How To Clean iPhone Charging Port at Home [Easy Ways]

We have all been there you plug in your charger, and you found that your iPad or iPhone charging port not working. A simple search on Apple’s forums shows a common thread: a lot of iPhone and iPad owners are having problems charging their devices. You have to pull in and twist the charging cord, and if you are lucky, it may start charging. A few days back, I also had the same problem with my iPhone X. And I found a simple solution on how to clean iPhone charging port easily.

Before you spend a lot of money on troubleshooting the hardware or software charging issues or blaming iPhone lightning cables, check your iPhone charging port. There is a high chance that the charging port can get blocked or clogged with lint and other debris from your pockets or purses and build up over time. To keep your iPhone working as it should — or to get it working again — you may need to clean out iPhone charging port.

Products Used Here:

The things you need to clean out iPhone charging port can probably be found lying around the house. If not, you can get those online.

• Precision Tool — Flat Natural Wooden Bamboo Tooth Picks ($4.99)
• Softening Agent — 365 Everyday Value, Organic Cotton Balls ($2.99)
• Lighting Source — SOS Solar Flash Light ($15.95)

How To Clean iPhone Charging Port

Below are some of the best ways to clean the iPhone charging port with the help of some everyday household items. We’ve got a comprehensive step-by-step guide to how to troubleshoot charging problems.

1. Clean iPhone charging port with compressed air
2. Clean iPhone charging port with a toothpick
3. Clean iPhone charging port with a toothbrush
4. Cleaning iPhone charging port with alcohol
5. Clean iPhone or iPad charging port with the help of professionals

Read: How To Remove Stickers From Laptop / MacBook

If possible, you should try cleaning your iPhone charging port without touching or stabbing anything inside. The port includes delicate contact points — tiny strips of metal — that the charging cable must dock into. If the contact points are broken, then the iPhone charger won’t work at all, no matter how much you try to fix it.

And, if the anchors on either side of your charging port get damaged, they won’t be able to lock in your charging cable, which is another serious problem. The only solution after the damage is to get the charging port repaired by a professional, which costs both money and time. So the first rule is to be prudent.

To be safe, back up your iPhone or iPad to your computer or the iCloud and then power it off before following any of the below-mentioned methods.

1. Clean iPhone Charging Port With Compressed Air

This method is considered one of the best options for unclogging the iPhone charging port.

1. Hold the can of compressed air fairly close to the charging port, but not too close, and undoubtedly don’t try to stab the nozzle inside (remember all those are delicate parts).
2. Spray the air in short, light bursts.
3. After you’ve blown a careful blast of air at the port, wait for a moment, then try attaching your charging cable again and see if it is working. If the air has removed dust or debris stuck in the port, then it should be working just fine again.

2. Clean iPhone Charging Port With Toothpick

Still, having issues? Sometimes, a can of compressed air isn’t going to solve your problem. There may be lint built up in the port that air can’t take care of. Try cleaning the port again, but this time use a regular household toothpick to gently dig a little inside the charging port to remove the lint.

Again, all the dangers that we just discussed still apply, so it’s important to be as careful as possible. A toothpick is a suitable tool to use for this since the wood is softer and more flexible than plastic or wire.

1. Turn off our iPhone and pick up a toothpick and place it on a cotton ball and twist it until it catches and starts to wrap around the toothpick. [Only use a small amount.]
2. Find a spot with great lighting, such as under a desk lamp. Or you can also use a flashlight.
3. Lightly insert the top of the toothpick into the charging port, and gently wiggle it around.
4. Avoid putting any pressure on the toothpick at first; if no particles or dirt are coming free, you can apply the lightest of pressures for a soft scrape. Any more than that, and you risk injuring the port permanently.
5. If you notice that your toothpick is picking up some grime or knocking out debris, stop and switch to interdental brushes or canned air if possible.

You will be surprised to see how much junk can get stuck in the port. Connect the lightning cable with the charger and see if it works.

Alternative options for toothpicks include using a SIM-card tool, a small needle, or a bobby pin.

3. Get A Professional To Clean iPhone Charging Port

If you’re planning to make a trip and have a nearby Apple Store you can visit, this is the best option. An experienced professional will know how to clean iPhone charging port and will have a professional kit and tools that are best able to do the job (like tiny vacuum cleaners).

Top of all, an Apple Store should clean your iPhone charging port and get your device working again for free of cost, so there’s no worrying about fees. If you don’t have an Apple Store nearby, you can take your iPhone into any repair shop that specializes in smartphone repairing, and they will be able to help you out.

Here are a few places to try. In many cases, these merchants will perform the task for free:

• Apple Store
• Watch Repair Shop
• Jeweler
• Battery Store
• iPhone Screen Repair Shop

Are you feeling annoyed at all these charging port problems? You could always switch to wireless charging, although a cable connection is usually for any large data transfers.

You can also use the methods mentioned above if your iPhone or iPad is stuck in headphone mode even though no headphones are plugged in. The same tips can also be used to clean the charging port and headphone jacks of Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone devices.

Proper iPhone & iPad Cleaning and Hygiene

To keep your iPhone or iPad in good shape and working order, it’s always a good idea to keep some useful cleaning kit and tools nearby, whether it’s for getting out the dirt in your charging port or just keeping the surface of the iPhone or other smartphones shiny and new, these are the iPhone charging port cleaner and cleaning kit I use.

If you find that your iPhone is not charging or it is displaying unusual charging behavior like being selective about the charging cables that work, its charging port might be dirty. This is a problem that you can fix quite quickly at home. The methods and tips included in this article on how to clean iPhone charging port will help you to do it yourself.