For the unlucky few, try as you might, sometimes the iPhone simply refuses to charge. You’ll hold your breath for a few seconds while the charging light is on, only to be disappointed once it flickers off.
How to stop your iPhone from charging on and off? Check that your charging cable isn’t loose or damaged, clear the charging port from the dust/debris, use Apple original charger block and cable, make sure that your phone’s OS is up to date, kill the usbd process, try a different wall outlet/USB charging port, use a USB hub. Restart your iPhone to get rid of any software glitches.
There are things you can do to ensure that your iPhone doesn’t charge on and off, and most of them can be taken care of in a day’s time.
Why Does My iPhone Keep Charging On and Off?
There are a few main reasons why this annoying thing might be happening to you, but luckily most of the solutions are pretty straightforward.
Check the cable connection. Your iPhone will charge on and off if it’s unable to stay connected with whatever power source you are using. If you are charging with a cable, make sure that your cable is not frayed, and that it is securely plugged into your device.
Get an original cable/charger. If your cable happens to be from a third-party vendor, it may not fit as snugly into your iPhone as official cables, so you may need to prop the phone up and visually confirm that your phone is charging. You should be able to see the battery mark appear, indicating that the device is receiving power from an external source.
Adjust the angle of the charger. If you are charging your iPhone with a wireless or remote charger, there are a few reasons why it might be charging on and off. There might be some interference between your device and charger, which you need to address. It might be an issue of the angle or point of contact. Playing around to locate the best position for charging is the way to go.
Why Does My iPhone Keep Charging On and Off on Mac?
If your iPhone can’t stay connected to your Mac computer, the issue likely has something to do with your cable connection as well.
- First, just as before, remember to check that your cable is securely plugged into your device. Don’t forget that in this scenario, you’ve also got to ensure that your Mac isn’t the issue.
If you find that you’re unable to charge your iPhone without pause on your Mac, one way to confirm if your computer is the issue is to charge your iPhone from a different port and see if there isn’t a different result.
- Third-party cables may also be the culprit in this scenario. Along with charging the device, plugging in your device to your Mac is another way to access and update your iPhone. Non-Apple cables and accessories may not be able to connect your iPhone successfully, even if it is able to charge it off of the Mac.
How to Stop the iPhone From Charging On and Off?
There are a number of solutions involving both hardware and software that can help to stop your iPhone from charging on and off.
1. Get an original cable/charger
The simplest method might be replacing the accessories that you are currently using to charge your iPhone, namely your cable. Particularly if you are using a third-party cable, it’s advisable to replace it with an official cable from Apple. Also, as discussed earlier, don’t forget to make sure that your cables are in working condition.
Although it is a bit of an investment, especially if you were able to purchase your charge cables on the cheap from another source, it’s a worthy buy.
2. Use USB hub
Try connecting your iPhone and Mac/PC through the USB hub, it might help to solve the issue.
3. Keep your devices updated
One issue that might also impact your iPhone charging on and off is the version of iOS your iPhone is running on. It’s always a good habit to keep your iPhone updated to the latest version, and it’s another point that you can check if your iPhone is acting up while being charged.
4. Kill the usbd process
To do this, plug in your phone>open the Activity Monitor app>Search for “usbd”>click Quit>Force Quit.
5. Restart your device
Restarting your device is another solution to consider. You can force restart your iPhone to confirm if your iPhone simply needed a gentle bump to restore itself to normal functionality.
When charging from your Mac, don’t forget to try all of these fixes with your computer as well. Restarting your computer, not using third-party cables, and keeping your Mac updated with the latest iOS should be a regular part of your list of things to check while you’re troubleshooting.
6. Keep your devices clean
Finally, remember to keep your workspace clean, which also includes your cables and the physical docks in your iPhone and computer. Dust and other debris can affect connectivity, even if it might seem trivial to you personally.
7. Try a different charging port
Sometimes it’s just the charging port on your PC/Mac that is faulty, not the charger or the cable. So try using a different USB charging port on your computer or a different wall outlet if you are charging via cable.
Will the iPhone Stop Charging When Full?
The short answer is yes. Your iPhone will stop charging when it reaches 100%.
If you keep your phone plugged in overnight, your phone may drop down from 100% to 99% at some point during the next. When this happens, since it is still plugged into a power source, it will once again power back up to 100%.
Since it can’t stay fully charged at 100% for a long time, your phone’s battery level will continue to stay between 99% and 100% for the entire evening. Essentially, this means that your iPhone’s battery is continuing to work and being charged and recharged for hours.
While, yes, it’s true that your iPhone will stop charging when full, the longer answer is that after it stops charging, it enters a cycle of charging and dropping charge until it is unplugged from its power source.
Does the iPhone Charge Faster When Off?
Your iPhone’s charge speed will not increase dramatically if your phone is off. However, there are benefits to turning your phone off while it is charging.
With the number of operations that smartphones today have to run, it is draining power. If you want to speed up the time that it took to charge your phone, turning it off and reducing the number of open applications that you were using might play a difference.
Our phones have become an essential part of how we operate during our day, and not being able to charge it would be, well, paradigm-shifting in all the wrong ways. With a fresh, clean cable and routine software checks, hopefully, that’s not an issue that you’ll ever have to face.
Conclusion
I’ve done my best to cover all the potential reasons, and, more importantly, solutions to help you tackle the problem of your iPhone charging on and off, hope that helped.
I’ve been working with technology in one way or the other all my life. After graduating from university, I worked as a sales consultant for Verizon for a few years. Now I am a technical support engineer by day and write articles on my own blog here in my spare time to help others if they have any issues with their devices.
