My iPhone's Lightning Port Works, BUT Will Not Charge Once Turned On?

[JonLee]

I’m having the most bizarre problem. (I have posted this in a few other forums to no avail -- hopefully y'all can help!)

My headphones work perfectly when I plug them into the lightning jack — they never get disconnected, or have any issue whatsoever. But when I unplug the headphones and plug in the charging cable, nothing happens!

I tried resetting the phone — no dice.

Next I tried plugging the charger into other iPhones and it worked immediately — so the cable isn’t the problem. Finally, I tried turning my phone off and plugging the cable in — within mere moments, the phone turned back on, so it is clearly recognizing the cable. Indeed, I turned the phone off with 33% battery and when it turned back on it had 40%, so the cable is working — and the iPhone’s hardware is still functioning — but for some reason the software seems to not recognize the cable whenever the phone is turned on and, therefore, I can’t charge my phone properly.

Any advice? What is going on?

 

[0128672]

It helps to know whether you're using an official Apple charging cable or a third-party cable (and if so, which one).

 

[JonLee]

It helps to know whether you're using an official Apple charging cable or a third-party cable (and if so, which one).

I'm using an UNofficial cable. I hate to admit that I do not remember the name of it -- the cable was a gift. It is, however, working consistently with all other devices and, again, it charges the phone well so long as it is turned off...

(Edit: added "UN," my apologies.)

 

[0128672]

I'm using an official cable. I hate to admit that I do not remember the name of it -- the cable was a gift. It is, however, working consistently with all other devices and, again, it charges the phone well so long as it is turned off...

It's definitely behaving oddly. When you say you reset the phone, which reset option was it?

 

[JonLee]

It's definitely behaving oddly. When you say you reset the phone, which reset option was it?

I have not done a full factory reset yet -- so far I have only done full shutdown and closed applications.

Just tested again, btw. The iPhone was at 11% when I turned it off. I let it sit, plugged into the charger for a few minutes and when I turned it back on it was at 36%.

So the battery and the cable are both functioning properly.

 

[0128672]

I have not done a full factory reset yet -- so far I have only done full shutdown and closed applications.

Just tested again, btw. The iPhone was at 11% when I turned it off. I let it sit, plugged into the charger for a few minutes and when I turned it back on it was at 36%.

So the battery and the cable are both functioning properly.

I'd recommend first trying reset all settings before you do an erase and restore. Do you have Applecare+?

Edit: Have you tested with a different Apple cable?

 

[JonLee]

I'd recommend first trying reset all settings before you do an erase and restore. Do you have Applecare+?

Edit: Have you tested with a different Apple cable?

Okay, I did a reset of all setting. This did nothing. This is immensely frustrating. I'm going to have to leave the phone off for a few hours and see if that charges it fully.

I do not have Applecare. I live in Mexico City and this phone was second-hand.

I have also not tested it with a different cable yet because I do not have another one -- though I will try that tomorrow if I can...

 

[7thson]

It’s a long shot but worth a try: clean the lightning port out with compressed air if you have it or if not very very carefully with a wooden toothpick. If there is lint stuck in there it could be interfering with the charging contacts.
I don’t know why turning the phone off would help, since as soon as you plug in a lightning cable it will turn back on. Or is the phone actually not turning on when you plug it in?
Ultimately I suspect the 3rd party cable at this time. I have had an Anker and an Apple cable both stop charging omnidirectionally, i.e. the cable only charges when oriented one way. Neither cable shows any wear, but both had been used with a car adapter.

 

[ian87w]

It’s a long shot but worth a try: clean the lightning port out with compressed air if you have it or if not very very carefully with a wooden toothpick. If there is lint stuck in there it could be interfering with the charging contacts.
I don’t know why turning the phone off would help, since as soon as you plug in a lightning cable it will turn back on. Or is the phone actually not turning on when you plug it in?
Ultimately I suspect the 3rd party cable at this time. I have had an Anker and an Apple cable both stop charging omnidirectionally, i.e. the cable only charges when oriented one way. Neither cable shows any wear, but both had been used with a car adapter.

Great tips.
- Clean the port
- use a different cable with official Mfi cert
- also use the official charger, or a USB-PD charger.

 

[JonLee]

It’s a long shot but worth a try: clean the lightning port out with compressed air if you have it or if not very very carefully with a wooden toothpick. If there is lint stuck in there it could be interfering with the charging contacts.
I don’t know why turning the phone off would help, since as soon as you plug in a lightning cable it will turn back on. Or is the phone actually not turning on when you plug it in?
Ultimately I suspect the 3rd party cable at this time. I have had an Anker and an Apple cable both stop charging omnidirectionally, i.e. the cable only charges when oriented one way. Neither cable shows any wear, but both had been used with a car adapter.

Thanks so much for your advice. A couple answers to your questions.

If I plug the charger in before I turn the phone off, and then leave it plugged in, it does not turn on automatically. If I leave it that way for a couple hours it will still fully charge -- so the port is working and it recognizes the charger is plugged in before I turn it off (otherwise, it would, as you say, turn on automatically as it does when the phone is plugged in after being turned off.)

I've cleaned the port pretty thoroughly already and this did not help. I'm going to try another cable -- but again, the cable works fine with other phones and works fine with this phone when it is turned off.

I'm going to try another cable as soon as I can -- I have not had time in the past few days as work has been hectic. Since the phone charges when turned completely off I've simply had to do that a couple times a day to get the phone charged up. It is a pain but seems to work.

Part of me wonders if the issue stems from the knock-off lightning port headphones I bought a couple weeks prior. Since they are powered through the lightning port (and are cheap) perhaps they have got the phone assuming that anything plugged into the port right now is the headphones?

I don't know. It's frustrating to say the least. When I've tried a new cable I will report back.

 

[Tug83535]

Did you ever figure out this issue? I’m having the same issue. Phone into chargers when dead and everything else yours was doing. I’ve tried all different chargers like Anker/apple etc and all the same. Was going to take to Apple or upgrade but wasn’t sure what was going on with it before paying up. Thanks