How to clean your iPhone's charging port

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There are several reasons why your iPhone might be having issues with charging. We've got a comprehensive guide on how to troubleshoot charging problems. You might have a bad cable or need to restore your software. You might even need to replace your charging port. Sometimes, though, the only problem with your charging port is that it's hella dirty.

How did my charging port get so dirty?

My experience: My significant other was having trouble getting his iPhone to charge properly. It would charge or uncharge randomly, and sometimes not at all. After determining that the issue was not a faulty cable, we went straight for the cleaning supplies.

His port was really packed with pocket lint. It had gathered dirt and debris over time, and he would push it against the back of the port every time he plugged in his charging cable. Eventually, there was a small wall of dirt that kept the charging cable from properly engaging with the pins inside the port. Hence, the charging issues.

Lesson learned: Before you spend a lot of time and money troubleshooting hardware or software charging issues, try cleaning the lint and gunk out of your port. There's a chance that you have everything you need right at home to clean it out.

What you need

You might think that a quick shot with compressed air will do the trick. Maybe, especially if you've only got a slight amount of dust in your charging port, but sometimes, cramming your Lightning cable into the port mashes the gunk in there so much that a spurt of air just doesn't do the trick. Plus, Apple recommends not using compressed air when cleaning your iPhone, so it's better to avoid the stuff altogether.

Luckily, the things you need to clean out your iPhone's charging port can probably be found lying around the house.

Flashlight - You'll need really good lighting to be able to see whether you've cleaned out the port enough. Even with a flashlight, it is still difficult to see into that tiny hole, but it helps. I used the flashlight feature on another iPhone since the light is bright and narrowly focused. It worked great.
Toothpicks - This is going to be your main cleaning tool. You'll need a couple in case you break one. Some people will tell you to use a paper clip or straight pin. I do not recommend shoving anything that hard or sharp into the charging port. Remember, there are little electronic pins in there. You don't want to scratch or otherwise damage them. A toothpick is more malleable, and so less likely to cause damage. Ideally, you should use flat toothpicks with rounded tips because there is zero sharpness in those.
Cotton (optional) - It's not a bad idea to have the tiniest bit of cotton on the tip of your toothpick to help cushion the cleaning process. Keep in mind, however, that you may need to actively scrape that port, and too much cotton will be unhelpful in such a case.
Patience - If you're lucky, you'll have all the grime, lint, and gunk cleaned out of your iPhone's charging port with just a couple of quick swipes. But, if you're at the point where your iPhone isn't even charging properly anymore, it's probably pretty mucked up, and you're going to have to spend some time and elbow grease cleaning it out.

Products used in this guide

Precision tool: GoodCo Flat Bamboo Toothpicks ($5)
Softening agent: 365 Everyday Value Organic Cotton Balls ($3)
Lighting source: SOS Solar Flashlight ($16)

How to clean your charging port

At first glance, you might not be able to see the built-up dirt in your port. Even with a flashlight, it can be difficult to see into that tiny chasm. The key is in poking and scraping very lightly until you've dislodged some dirt. Things get easier after that.

Note:Pay special care when cleaning around the charging pins, so you don't accidentally damage them. Otherwise, you might end up having to replace the port entirely, which is not a better position to be in.

Power off your iPhone.
If you're using cotton, place a toothpick on the cotton and twist until it catches and starts to wrap around the toothpick (Only use a small amount).
Holding your iPhone so the backside is facing up, place the toothpick inside the charging port.
Scrape against the back wall of the port.

This will take a lot of poking and scraping. Continue to do this until the debris starts to come loose. You'll see a bit of gunk come out on the toothpick.

Sometimes, you may need to carefully scrape the sides of the port, too. Debris can get lodged behind the spring-loaded anchors. Be careful not to damage the anchors.
Repeat step four until you're not pulling out any more debris.

You might have to blow into the port in-between scrapings to get some of the loose lint and dirt out of the way.

When you think you've cleaned the port out, connect your iPhone to the charging cable again and see if it worked. If not, repeat the steps above until it works, or until you've determined that the problem is not a dirty port, at which point, you can run through the troubleshooting steps.