From broken power cables to old, faulty plugs to damaged charging ports on your phone, there are several reasons why your iPhone or Android phone no longer starts charging when you plug the power cable into the USB-C port. Some of these issues can be fixed simply by trying a different charging cable or plug, while others may be more difficult – or more expensive – to fix.
A common reason for faulty charging is simply that your phone’s charging port is clogged with lint, dirt, and other debris from inside your pocket, and all that compacted junk is preventing your cable from connecting properly.
This can easily happen with any charging port, whether it’s Lightning on the iPhone 14 Pro or older iPhones, or USB-C on the most recent iPhone 17 lineup and Android phones like the Google Pixel 10 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
However, this is one of the simplest and cheapest charging issues to fix. Here’s how.
Why is my charging port blocked?
There’s no cover over your phone’s charging port, which means it’s exposed to the dust, dirt, and debris it encounters. Every time you slip your phone into your pocket, your phone will be susceptible to lint in your pocket, and if, like me, you have trash-filled pockets from accidentally washing your jeans with old receipts in the pockets, then that’s asking for trouble. And that’s without mentioning the cookie crumbs. Don’t ask me why I have cookie crumbs in my pockets.
Day after day this won’t be much of a problem, but those tiny bits of dust and lint will build up inside your charging port over the months or years you have your phone, compacting and accumulating every time you plug in your charging cable until it forms a solid barrier that keeps your charger out all the way and allows it to connect and charge.
A wooden cocktail stick is a great tool for this job because the wood won’t damage the internal parts.
If you’ve had your phone for more than a few months and gradually notice that the charger is becoming less and less stable (especially if you have to wiggle it to get it to start charging or the cable doesn’t fit all the way in), chances are dirt in your port is the cause.
How to clean your phone’s charging port
Unclogging your phone port is simple. You’ll need a cocktail stick, toothpick, or other thin object that you can stick into the port to scrape off the gunk. Wood or plastic are better, as they are less likely to scratch anything inside and cause damage. I did this using a metal SIM card removal tool and the pin on the back of an earring, and while it worked well, it’s not the most secure option for your phone.
Insert your tool of choice into the charging port until it goes no further and gently begin scraping. With an old iPhone’s Lightning port, you can scratch back and forth, but with USB-C you’ll have to scratch around the charging connector, which is in the middle of the port.
Put it in there.
Eventually, you will begin to loosen the compacted debris and then remove it from the port. It’s a satisfying process, and you might be surprised how much stuff actually comes out. Work gently around the sides of the port as well, but be careful not to scratch the metal charging connectors too hard.
Soon you will have just about everything out. It’s hard to know for sure if you got rid of everything because it’s hard to see inside the port, even if you have good light handy. But once you’ve cleared a good amount of debris, you can try your charging cable again.
It’s satisfying to remove debris from your phone’s charging port.
Hopefully it will plug in more securely and start charging. If not, continue trying to extract more dirt and then test the charger again. If this still doesn’t solve the problem, it’s time to consider other solutions like a new cable or charger.
