You plugged your iPhone on before bed only to wake up and it didn’t charge at all. If this has happened to you, the problem could be a dirty lightning port. If you keep your phone in your pocket, lint can easily be a clogging culprit. But no matter where your phone hangs out the most routinely checking and cleaning the port can help keep you fully charged.
The inside of the port has small pins in it that can be easily damaged. To minimize the chance of damage and increase your cleaning success use a flashlight to ensure you have enough light to see into the port.
Follow these steps to gently clean the port.
Step 1. Power your iPhone down / Turn Off
Step 2. Take a flashlight and shine light into the port to identify clogged areas, or you can also do the cleaning in a brightly lit area.
Step 3. Use a wooden* toothpick to scrape dirt very carefully from the port. Tip: you can wrap a bit of cloth like cotton or microfiber, preferably something that does not shed fibers, on the end of the toothpick to swab the port.

*NEVER use any metal or wet materials inside the port to clean. Those materials can easily damage the port.
Apple discourages using canned air to dislodge dirt from the port for multiple reasons. The aerosol is incredibly cold and can cause damage, and if too much is used it can create a moisture build up in the port. You also run the risk of packing the debris into the port more tightly. A better option would be to use a vacuum made for electronics to suck the debris out.
If clogs happen to you frequently then you might look into getting a cell phone cleaning kit. There are different accessories you can try ranging from a set of soft-tipped swabs in a lightning port shape to a 6-piece tool kit that promises to clean and restore.
More than just another task to add to the chore wheel, keeping your iPhone’s lightning port clear can keep your iPhone powered and make sure you have a fully charged morning.
Help your Friends and Family discover this helpful tip about Safely Cleaning Charging Ports by using the Share Buttons below… I really appreciate you spreading the word about my Free Daily iPhone Tips! 🙂
Good general info
There is no Share button below. ; (
you can share most anything, by using the “box with the arrow pointing-up” symbol, at the bottom of your screen-it’s the middle symbol. You know, where the “forward/backward”, and the “bookmark”, and the safari” pages”
symbols are? get rid of your keyboard, they’re
always there! Hope that this helps 😉