How to clean your iPhone charging port
Your iPhone’s charging port is an absolute swarm of scum and villains, collecting all the nastiest little things you find in your pockets, backpack, purse, bed, and everything in between. An iPhone charger full of lint and dead skin is not only gross, but it can also affect the functionality of your device, especially causing charging and data transfer issues.
If you’re having trouble charging your iPhone or connecting it to a Mac or PC, looking inside the charging port is a good place to start. If you find a buildup of lint, dirt, or anything else, you can follow the steps below carefully Remove dust, lint and other unspeakable things from the bottom of your iPhone, whether you’re rocking an iPhone 7 or a brand new iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro.
Remember that there are dangers with poking around in your iPhone, and if you break or damage something or make the problem worse, don’t expect much sympathy from the Apple Genius Bar. Here’s a quick rundown of how to use the charging port Clean your iPhone and some tools you can use.
How to clean your iPhone charging port
First, here are some things Not following Apple’s guidelines for cleaning your iPhone.
Not:
- Don’t use moisture to clean your iPhone – it’s never a good idea to get water in your iPhone’s openings, even in Apple’s best iPhones that are waterproof. If you intentionally put water in the charging ports to clean it, the water will likely mix with the dirt and grime in your port, creating a kind of tide pool that’s much harder to clean out
- Soak your iPhone in cleaning supplies – For the same reasons as above, soaking your iPhone in cleaning supplies is not a good idea, and some, like those containing bleach or hydrogen peroxide, can damage your iPhone
- Clean your iPhone while it’s on — while a mishap is unlikely here, Apple recommends unplugging all cables and turning off your iPhone before you begin cleaning
On to the instructions and some do’s. You’ll probably want to peek inside your charging port with a flashlight or flashlight to see if you can see what’s going on inside. This may be enough to uncover troublesome debris that needs to be addressed.
Next you’ll need a fine but fairly blunt instrument to get in and try to stir up the debris, probably nothing metallic or sharp so a toothpick or paperclip might be ideal. Although Apple warns against using compressed air to clean an iPhone, if used sparingly it shouldn’t cause any problems and can be a handy tool to add to your blunt instrument. Otherwise all you need is patience.
- Check your iPhone’s charging port with a flashlight – see if you can spot any specific pockets of dirt or debris that you need to address.
- Start with your toothpick or paperclip — if your charging port has been clogged for a while, you’ll probably need to loosen something first.
- Side to side, not front to back – try starting at the edge of your charge port and working horizontally from left to right, if you just stick your toothpick in you could end up pushing dirt and debris deeper into the charge port, what you don’t want to do.
- Do not apply pressure to the edges as you may risk damaging the Lightning connector contacts inside the connector.
- Try to get your toothpick all the way in before moving it left and right in a sort of “flicking” motion that pulls out the dirt.
- This may be enough to clear anything blocking your charging port, but if not, a quick blast of compressed air may do the trick. But again, aim for the edges and not the center of the port.
- For particularly stubborn stains, it may be worth toggling between these until you see results.
If for some reason you still can’t get rid of the dirt and debris or you’ve cleared the port and you’re still having charging and data issues, then unfortunately it’s time to head to your local Apple Store or an authorized one Repair Center, where more specialized tools can be found.
In most cases, however, the general build-up of dust, scraps of fabric, and general bag dirt can be the cause of what is clogging a faulty charging port. A little patience and a simple, gentle poke should be enough to do the trick and bring your iPhone back to full health.