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iphonefreak450

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 14, 2014
839
154
I am using the same charging adapter that came from my previous phone which was an iPhone 10s.

This problem is, whenever I plug the lightning cable to my iPhone 12 Mini, it makes the first charging sound letting me know that it is beginning to charge. However, I noticed this morning (or maybe it did this in the past, cannot remember), that after a while it alerted me with the same charging sound after about 40% of charge. Then when I moved my phone it did the same thing. The lightning cable has no damage and it is clean. Sometimes, the charging port does get some lint or dirt because I wear jeans. I also have an Apple Leather case that is aligned well with the charging port and is not blocked off by the case.

I am confused, is it the cable, dirt in the charging port, or the charging adaptor?
Should I buy another lightning cable to see and test?

As I writing this, the phone is still charging at 73% and no charging alert sound at the moment. It it the alert sounds below or up to 40%.

Have you experienced this issue as well?
 
Yeah I’ve noticed this as well and it’s a latest development since the last couple of iOS updates. I know my cable is absolutely fine as well.
 
If the cable is moved at all during charging, it can break the connection in the Lightning port and momentarily interrupt the charge. If the port is dirty, this can happen often. If the port is worn, it'll happen all the time.
 
Just ordered a lightning cable and waiting for it to arrive.

And is it normal when for example I plug in the lightning cable to my phone and the charging alert appears after about 15 seconds? Again, this also happens randomly where I plug the cable to my phone and instantly its letting me know that the phone is charging and sometimes there is a delay like around 15 to 30 seconds.
 
I'd be trying to clean the port on the phone, you'd be surprised how much stuff gets in there and then gets compressed down by cables being plugged in all the time. I had an iPhone 5 years ago and was at the point of taking it to Apple to get it checked as i had to bend cables to strange angles to get it to charge. Someone suggested cleaning it out with a toothpick or similar and i pulled out loads of dust, lint etc. Once i did that it charged with no problems at all. I now make a point of cleaning the port every now and then to keep it clean.
 
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Just ordered a lightning cable and waiting for it to arrive.

And is it normal when for example I plug in the lightning cable to my phone and the charging alert appears after about 15 seconds? Again, this also happens randomly where I plug the cable to my phone and instantly its letting me know that the phone is charging and sometimes there is a delay like around 15 to 30 seconds.
15 seconds is too long...charging alert usually appears under 5 seconds for me.
 
Look for debris in the charge port. If you think it’s clean then try to do a hard reset.
 
It's hard to see deep inside the port. I found that using a strong magnifying glass and bright flashlight beaming down into it allowed me to see what was really going on inside the port (broken side retaining spring)
 
So what would be the best way to clean the lightning port without damaging the connection springs?

Please explain.

Thanks
 
So what would be the best way to clean the lightning port without damaging the connection springs?

Please explain.

Thanks

There’s no connection springs in there. It’s not like the old USB ports. Just use a plastic or wooden toothpick and poke around.
 
On each side of the Lightning port there is a spring tab that holds the plug in place. You can feel them when inserting the plug and it clicks into place. On each side of the Lightning plug there is a small divot. The spring tabs grab those and lock the plug in place.
If one of the spring tabs inside the port gets busted, the spring tab on the other side pushes the plug slightly sideways, misaligning the pins and since there isn't an opposing force (from the now broken tab) the plug fits loosely inside the port - and doesn't make a secure connection to the pins.

A wooded toothpick is fine to clean dust out. Just be careful.

image.png
 
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Since I am using the same electrical wall outlet to charge my phones, I can try to use a different outlet. Maybe the electrical current is different than the other outlets in my house. In addition, I have one power strip as well that I can try. I am not an electrician, so it is just a guess.
 
On each side of the Lightning port there is a spring tab that holds the plug in place. You can feel them when inserting the plug and it clicks into place. On each side of the Lightning plug there is a small divot. The spring tabs grab those and lock the plug in place.
If one of the spring tabs inside the port gets busted, the spring tab on the other side pushes the plug slightly sideways, misaligning the pins and since there isn't an opposing force (from the now broken tab) the plug fits loosely inside the port - and doesn't make a secure connection to the pins.

A wooded toothpick is fine to clean dust out. Just be careful.

View attachment 1777436

Thanks for that, didn’t realise those tabs are spring driven.
 
Update:

I plugged in the new lighting cable to my phone and this time there was a delay as well but not as long as the one before using the previous cable. I would say a delay of about 5 to 7 seconds after inserting the cable to the connection port.

I will try another wall outlet to see if that is causing the issue. My guess, is that my maybe the wall outlet that I am using has a slower electrical current flow.

But the good news is, that at least it is charging without any interruptions.
 
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