How To Clean iPhone Charging Port At Home?-【Easy Tips】
The lightning port of an iPhone attracts debris from our jeans pocket or even couch and mattress.
Once a layer of dust is formed around the inside wall of the lightning port, due to this your iPhone stops charging or may face intermittent charging issue.
Is your iPhone isn’t charging or charging very slowly? A layer of dust and debris might be blocking the current flow.
You can clean your iPhone’s charging port without damaging it. Just be gentle and follow the correct procedure written in this tutorial.
Contents
- 1 Why is My iPhone Charging Port Dirty?
- 2 How To Clean an iPhone Charging Port Without Breaking It
- 3 How To Clean iPhone Charging Port Without Toothpick
- 4 How To Clean iPhone Charging With Toothbrush
- 5 How To Clean iPhone Charging Port With Alcohol
- 6 Can You Clean iPhone Charging Port With Paperclip?
- 7 Conclusion
Why is My iPhone Charging Port Dirty?
A common reason why an smartphone charging port clogs is dust and debris in out jeans pocket or dust on the couch or bed. Also, moisture and dust particles in the air accumulates around the inside wall of charging phone that prevent the current flow, as a result our smartphone battery won’t charge.
It often noticed with Apple’s lightning port that get clogged with dust and debris and device charges slowly.
It’s recommended to always put your iPhone on a clean surface and clean it regularly with soft fabric and alcohol based cleaner.
Also Read: How To Fix iPhone 13 Pro Max Not Charging
How To Clean an iPhone Charging Port Without Breaking It
You need a LED torch or bright bulb to visually inspect the charging port. If you notice any dust particle inside the wall of lightning port, follow these methods to clean it-
1- Power OFF Your iPhone
Before proceeding to cleaning process, you should ensure that your iPhone is powered off. Because, touching any hardware parts on your iPhone could lead to motherboard fault.
Follow these steps to power off your iPhone-
Method #1

- Press and hold Power and Volume Up button together for 3 seconds.
- Right swipe the Power Off Slider.
- Wait for 10 seconds and your iPhone will be power off.
Method #2

- Go to Settings.
- Tap on General.
- Scroll down and tap on Shut Down.
- Now swipe right the Power Off slider.
2- Use Toothpick

The easiest way to remove debris out of your lightning port is a toothpick. However, you have to be very gentle and careful while removing any stucked debris from your iPhone charging port.
Simply put the toothpick inside the Apple’s lightning port and remove the dust and debris out of it.
Be careful while removing iPhone’s charging port dust with toothpick and ensure that you don’t apply force while cleaning it.
Also Read: How To Fix iPhone That Won’t Charge Past 80
3- Use Compressed Air

Now, you can use a can of compressed air to blow out dust out of your iPhone’s lightning port. Ensure that, you don’t apply too much pressure otherwise dust can go inside the motherboard.
4- Use Cotton Swab and Alcohol

Once you blown out the dust with compressed air, use a cotton swab partially dipped into rubbing alcohol (70% isopropyl alcohol solution) and gently clean the inside wall of lightning port.
5- Let it Dry
Isopropyl alcohol vaporise quickly but I recommend you to leave your iPhone for at least 20 to 30 minutes before plugging in the charger.
Once your iPhone’s charging port is dries and all alcohol is vaporised, now you can charge it.
Also Read: How To Fix iPhone 12 Not Charging
How To Clean iPhone Charging Port Without Toothpick
Are you worried of cleaning your iPhone charging port with toothpick? Don’t worry, you can use a toothbrush or cotton swab to remove debris from the charging port.
After removing debris with toothbrush, use canned air duster to blow out dust particles from the port.
Also Read: How To Fix iPhone 8 That Won’t Charge
How To Clean iPhone Charging With Toothbrush
Cleaning an iPhone lightning port with toothbrush is easy. You should have a dry and clean toothbrush.
Insert the toothbrush bristels inside the lightning port and swipe the toothbrush head right. Repeat the process until your charging port is cleaned.
Now, use a canned air to blow of dust out of the charging port or use the corner of handkerchief to clean out dust particles.
Also Read: 5 Methods To Fix iPhone XS Charging Issue
How To Clean iPhone Charging Port With Alcohol
Alcohol-based cleaning solutions removes stains and sticky dust easily. If your iPhone’s charging port is dirty, the easiest method to clean is an isoproly alcohol solution.
First power off your iPhone and dip a corner of handkerchief or cotton swab into an isopropyl alcohol solution. Now, gently clean the inside wall of your iPhone lightning port.
After cleaning your iPhone with alcohol solution, leave it for 20 to 30 minutes to completely vaporise the alcohol from the port.
Also Read: How To Fix iPhone 13 Not Charging
Can You Clean iPhone Charging Port With Paperclip?
Never insert any metals like paperclip, sim ejector tool, wires, knife or any hard objects in your iPhone lightning port. Metal object are hard and sharp while lightning port charging pins are made from copper and other soft material. If you insert paperclip or any metal object, it may damage your lightning port.
Also Read: How To Fix iPhone 11 Not Charging
Conclusion
It’s easy to clean an iPhone lightning port at home but you should be very careful with it. Always be gentle while removing debris out of your iPhone charging port. If your phone still don’t charge, take it to the nearest Apple care for repairing.