Apple has been at the forefront of technology and technological innovation for years now. Founded in 1974, Apple products are ranked as the most premium and top-end products driving the world crazy whenever new products come into the market.
Today, Apple has an enviable image of a technological innovator whose products are excellent. Though the products are extremely good, at the end of the day it is electronic circuits and common problems like the iPad won’t charge or iPhone taking forever to charge can crop up.
The iPad won’t charge is a common cause of irritation not only among Apple customers but actually for all tablets and smartphones. For various reasons, the charging port and cable are always a weak point for these devices. If your iPad will not charge then basically you will be stuck with the world’s most expensive chopping board and sure you don’t want that to happen.
If you are racking your brain over the question ‘why won’t my iPad charge’ you should know:
- Whether your iPad has a lightning port or a 30-pin port, it is open to the air and thus vulnerable when it comes to dust and detritus. This can clog up the connections and the iPad says not charging.
- The head of a charging cable gets twisted and frayed.
- There may be a problem with the power outlet and you are unnecessarily crying my iPad won’t charge.
- There can be a problem with the battery unit.
So, there can be ‘n’ number of reasons why the iPad won’t charge. Let us see the ways to troubleshoot the problem before reaching out to Apple care as with nine out of ten cases it is a minor glitch, which can be easily taken care of.
Most of the time, it is a software issue that hardly takes any time to fix, but at times, it can be a hardware problem too with the dock connector. Before rushing to Apple Care, follow these troubleshooting techniques to ascertain if you really need their help.
Complete Solution if Your iPad won’t Charge
Check Basics
- If your iPad won’t charge, the very first thing that you should check is to switch outlets and ports. Sometimes, a particular port does not work or the socket you plugged in might be having some electrical problem. So, try a different plugin or a port.
- Double-check if the cable is plugged firmly and fully into the iPad.
- USB end is plugged firmly to the plug attachment and plugged to the wall outlet. Any side loose connection will result in no charging.
- Last but not least, do not forget to switch on the power outlet. It may sound stupid but happens.
Hard Reset
You try this because at times some bad bits get stuck and they can be flushed out by rebooting the iPad. To reboot it, you need to follow these steps:
- Press and hold down both the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time.
- Keep holding them down until you see an Apple logo.
- Release.
- Once rebooted, try again to charge.
Switch Cables
Once you have checked the basics and rebooted your iPad and still it is not charging try to figure out the problem in between. The switch cables that connect the device to the sockets are subjected to wear and tear by common usage.
Sometimes, we wrap the cables in the same manner for many days, resulting in them getting frayed and twisted. Other times, we use third-party cables and defects to catch up with them.
So, try a different cable and see if the problem lies there. Borrow one from your friend or colleague to check if the problem is with your cable.
Charging Through Mac
If you’re charging via a Mac then complaining that iPad not charging on PC is a common problem. It happens because charging via Mac and charging via power outlet can’t output the same wattage.
It is always slower through the Mac. As it is slower sometimes, ‘not charging’ status is seen at the top of the iPad screen.
If you still want to charge via a MacBook, make sure the MacBook itself is plugged in. Check the settings of the Mac too as there may be problems if the laptop is trying to preserve battery power.
Also, be sure to plug into the Mac itself rather than a USB-connected keyboard or similar.
Stop Using While Charging
If you are playing a game with high-end graphics while the iPad is charging then, it will take forever to charge. This is because any charge you gain will be set against the loss incurred through working the processor and screen.
In such cases, there is no problem anywhere, but the high graphics blitz a battery at approximately the same rate as the iPad is charging and sometimes even more.
Check the Plug Adaptor
Apple currently sells USB power adaptors in 5W (for iPhones and Apple watches), 12W (for iPads) and 29W (for laptops) ratings. But for the convenience of users, these adaptors are inter-compatible. Hence, an iPhone can be charged with an iPad charger and vice versa.
Though this is doable, it does affect the charging speed. Older iPhones can’t benefit from the 12W adapters, but the iPhone 6 and later can actually charge significantly faster with an iPad’s adapter – though the reverse is not true.
If you try to charge your iPad with iPhone’s 5W adaptor, it will result in a far slower charge.
Restore in iTunes
If these easy fixes don’t work, it is time to try restoring your iPad in iTunes. iTunes is a safer bet than iCloud because it actually offloads, re-installs, and reloads the data. That can help in shaking off loose bad bits that a hard reset or iCloud restore cannot do.
1 Connect your iPad to iTunes on your Mac.
2 Click on the Device tab at the top left.
3 Click on Backup.
4 Wait for the backup to finish.
5 Click on Restore
6 Wait for the restore to finish.
Once done, try to charge. If it is charging, your mission is accomplished; else it is time to call Apple Care.
