We depend on our iPhones to make it through the day. If you can’t charge your iPhone, you might not be able to use it when you need it. In this article, I’ll show you what to do if your iPhone charger won’t stay in the Lightning port!
Why An iPhone Charger Might Not Stay In
There are several different reasons why your iPhone charger may not stay in. It’s possible the cable you’re trying to use is damaged or that your iPhone’s charging port is obstructed. You may be using a cheap knock-off cable or one that wasn’t designed to work with an iPhone.
Follow the step-by-step guide below to figure out the real reason why your iPhone charger won’t stay in. If your iPhone still isn’t working after you’ve completed these steps, we’ll help you find a great repair option.
Can You Wirelessly Charge Your iPhone?
While it’s not a permanent fix, you may be able to charge your iPhone wirelessly if its charger won’t stay in. Every iPhone since the iPhone 8, including the iPhone SE 2, support wireless charging. You can get a great wireless charger for about $10 on Amazon.
Check Your Lightning Cable
You might have difficulty getting a broken Lightning cable to stay plugged into your iPhone. If the Lightning connector is damaged in any way, it might not fit perfectly into the Lightning port.
Additionally, you may run into problems if you try charging your iPhone with a cheap gas station cable. These cables usually aren’t MFi-certified, meaning the manufacturer didn’t get a certification from Apple to create accessories for the iPhone. Always check for the Made For iPhone label when purchasing an iPhone accessory!
In either case, it’s a good idea to try charging your iPhone with a different Lightning cable. If other Lightning cables stay plugged into your iPhone, there’s a problem with your cable, not your iPhone. If no cables stay plugged into your iPhone, move onto the next step!
Is The Charging Port Obstructed?
It’s easy for lint, gunk, and other debris to get stuck in your iPhone’s charging port. When this happens, your Lightning cable may not be able to fit in your iPhone’s charging port.
An obstructed Lightning port can cause several different problems. Your iPhone might not charge, or it may get stuck in headphones mode. We recommend investing in a pack of anti-static brushes and cleaning out the Lightning port regularly.
Here are our recommendations for cleaning an iPhone Lightning port safely:
- Turn off your iPhone before cleaning it.
- Grab an anti-static brush or a brand new toothbrush.
- Scrape any lint, gunk, or other debris out of the charging port.
- Do not use anything that can conduct electricity (e.g. needle, thumbtack) or anything that could break apart inside the charging port (e.g. toothpick, tissue).
Try charging your iPhone again after cleaning out its Lightning port. If your iPhone charger still won’t stay in, move onto the next step!
iPhone Repair Options
There may be a hardware problem with your iPhone’s Lightning port if its charger won’t stay in. The pins that allow the energy to flow from the charger to your iPhone could be broken. Sometimes, you can get the charging port replaced rather than having to get an entirely new iPhone. Visit Apple’s website to compare your support options!
Plug It In, Plug It In
You’ve fixed the problem and your iPhone is charging once again. You’ll know exactly what to do the next time your iPhone charger won’t stay in. Feel free to leave a question down below if you need more help with your iPhone!
Thanks so much for your advice. Came back from the beach and my iphone charger wouldn’t fit in the port. Cleaned it out with a new toothbrush and now works fabulous. Thanks again
I followed your instructions and can now charge my phone again. Apparently there was a tiny piece of the phone case which was ripped off and stuck in the port. I am so relieved. Thank you so very much!
Hi I bought a portable charger for my iPhone 13 it fits into the phone ok but my mains cable does not fit in to the portable do I have to buy a specific cable for this
I legitimately almost threw my phone into the ocean in frustration after days of being unable to properly charge my phone. Turned out that I was losing my mind over pocket lint. Thank you for saving my phone and my sanity!
Thank you, very helpful
I just bought a brand new MFI charging cable & it only worked for a day before I begin getting the “Accessory not supported” message,& the charging symbol disappears. This happened with the generic cables I was using, so what was the point of buying “MFI”?
My battery’s percentage was 13% so I decided to plug it and sleep. As I inserted the light cable, it wouldn’t fit. I tried several times and still the same problem. I took it out of the case and shook it but no result. I was worried because it’s a new phone and opening it will definitely spoil the Face ID on my iPhone 11. Since I was new to iOS, the only option I had was to Google and read an article here stating the problem could be many things. A few explanations were that maybe dirt or debris… Read more »
Thanks for sharing this in detail, it worked for me.
Thank you so much. After reading your comment, I knew immediately that the whitish object obstructing my charging point was rice. I had quickly put my phone in a bowl of rice when it fell in a large bowl of water afterwards my charger wouldn’t fit in the charging point. Once I read your comment, I put a toothpick in the charging point and got the rice out. Now it’s charging just fine.
I was using a trusted brand case for my iPhone 8+, and when I plugged in the lightning cable, it would sometimes connect and other times not. I took the phone out of the case and it would work fine every time. What I noticed was a very small part of the case’s rubber material was very close to the charging port, so much so that the outer part of the lightning cable was prevented from being fully seated in the connection. I used an Xacto knife and carefully trimmed back the small “lip” part of the case just enough… Read more »
UPDATE: Well…that seemed to work, but it still wasn’t “sticking” every time I put the lightning cable in. It was a lot better but not good as new. So, I watched some YouTube videos about using a toothpick to get out tiny bits of dirt out of the port, and since I keep the phone in my pocket, it turned out there was some lint in there. Using a toothpick instead of something metallic like a paper clip seems like a better idea, although I was still a bit nervous about poking around. But I did find some extra lint… Read more »
Hi Lane! I’m glad this solution worked for you! In the future, I’d suggest using something a little less fragile than a toothpick. Something wooden like a toothpick and break apart, causing splinters to get lodged in the charging port. We’ve found the perfect tool for cleaning out an iPhone’s charging port is an unused toothbrush!
I poked around in my charging port with a plastic toothpick (no worry of losing a piece inside as with wooden ones.)
Thank you that was helpful