It can be very frustrating to end up with a smartphone that no longer charges strong>. Especially since it is not easy to change the battery yourself, and that sending your smartphone to the after-sales service also generally means parting with it for a few days.

However, you will see that the cause of charging problems is not, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the one to which it is believed. In a third of cases the problem is simply due to poor handling or inattention on the part of the user – and it is then very easy to restore normal operation, by checking a few points.

In other cases charging issues can be caused by obstructions in sensors or around the charging port itself. These can be due to the accumulation of dirt directly in the charging port, or poorly designed covers and accessories that prevent normal charging operation.

Software bugs can also prevent the smartphone from charging. It is only after having checked all these points, if the problem is still not solved, that it will be necessary to attempt a battery replacement or a repair.

Read also – 10 tips to improve the autonomy of your smartphone

1 – Is the outlet properly connected?

The first checks to be carried out may seem obvious – but do not evacuate them too quickly: neglecting these steps risks wasting a lot of time and unnecessarily annoying you.

So start by checking your socket, and the wall socket / power strip it is plugged into. Sometimes the plugs of the socket are twisted, or fail to make satisfactory contact inside the power strip.

So try plugging the adapter from your smartphone into a wall socket you came from check operation using a lamp (avoid extension cords / multiple sockets). Charging still not working? Proceed to the next step.

2 – Check the cable and your USB charger

In many cases, charging problems are simply due to a faulty adapter, or faulty/worn cables. Be especially wary of cheap white label chargers. These contain simplified circuits and very low quality components that eventually fail quite quickly.

Also check the power of the charger: not all chargers charge all smartphones. Especially if we are talking about recent smartphones. Chargers that display on their label 5V / 2A or lower values ​​can only slowly charge relatively old smartphones. If you are in this case, before continuing, get another more powerful charger, preferably a new one.

If the charger seems powerful enough and is recent, try plugging in another device to test it. Anything that connects via USB should normally be able to be powered there – if so, there is still a problem and the block will need to be replaced.

If the charger works but charging still does not work, check the cable. To do this, connect it to your smartphone and to one of the USB ports on your computer, which should normally be working. If charging still doesn’t work, just buy a new cable and try again.

3 – Clean the USB port

If after these checks and after replacing the charger and the cable, the smartphone still does not charge, you should check whether the charging port of your smartphone is clean. This is because dust and fibers from clothing tend to accumulate there, filling this hole with lint that eventually prevents the cable plug from making contact with the plugs inside the port.

Few people know this, but it is essential to regularly check the congestion status of your charging port . Depending on the clothes you wear, cleaning may be required between once every two months and once every two weeks. To clean the charging port, it’s very simple:

1. Take a deep breath to give yourself courage
2. Get a safety pin li>
3. Gently remove the dirt, being careful not to damage the contacts*

You will probably be surprised at the amount of lint that can accumulate there!

*: if you have an iPhone with a Lightning port, pay attention to the contacts on the walls. If you have an Android smartphone with a USB-C port, the fragile contacts are on either side of the tab in the middle of the port.

4- Check that the problem does not come from your protective shell or an accessory

There are thousands of manufacturers of protective covers, and not all of them fully respect the technical specifications of your smartphone . As innocuous as this accessory may seem, in some cases the protective shell may block sensors, constantly press one or more buttons on the smartphone, or create a rim around the charging port strong> which prevents the cable from going deep enough into it.

Before taking your smartphone to the repairer – so check if your smartphone still won’t charge after you remove the cover and all its accessories.

5 – Restart the phone

A software bug can be the source of a charging problem. Smartphones are always-on devices, so they don’t often get the chance to reboot and thus relaunch all the background services that manage every aspect of your smartphone – including power and charging.

This is why before continuing, if charging does not work after all these steps, you should try restarting your device. The procedure varies depending on your smartphone model:

• On the latest iPhones, simply press and hold the Lock button and the Volume + button for a few seconds, then swipe on the Power off option. You can then restart your device with a long press on the same buttons until the Apple logo appears
• On most Android smartphones: Hold the Lock button for a few seconds. On the screen that appears, select Restart

6 – Check your battery with an app

Some applications can help you check the health of your battery, including the number of charge cycles and the maximum capacity of the component related to its level of wear. Thanks to this step, you will know immediately if a battery repair can make sense or not.

We can recommend two applications that display very detailed data on the state of the battery. On Android smartphones, the Ampere application is very comprehensive. On iPhone, we can advise System Status Pro: hw monitor.

If the battery status seems satisfactory, but the smartphone still does not charge, the problem comes maybe by the way. The operating system may no longer be able to correctly assess the battery charge level, which may lead you to perform a re-calibration.

It could also be that all this indicates a deeper problem that is not directly related to the battery but rather to the charging port module, or even to the motherboard of the smartphone.

7 – Re-calibrate the battery

You may not know it, but your smartphone battery can’t tell your device “I’m charged at X%”. Your smartphone calculates the value of the charge level by referring to calibration data… which can end up misleading your smartphone.

However, it is possible to re-calibrate the battery. In many cases, this solves bugs related to autonomy or charging. Especially if you have noticed that your smartphone suddenly turns off at abnormal charge levels such as 40% or 20%. To recalibrate the battery, you need to be able to recharge it to 100% and let it drain completely.

Obviously this step only works if you are affected by charging “problems” rather than a total malfunction . If you are in this second case, go directly to steps 8 and 9. If necessary, to recalibrate the battery of an Android smartphone or an iPhone, the procedure is the same: p>

1. Charge your device to 100%
2. Use your device until it is completely discharged and turns off
3. Charge it fully until ‘at 100%

Normally at this stage, the battery indications will return to normal and the autonomy and the recharge will have a predictable behavior.

8 – Replace or have the battery replaced

If all of these steps don’t work, the first tip is to try a battery replacement. You can do it yourself with step-by-step guides, parts, and tools at iFixit.com. However, we recommend that you call a professional, whether it’s the local repairer or the after-sales service of your smartphone manufacturer.

In general, replacing the battery is not an expensive repair . Local repairers in particular will charge you very little, and will only keep your device for a few hours, so you won’t be away from your device for very long.

9 – Replace or have replaced the USB port

The USB port of smartphones is fragile and manufacturers know it. This is why in many recent smartphone models, manufacturers have had the good idea of ​​making the USB port modular in order to facilitate its replacement.

On certain smartphone models, you can even carry out the repair yourself. even, as long as you are not afraid to open it. Most local repairers can nevertheless save you a cold sweat for a small fee.

10 – Have your smartphone diagnosed by a professional

Unfortunately, in some rare cases, replacing the charging pad, cable and battery will not fix the charging problem. It means that your device is hit by a more serious technical issue. For example, water may have caused corrosion on the motherboard of the smartphone. For these more serious problems, we recommend that you go through your manufacturer’s official after-sales service if possible.

The support will undoubtedly be of better quality and it is even possible that this will save you a not much time. The local repairman may indeed have to order a spare motherboard or component, which will probably cost you a few days.

Did you find the solution to your charging problem in this tutorial? Feel free to share your feedback and your own advice in the comments of this article!