Does your mobile phone not charge when you plug it in? Then it's probably because your charging port is full of debris and small dirt particles.
A lot of dirt, dust and other particles collect in the charging port when you use your mobile phone or have it in your pocket.
The good news is that it is easily fixed by cleaning your charging port on the phone.
But it is important to be careful and know what to do.
This is how you clean your charging port on your mobile
Start by finding a clean surface to work on where it is very bright or there is a good lamp at hand.
Then a toothpick and some compressed air is all you need.
Important to note: Never try to clean your charging port with something sharp and hard such as a pin or the end of a metal paper clip. Stick to a toothpick or other object that has a softer material, or you risk permanently damaging the sensitive electronics inside the charging port.
1. Turn off your mobile phone completely.
Turn off your iPhone by holding the right side button and the top left side button until the power off slider appears. Drag the slider to the side to turn off.
Turn off your Android phone by holding down the power button until the dialog box appears. Tap “Shut Down”.
2. Blow compressed air
Hold the can of compressed air upright and give a few short, controlled “blows” into the port. Make sure not to hold the can with some distance from the mobile so that you don't blow the nozzle directly into the port.
Also make sure you don't hold the jar upside down, as moisture can easily get in with the air then.
3. Try charging the mobile again
Turn your mobile phone back on and test if you can charge it. If it still doesn't work to charge your phone, you can go to step 4 and give the toothpick a try.
4. Use the toothpick
Turn off your mobile phone again. Then take the toothpick and insert it into the port by scraping along one wall of the port.
Do not apply direct pressure to the wall and avoid poking into the bottom of the door. Instead, try to find places where dirt may have accumulated and remove it.
It is very important to be careful when removing dirt in the charging port so as not to do permanent damage. On an iPhone, there are very sensitive pins on the inside of the wall closest to the screen. And on the side walls of the port, there are two small spring-mounted anchors that hook into the charging port, says Alaa at Refurbly.
5. Blow with compressed air again
When you feel that you have removed most of the dirt with the toothpick or at least made the dirt become a little "looser", you can try blowing with compressed air again to get the last bit out.
Remember to hold the can with some distance from the gate and not to hold the can upside down.
6. Make another attempt to charge the mobile phone
If you feel that you have removed a lot of dirt, now is the time to restart the mobile phone and test charge it! Hopefully that has done the trick and you can now charge it again flawlessly.
How to get water out of your charging port
It could also be that you have got water in the port. But how do you know if that's the case?
Your iPhone will tell you this when you try to charge it. A warning message will then appear telling you that there is water in the charging port.
Charging will stop completely and stop working until the charging port is dry.
So how do you get water out of the port?
- Apple recommends you hold the phone with the port facing down and slap it in your hand to "shake out" the water.
- Then place the phone in a well-ventilated room and let it air dry (with the charging port facing down).
To avoid this in the future, it is important to regularly clean the port by following the steps above. Then there is no dirt that can trap water or moisture.
