Why is my phone not charging? How to troubleshoot and fix

Time to plug in your phone — it’s at 10%. But where’s the cable? Down to 5%. Ah, there’s the cable. Now at 3%. Now, why won’t the phone charge? 2%. Seriously, why is it not charging? 1%. And it’s going to die.

Energy anxiety is a real issue for a lot of people, and it’s especially exacerbated when the thing that we’re pumping fuel into just won’t take it. At Pocket-lint, we don’t claim to work miracles, but what we can provide is a troubleshooter’s handbook for when your phone won’t charge. Maybe, just maybe, you might even be able to fix your phone with the instructions we’ve provided.

Why is my phone is not charging?

We’ll get to the most important takeaway right out of the gate: there’s a good chance this charging fault is something you can’t fix on your own, no matter the hack you might be able search up. Power management systems on smart devices can be finicky widgets, being affected by changes in both the software and physical state. And by “physical,” we don’t mean throwing rocks at it, but more like magnets and surges of electricity.

What we hope to provide below is a handy procedure on what you should be looking at before you give up and call in the tanks.

So, you plug a cable in and your phone’s not charging. If it’s still on, there are no charging indicators and the battery level continues to decrease. If it’s off, when you attempt to power your device on, it may flash a low battery warning, or it may not, but it won’t start up. You might or might not have obvious (maybe even literal) red lights flashing at you. Before you become occupied with freaking out, here are the items you should check to see if they’re working as they should:

Charging port

You may have received a notification telling you that the phone has detected a blockage in the charging port or that it’s wet and that the system won’t send current until it’s cleared and dried out. Use a wooden skewer to sweep around for any particulate matter. If it’s wet, wait a while and don’t put your phone in rice.

Heat

Whether it’s purely because of the weather or you’ve been putting your phone to hard work, your phone may decide to slow or stop charging if it senses that it’s too warm — a status that usually triggers a warning notification.

Cool it off until that notification goes away, then try again.

Moisture

We mentioned this a little bit just now, but we did want to point out that while a lot of phones are rated water-resistent when submerged, there may be something compromising the device’s internal protections.

Honestly, you may be looking at more than just faulty charging on the repair bill at that point, but whatever the case, the best thing to do is to leave your phone in a dry place for at least a day. Seriously, don’t stick it in rice — you risk having the dust and starch on those grains doing more harm than good.

Screen

Maybe the display isn’t being responsive and you just can’t tell if the phone’s charging. The easiest way of diagnosing the charging/data port’s functionality is to connect your phone to another device (i.e., a computer or another phone) and see if the second device recognizes the connection in some way. If it does, you may have a different problem on your hands.

Accessories

Charge a different device using the adapter and cable you usually use.

Use a different combination of adapters and cables with your phone. Heck, flip your cable connectors around — both ends, if applicable, in either orientation. If you’re using a wireless charging pad, move your device around

Power source

Make sure you’re using a port or outlet you know has power flowing into it.

Software

Bugs happen. They just do. And while charging-related bugs are vanishingly rare, a crisis like this one is an opportunity to check for software updates if your phone is otherwise functioning perfectly.

Nokia

How to fix a phone that won’t charge

Wait

After you’ve gone down the troubleshooting checklist above, leave your device alone.

If it’s on, power it off. Then, try not to think about it overnight.

I recently had a charging issue with my phone that went unexplained after I tried every trick in the book. The device would catch onto a power source or a device for a split-second before cutting itself off. Worse yet, this little episode happened while I was out of the country and I didn’t pack an extra phone. After I became resigned to my fate, I went to sleep.

The next morning, I decided to plug my phone in just to confirm it had gone past the point of return.

To my surprise, it was charging normally again, and it has done so ever since. I have a suspicion that the power management circuit was probably detecting something it shouldn’t have and shorting out. Whatever the fault might have actually been, I probably wouldn’t have had the wherewithal or expertise to immediately fix it myself. Cold, hard reality.

Reboot

Of course, we have to recommend you do a manual reboot of your device if it still has power.

This usually means holding down the power button on most Android devices for up to 10 seconds. Those with an iPhone 8 or later need to quickly press the volume up button, then the volume down button, and then hold down on the side button.

DIY repair

So, your phone still won’t juice up, huh? If you’re willing to take on the responsibility and costs, pick up a DIY repair kit.

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Get help

For many people, there’s really not much more you can do other than seek professional help. iPhone users can go to Apple Stores, Apple Authorized Service Providers, or Apple’s Online Support hub for help. You can also reach out to your carrier if you purchased your phone through it or have insurance, to see if it’s able to troubleshoot and fix your device.

If you do send it to someone or a shop to be serviced, see if your device has a Repair Mode. Pixels and Galaxy phones have them and more brands will certainly add them on in due course. If you have a Repair Mode, turn it on beforehand, if you can.