongs, and do not use damaged accessories. If an iPhone shows "This accessory may not be supported", or a Pixel shows "Check charging accessory", the phone is telling you the cable or adapter is damaged or not built for it. Cheap uncertified cables are the usual culprit.

This is the fix people do not believe until they try it. Every time a phone goes into a pocket, a bit of lint goes into the port. The plug then packs it down into a hard felt pad at the bottom, so the connector never fully seats. Classic signs: the cable feels loose, or it only charges if you hold it at an angle.

1. Turn the phone off. You are about to poke at contacts that carry power.
2. Shine a flashlight into the port. Lint looks like a grey or dark layer at the back.
3. Gently scrape it out with a wooden or plastic toothpick, working along the back wall, not the pins. Go slowly. It often comes out in one compressed piece, and you will wonder how it all fit.
4. Plug the cable back in. It should click in further and feel firm.

Do not use a metal pin, a SIM tool or a paper clip: you can short or bend the contacts. Apple also warns against pushing cotton swabs or paper towels into the port, because fibres break off and make it worse.

Thick rugged cases and some wallet cases stop the plug from going all the way in. Pull the case off and try again.

On a wireless charger, the case matters even more. Wallets, metal plates for car mounts and very thick cases can block the charging coil. Line the phone up so the middle of its back sits on the middle of the pad. MagSafe and Qi2 chargers help because the magnets do the alignment for you.

An old USB-A port on a laptop or car can supply as little as a few watts. A modern phone that is busy (screen on, maps running, 5G searching) can use more power than that, so it barely charges or even drains while plugged in.

Plug into a wall adapter instead, and try a different outlet if a power strip is involved. For fast charging you want a USB-C Power Delivery (PD) adapter:

• iPhone: a 20W or higher USB-C adapter. If your charger is too weak, recent iOS versions show a Slow Charger note in Settings > Battery.
• Google Pixel: Google recommends its own 30W adapter or another PPS adapter rated 30W or more, and says any USB PD adapter of 15W or more works (Pixel Help).
• Samsung Galaxy: a Samsung 25W or 45W "Super Fast Charging" adapter, or another PPS adapter, gets full speed. A basic adapter still charges, just slowly.

Water-resistant phones check for water in the port before they allow wired charging, because current plus water corrodes the pins.

On iPhone (XS, XR and later), you will see "Charging Not Available" or "Liquid Detected in USB-C Connector". Apple's guidance (support article):

• Tap the phone gently against your hand with the port facing down.
• Leave it somewhere dry with some airflow, and wait at least 30 minutes before you try again.
• If the alert comes back, give it up to 24 hours.
• Do not use a hair dryer, compressed air, or a bag of rice. Apple says rice particles can actually damage the phone.

In a real emergency you can reconnect the cable and choose to override the warning, but you are taking a risk with a wet port.

On Samsung Galaxy, the warning is "Moisture detected" and the phone beeps until you unplug. Shake it gently and wait. Samsung says water usually evaporates from the port in about 1 to 2 hours (Samsung Support). If it was salt water, pool water or a drink, rinse the port in fresh water first, then dry it, because the residue keeps triggering the sensor.

On both, wireless charging still works if your phone has it. Dry the back first.

If the warning shows up on a phone that has not been near water, the port is probably dirty or the pins have corroded. Clean it (Fix 2) and restart. If it keeps happening, that is a repair.

This one sends a lot of people to repair shops for nothing. Lithium batteries wear faster when they sit at 100% for hours, especially when warm. So all three big phone makers now hold the charge at 80% on purpose, either overnight or all the time.

iPhone: Optimized Battery Charging learns your routine and holds at 80% until shortly before you usually unplug. On iPhone 15 and later, you can also set a hard charge limit from 80% to 100% in 5% steps: Settings > Battery > Charging. On older iPhones the switch is under Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. Apple notes that even with a limit, the phone occasionally charges to 100% to keep the percentage reading accurate.

Google Pixel: go to Settings > Battery > Battery health > Charging optimization. If it is set to limit charging, that is your 80%. Google's own fix for "won't charge past a percentage" is to turn this off and try again.

Samsung Galaxy: go to Settings > Battery > Battery protection. On One UI 8 and later, Basic stops at 100% and only resumes at 95%, and can hold at 80% while you sleep. Maximum caps the charge at the limit you pick (80%, 85%, 90% or 95%).

Need a full tank for a long day? Switch it off for one charge and switch it back on later. Your battery will thank you.

Phones slow down or pause charging when the battery is too hot, to stop it degrading. Common triggers: gaming while charging, a thick case, a car dashboard in the sun, or fast charging under a pillow. iPhone calls this thermally limited charging and may hold at 80% until it cools. Pixel and Galaxy phones do the same and often show a notification.

Take the case off, close heavy apps, and move the phone somewhere cool and out of direct sun. Do not put it in the fridge: condensation is worse than heat.

Cold works the other way. A phone that has been outside in freezing weather may refuse to charge until it warms back up to room temperature.

Charging is managed by software, and that software can hang. A restart clears it. If the screen is frozen, use a force restart. It does not erase anything.

• iPhone 8 and later, including SE (2nd and 3rd gen): press and release Volume Up, press and release Volume Down, then press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.
• iPhone 7: hold Volume Down + side button until the Apple logo.
• iPhone 6s and SE (1st gen): hold Home + top or side button until the Apple logo.
• Samsung Galaxy: hold Side key + Volume Down for 7 seconds or more, until the Samsung logo appears.
• Google Pixel: hold the Power button for about 30 seconds or longer, until the phone restarts. Google's own guide says up to 60 seconds on some models.

Full button guide, including how to shut down normally: how to turn off any phone.

A battery that hit true zero can need a while before the phone even shows a sign of life. You might see a black screen, or a red or empty battery icon, for the first few minutes.

Plug it into a wall adapter you trust and leave it alone for 30 minutes. Apple's own steps are: charge for half an hour, force restart if it still will not start, then charge for another half hour. Google suggests charging a Pixel for at least 10 minutes, then holding the Power button for about 35 seconds to reboot.

If the phone gets warm on the charger but never turns on, the battery may be taking charge and the problem is the display or the board. That is worth a repair diagnosis.

If the phone shows the charging icon but the percentage stays flat or drops, something is using power as fast as the charger can supply it. Usually it is the screen at full brightness, navigation, a game, or an app stuck in a loop in the background.

• Look at Settings > Battery on any phone. The usage list shows which app has been busy.
• Update the phone. Charging bugs do get fixed in updates: Settings > General > Software Update on iPhone, Settings > System > Software updates on Pixel, Settings > Software update on Galaxy.
• On Android, try safe mode. It starts the phone with only the built-in apps. Open the power menu, then touch and hold Power off (or Restart on newer Pixels) until you see the safe mode option. If the phone charges normally in safe mode, a downloaded app is the problem. Restart normally and remove recent installs one at a time.

More on keeping background apps in check: how to stop apps running in the background on Android and Android settings that improve battery life.

Batteries wear out. After a few years of daily charging, a battery can hold so little that it seems not to charge, or it jumps from 30% to 0% and shuts the phone off.

• iPhone: Settings > Battery > Battery Health (on older iOS versions, Battery Health & Charging). Maximum Capacity below 80%, or a "Service" message, means the battery is due for replacement.
• Google Pixel: Settings > Battery > Battery health. Newer Pixels show an estimated capacity and say when the battery needs attention.
• Samsung Galaxy: open the Samsung Members app, go to Support > Phone diagnostics, and run Battery status.

A worn battery is not a fault you can fix in settings. It is the most common, and most worthwhile, phone repair.

If your phone supports wireless charging, put it on a pad. This tells you a lot:

• Charges wirelessly, not by cable: the port or the cable is the problem. After cleaning the port, this points to a port repair.
• Charges neither way: more likely the battery or the charging circuit.

Wireless is also a good stopgap. You can keep using a phone with a broken port for weeks on a pad while you wait for a repair slot.