Computer Humans: iPhone won't charge. What do?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

(I don't feel like being eloquent right now. Emergency!) Essentially, when I plug my phone in, it won't charge. Simple, right? Clean out the port with a paper clip, or so I was told. I've done this once before. It's not working, and I'm on eleven percent. Do you have any advice, from simple tips to company protocols, that could help me out here?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Downgrade to a flip phone.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Go to an Apple Store? I hate Apple products, but you can't deny they have good customer service.

[Joe Republic]

Have you tried a different cable?  Different USB port? Different power source?

[Devout Centrist]

Try propping up the phone at an angle. I got some crap stuck in the charging port a while back and it worked, until whatever was inside no longer affected it.

Ideally, position the cord at a sloping angle. The bottom should go straight and then curved into the phone at an angle. Lean it against a wall.

[Tender Branson]

If you have one, use an air compressor and blow air into the port. It will remove all the dust and crap inside.

There are also oxygen spray cans which you can use.

Otherwise, try a new cable.

If that doesn't help either, send your phone in for repair.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Problem solved. My housemate/ex-roommate scraped it out. He's a Mechanical Engineering major, so he used his 4+ years of college and 2+ years of engineering experience to tell him that using a woman's hair clip he had on his desk and vigorously going after the problem could, at least temporarily, solve it. Thank God for engineers, amirite?

[Joe Republic]

Problem solved. My housemate/ex-roommate scraped it out. He's a Mechanical Engineering major, so he used his 4+ years of college and 2+ years of engineering experience to tell him that using a woman's hair clip he had on his desk and vigorously going after the problem could, at least temporarily, solve it. Thank God for engineers, amirite?

Women's hair clips are also the only tool worthy of the task of de-clogging a paper shredder, FYI.

[politicallefty]

Problem solved. My housemate/ex-roommate scraped it out. He's a Mechanical Engineering major, so he used his 4+ years of college and 2+ years of engineering experience to tell him that using a woman's hair clip he had on his desk and vigorously going after the problem could, at least temporarily, solve it. Thank God for engineers, amirite?

The exact same thing was happening to my iPad a few months ago. It would charge, but it was very temperamental and would only work if it was in the right position. Since my iPhone worked perfectly with the same cord, I thought the port on my iPad was going bad. It got to the point where I looked it up and basically did what your friend did. You'd be surprised how much dust and whatnot gets stuck in there.

Sometimes it is the cable though. Apple does not seem to make their Lightning cables well. The weakest point is where the wires go into the connector itself. It can start to bend and fray and just fall apart to expose the wires. I've had that happen to one and I had to buy a new one a year or so ago. Now, my current cable is going bad because it only goes in one way for both my iPhone and iPad. I noticed some corrosion on the gold part of the connector. Fortunately, my iPhone 6S is still under warranty, so hopefully I can get Apple to replace it for free (especially considering how much I paid for this phone).

[dead0man]

I've learned that you've got to spend money on charging cables or you'll be replacing them every few months.

Also, I've never "cleaned" out the charging port on any phone, ever.  That seems dangerous (to the phone, not you).

[politicallefty]

I've learned that you've got to spend money on charging cables or you'll be replacing them every few months.

Also, I've never "cleaned" out the charging port on any phone, ever.  That seems dangerous (to the phone, not you).

Isn't spending money on cables vs replacing them basically the same thing?

I didn't use anything metal myself. I used the flashlight on my phone and a toothpick to clean the Lightning port on my iPad. Fwiw, it took over two years of heavy use to get to that point. I'm very careful with my things, especially when they would cost a lot of money to repair or replace.

[dead0man]

I meant spend money ($30 at least) on a good one is likely cheaper than buying sh**tty ($6) ones randomly forever.

[politicallefty]

I meant spend money ($30 at least) on a good one is likely cheaper than buying sh**tty ($6) ones randomly forever.

Ah, I'm in total agreement with you there. I tried the cheap ones years ago back when it was the old 30-pin charger. They failed left and right. When my iPad cable went last year after the warranty, I reluctantly bought the Apple-branded cable for $19. My current cable is starting to go bad under the one-year warranty. With tax, my 128GB iPhone 6S will end up costing me over $900 minus 18 months worth of $7 bill credits courtesy of T-Mobile. Either way, Apple is getting their money and making massive profit. I won't hesitate to return a defective cable within the terms of the warranty.

Ultimately, that's one of the biggest reasons why I refuse to "upgrade" to the iPhone 7. The removal of the headphone jack for a proprietary cable is a deal-breaker for me, not to mention you have to spend more money to be able to charge and listen to your phone at the same time. This is really not the Apple that Steve Jobs created. There's no innovation anymore. I'm a big iOS fan, but I have a hard time living with a decrease in overall functionality.

[RFayette]

Happened to me before, and I simply had to buy a new charger.