If your iPhone or Samsung phone suddenly refuses to charge or power on, you’re not alone – these issues are extremely common frustrations among smartphone users worldwide.
Whether your device refuses to turn on at all after being fully charged the night before or it just won’t seem to charge past 1% no matter how long you leave it plugged in, not being able to use your phone can seriously disrupt your day.
In this helpful guide, we will walk through several simple troubleshooting steps to identify and fix phones that are inexplicably not charging or powering on.
Specifically, we will cover checking the charging port and cable for dirt or damage, which is often the culprit, resetting or power cycling the device to potentially resolve software glitches, and sending it in for professional diagnostics and repair as a last resort if needed. Repeatedly checking the charging port and cable is a good starting point, as debris is a frequent cause of charging issues with iPhones and Galaxy phones.
Check the Charging Port and Cable
The first troubleshooting step to try is inspecting and cleaning the charging port and cable thoroughly. Over time, daily use can cause buildup of microscopic debris like lint, dust particles, pocket fuzz, or sand that accumulates inside the small, fragile charging port.
This foreign material prevents the metal contacts in the port from making solid connection with the charging cable. Start by carefully examining the port against a bright light source at different angles to spot any obstruction in the port. If you see debris, use compressed air to gently blow it out. Hold the can 6-12 inches away and blow short bursts until clean.
If any debris remains lodged in hard to access areas, use the ultra-fine point of a wooden toothpick or popped floss pick to brush it away. Take care not to force or insert anything deep inside to avoid damage.
Inspect your current charging cable as well for bent pins, broken connections, or worn ports before trying an alternative cable to eliminate it as the cause. Thoroughly cleaning out the charging port is often the quick fix smartphones need.
Reset or Power Cycle the Device
If cleaning out the charging port and cable did not solve the charging or power issues, the next troubleshooting step is to reset the device through a force restart. This process can help clear buggy software or cache files that may be interfering with normal operation.
With iPhones, hold down both the Volume Down and Side buttons at the same time until the Apple logo appears. Continue holding for approximately 15 seconds, then release the buttons once you see the screen change.
For Samsung Galaxy phones, press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons together until the device vibrates twice, signalling a reboot. You can also access an additional power menu by holding the power button alone until a restart prompt displays.
Letting the phone completely shut off and remain unplugged for one minute enacts a true hard reset by fully depleting any residual charge left inside. Give it time to power back on normally once reconnected to its charger. If neither reset option works to resolve the problem, it may require a new battery replacement to fix charging or power issues in the long run.
Send It In for Professional Repair or Replacement
If all the troubleshooting steps outlined have been exhausted without resolving the charging or power issues, then it’s likely there is an underlying hardware fault needing professional attention. At this point, it is best to contact the device manufacturer directly or an authorised repair centre for a thorough diagnosis and repair estimate. Factory-trained technicians have the skills, tools, and certification required to carefully disassemble smartphones and systematically test individual components like the charging port, battery contacts, and logic board.
Common fixes conducted by pros include replacing aging batteries that can no longer hold a charge, repairing cracked or corroded charging ports not making solid connection, and servicing defective power buttons that prevent the device from powering on.
For phones that fail to power on at all even when plugged in, an affordable out-of-warranty replacement of the deceased motherboard may bring it back to life. While inconvenient, professional servicing offers high success rates and reassurance that your valuable device is inspected and repaired properly using genuine OEM parts.
Ask about any warranty or insurance coverage as well as out-of-pocket costs for repairs versus alternative options like upgrading to a new phone if issues prove unresolvable. With care and expertise, authorised repair centres can often revive balky devices rather than replacements becoming necessary.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed a systematic process for identifying and resolving common power and charging issues affecting Samsung phones and iPhones. The first troubleshooting option reviewed was thoroughly inspecting and cleaning out the small charging port, where dust or debris frequently causes connection faults preventing charging.
We then covered resetting or rebooting devices through specific button combinations to potentially clear glitches blocking normal function. Finally, we outlined when professional diagnosis and repair may be necessary for underlying component failures beyond do-it-yourself solutions. With methodical testing of each component and part, authorised centres can determine fixes that keep devices operational longer, versus replacement being the only option.
