In the modern world, a smartphone is an essential thing, so when a favorite gadget is charging slowly or refuses to get switched on at all, it becomes a real problem.

We think how to charge our gadget especially when we are in a hurry, in the middle of nowhere or need to make an urgent call. Suddenly you realize that your phone is not charging correctly or not charging at all.

Before you take it to a service center, check your phone for the possible problems. The charging recovery procedure is a quite straight-forward process and making it is an essential skill for your phone first aid.

In case your phone is charging slowly or not charging at all when plugged in, there are two types of causes that might happen with the phone: something is wrong with the hardware, meaning with phone battery, charger, cable, power source, or it might be a temporary phone software crash.

If your phone does not start to charge automatically, see the checklist below to find out the issue and eliminate the disruption. In most cases, you can fix it by yourself, without any expert assistance.

First of all, let’s thoroughly examine the accompanying equipment.
Follow these steps and try to charge after each step once again:

1. POWER OUTLET

You might have three sources of power:

• power outlet,
• computer or
• USB power hub like a docking station.

Problems with the electricity wiring usually happen due to damage to power lines
or just old electrical wires in the house.

Try to disconnect cheap devices from the outlets around the house, this may be the solution to frequent electrical surges and well explain why gadgets are not charging correctly.

If it does not help, try to change the power source connecting to a different wall outlet or to a computer. Professional instructions suggest you use a USB power adaptor. If your phone battery starts to recharge means the issue is in the power source you used previously.

Sometimes phone USB socket gets dirty. In this case, open the phone, remove the battery and clean the phone socket with a pin. Be delicate in this process. Better blowing some air through the charging port rather than sticking anything like a pencil or wooden toothpick.

In some cases, a gadget’s firmware or input change can be helpful, but it can only be done by a professional after he examines the device and fixes the problem.

If you charge your phone wirelessly, check

• A charging mat is connected to power.
• There is nothing between your phone and the charger,
• remove cover case, especially magnetic or thick one,
• make sure magnetic strips and RFID chips on the mat are not damaged.

Note that your phone doesn’t charge wirelessly if your phone is powered via USB cable. Your device starts charging when you see a green light near the battery sign on your phone screen.

2. CHARGER ADAPTER & CABLES

Try to use another wall adapter and cable to charge the phone. Make sure the charging ware is suitable for your model of smartphone, sometimes the inputs look similar, but the charging port does not have firm contact with the device.

Adapter and/or cable might be broken itself. Check its integrity, it may be damaged. Pay particular attention to the charging port. It could get defective due to continuous inputs of the charger port. Even minor defects may affect the recharging speed.

Do not use broken or cheap cables, it might be dangerous for your phone electronics as well. If you find any signs of faulty bend prong on plug or damage of the input port, stop using it, better buy a brand-new authorized adaptor and/or cable in the nearest store.

If the phone still does not turn on make sure that the USB port has a firm connection with the device. Check whether the connector orientation is correct.

Sometimes you just put the plug wrongly into the port. Happens even with the best of us.

Take the case off, it might also prevent the firm power cable connection and slow down the recharging process.

Phone USB cables get defective very quickly due to careless storage and usage.

Here are some basic rules on how to make USB cables live longer:

• Do not wrap a cord too tight of an acute angle in order not to damage cable inside.
• Gently insert in and pull the cable out of your phone.
• Strengthen the USB cable cord.

It might happen your phone says it does not support the accessories – either it is a defective accessory, or there is a phone software update. Check if you have the latest version.

If there is an update available, your smartphone will suggest downloading it. Follow the instructions before you install a brand-new operating system version on your device.

3. BATTERY CONDITION

If you noticed that your battery takes a longer time to recharge than usual or it loses power faster than before, the problem of your phone not charging or charging slowly might be in the battery.

You have to buy a new one or even turn to a professional. The thing is many smartphone models have a built-in battery which means that you will not be able to replace it yourself.

To extend battery lifespan, you better use these useful tips:

• Try not to charge or discharge your phone entirely.
• Use regular slow charger through the night and a fast charger to recharge the battery up to 50% during the day.
• Don’t use your phone while recharging with a quick charger.

Avoid extreme temperatures for your smartphone. Ensure you do not overheat your phone battery charging through the night, for example, under a pillow.  Remove your device from over cases that generate heat. Keep your phone in a cooler place and do not warm it up to 60°C or so.

If you follow these rules, phone battery should work perfectly.

4. SOFTWARE UPDATES

Usually, newer software versions are optimized to handle the charging process and save battery energy. Old software may cause glitches due to the storage of unwanted data and massive files.

Try to close all applications and other services on your phone, clear device cache and update software in the “Settings” => “Storage” area of your phone.

Undoubtedly it will stop overloading current operations, save the battery energy and speed up the charging process.

It sometimes happens that the phone shows charging, but does not charge, and even after several hours of recharging the battery stays at zero. To overcome this error, try to restart your phone.

How to restart your smartphone:

• Press the power button of your phone
• Close / Restart your phone as shown on the screen
• If the phone does not reboot, press Power button and Home button simultaneously for 15-20 seconds

At this point, your phone should reboot and start recharging automatically,

In extreme cases, you might need to factory reset your device. Be sure to back-up your data. Use cloud storage or external disk space to keep photos and memories. When performing a factory reset, all your settings and contents wipe off.

I recommend consulting the technical specialist before completing the factory reset process.

5. POWER SAVING APPs

To save battery energy and control power usage, check power saving apps in your app store. Indeed, these apps help your phone battery charge faster and run longer. You can customize the app to your needs and schedule operating modes.

Using one of these apps definitely will automatically manage phone wi-fi connectivity, screen brightness and timeout time, close unwanted apps and phone functions that drain battery power.

Please note, that solving issues with charging iPhones and/or iPads is a bit different.