An iPhone That Won't Charge? A Simple Fix May Be All It Needs

A dead-looking iPhone that refuses to take a charge is one of the more stressful problems a phone owner can run into. A recent article describes exactly that situation: a handset that would not power up on the charger, then recovered after its owner tried a simple trick that, according to the headline, fixed the problem easily.

The article's headline credits that trick, but the specific steps were not included in the material available for this piece, so we cannot say what they were. Charging failures on iPhones usually trace back to a short list of causes. The cable or power adapter may be worn or damaged, the charging port may be packed with lint or debris, the power source itself may be faulty, or the phone may be stuck in a software glitch that a restart can clear.

If you hit the same problem, start with the cheapest checks. Swap in a cable and adapter you know work, shine a light into the port to look for debris, and force a restart. If the phone still won't charge after those steps, Apple's support resources and an authorized service provider can check for battery or hardware faults.