You plug in your phone at night, it’s at 15% battery, you wake up in the morning getting ready to head off to a long day of school or work, as you grab your phone to head out the door you see that the battery is at only 13%—this won’t last through the day! What happened?!

An iPhone that won’t charge is a fairly common issue, but it’s usually a simple fix once you find out what’s causing the problem. Here are a few things you can check if your iPhone isn’t charging.

Software Crash

If you phone appears to be completely dead—won’t turn on and won’t charge—it might be a software issue.

Try a hard reset. Hold down the home and lock button at the same time, it may take about 30 seconds, but the Apple logo should appear and you phone will reset itself. Problem solved!... Didn’t work? Okay, let’s move on to the next common issue.

The Cable

iPhone cables tend to fray easily, particularly towards the end that plugs into the phone. This happens naturally from the pressure of pushing the cord into the phone and pulling it out. If you use your phone while plugged in, the cord movement may also cause it to fray more quickly.

Inspect the cable.  It’s fairly obvious to spot a frayed cord, when the wires are showing through. Even if the cable is not frayed, if the material around the cable appears wrinkled, or the cord is bent, you may have found the culprit. If you iPhone is still under warranty, then so is your cable, take it into the Apple Store and get it replaced for free.

Not sure if it’s the cable? Try borrowing a friend’s and testing it out plugging the cable into the same source you usually use; if your phone charges, it’s time for a new cable. Tried a different cord and your iPhone still won’t charge? It’s time to take a look inside…

The Charging Port

Our iPhones go through so much with us, they’re bound to get a little dirty, and sometimes that dirt just happens to be inside the charging port. Take a look inside the charging port with a flashlight. See any gunk? Even the tiniest bit could cause a problem—especially if your phone takes the pesky 30-pin charger, dirt can easily get stuck between the small prongs.

Clean it out. While the pros at Apple have special tools to clean out the iPhone charging port, a new toothbrush will work just fine (do not, I repeat, do not use an old used toothbrush). Toothbrushes have bristles that are soft enough to cause no harm and are static-free.

The Power Source

Last, but not least, if your iPhone still is not charging, check the power source. Some sources just don’t have enough power to charge you devices.

Swap out your charger. Just as with the cable, borrow a friend’s wall charger, use your cable, and see if the charger is the problem. If you’re using a car charger, test that out as well.

Do you plug your phone into your keyboard to charge it? Although this USB port may be perfectly functioning, it may not have enough power to charge your electronics. Plug your phone directly into your computer instead.

Still not working?

So, how’s your phone doing? Is your iPhone charging again? If so, hooray! If not… it may be time to take it into Apple to see what they can do, but just a fair warning, it can get a bit costly. If your repair just isn’t worth it, it might be best to sell your non-functioning iPhone and just get a new one.

Wait, did you just say sell my old phone that doesn’t work? Yes, you can still sell a non-functioning iPhone and get cash for it. Most companies use iPhones that don’t function properly for parts. It’s still worth something!!

At ItsWorthMore.com we accept phones will all sorts of issues, even ones that won’t turn on. See what your non-functioning iPhone is worth.