How to fix a broken iPhone charger cable
(Pocket-lint) – Apple’s iPhone range contains some seriously impressive phones and they all still use the same Lightning connector as the main charging mechanism, plus the option of wireless charging.
If you find that connecting your iPhone to a Lightning cable that’s plugged into power won’t charge it, there are a few avenues you can explore to find out why it’s not working.
How to fix a broken iPhone charger cable
If you’ve tried connecting the cable to several different power sources (be it laptops, portable batteries, or a charging plug), you may be increasingly convinced that the cable is faulty.
In these circumstances, the easiest option for most people is to toss the cable and buy a new one – you can buy replacement cables from Apple if you want a guarantee of quality, but there are also plenty of third-party Lightning cables available through Amazon.
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Sometimes cables degrade so that they work intermittently or only work in certain carefully spaced locations, and if that’s the case for you, we recommend purchasing a replacement before you find out it’s not working at all, and before it does risk causing electrical damage.
How to fix your iPhone charging connector
However, if you think there’s something you want to try before you give up your Lightning cable, you can clean the connectors on the end of the cable that plugs into your phone.
If these get dirty it can be a problem when charging, but using a cotton swab and some isopropyl alcohol can make it very easy to quickly wipe the connector clean. However, you should wait until the connector is 100 percent dry before plugging it into your phone or power supply.
If you think there is dirt in your phone’s port and not on the connector, you can try removing it with a can of compressed air or a gentle, non-metallic pick or toothpick.
How to fix a broken iPhone charger connector
If you’ve checked the connection on your phone and have a charging cable that you’ve confirmed works, but the phone isn’t charging, the next step is probably to verify that the charging connector itself is still working. These can eventually fail after a few years.
You can check if it works by trying to charge another device and gently cleaning its ports. If you still don’t have that, but the outlet on your wall can power other devices you own, the charging plug may be obsolete.
Unfortunately, those plugs are no longer the kind of thing you can open up and quickly rewire for a new life – you’ll have to discard them and get a new one. Again, you can order replacements from Apple or get a cheaper option from a third-party brand like Anker.
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Writing from Max Freeman-Mills.