Phone won't charge? Six fixes to try before you book a repair

'My phone won't charge' is the fault we're asked about most — and the one most likely to cost you nothing to fix. Around half of charging problems are lint, cables or software. Work through these six checks in order; if you reach the end, the repair you then book will be the right one.

1. Look in the port (seriously)

A charging port is a pocket-facing cavity that spends its life being packed with lint, one insertion at a time. Shine a torch in: if you can't see the metal pins clearly at the back, that's your fault right there. Power off and gently tease the lint out with a wooden toothpick or a dry soft brush — never anything metal, never compressed air at close range. It's astonishing what comes out of a two-year-old phone.

2–4. Cable, adapter, socket

Test a different cable — they die invisibly, fraying inside intact insulation. Then a different adapter, then a different wall socket. Swap one variable at a time and you'll isolate the culprit in two minutes. Cheap unbranded cables are the serial killers here: they deliver marginal power that charges slowly, intermittently, then not at all.

5. Restart, and check for software oddities

A restart clears the software states that occasionally block charging. While you're there: on iPhone, check Settings → Battery → Charging for 'optimised charging' holds; a phone that's very hot or very cold will also lawfully refuse to charge until its temperature normalises. And if the phone is completely flat, leave it plugged in for 15 minutes before judging — deeply discharged batteries take time to show signs of life.

6. Try wireless charging — the perfect diagnostic

If your phone charges wirelessly but not by cable, you've just diagnosed a port fault with certainty. A charging-port replacement is one of the quicker fixes on our bench — from £59 depending on model, usually same-day, with a 90-day warranty on the part and the work.

If it won't charge by either route, the battery itself is the likelier suspect — especially if battery health reads below 80% or the phone dies suddenly at 20–30%. A battery replacement from £49 resets the clock entirely.