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iPad Won’t Charge? Try These Tips

Nobody wants to face an iPad that won’t charge, especially at the critical moments when we need to access our device most. Often, the iPad will fail to charge because there’s a problem with the USB cable, or because the USB port does not deliver enough power. Thankfully, it’s easy to solve this frustrating problem on your own.

If your iPad fails to charge, test each part of the charging process separately to determine the source of the problem. Your lightning cable, AC adapter, or lightning port could be to blame. Ensure that your iPad isn’t too hot or cold. You can also a force restart or updating your software.

Before visiting an Apple store for repairs, consider these solutions. It’s possible there’s a no-fuss DIY method of getting your iPad charging again. Let’s review some of the possible causes of why an iPad won’t charge and how to handle them.

Why Is My iPad Not Charging?

Woman hands plugging the charging cable in the port of a tablet device to charge the battery

As with any kind of problem, you start solving it by working through the potential causes. When your iPad fails to charge as expected, there are a number of possibilities to look out for.

You May Need a New Charging Cable

First, you should check if it’s the cable that’s damaged. A bad cable is one of the common reasons why your iPad can stop charging. The charging cable for your iPad should be in good condition, so no fraying, kinks, or sharp bends that could damage underlying wires.

Luckily replacement cables are pretty cheap, and keeping a stock of cable-protectors on hand like these (also on Amazon) will allow you to reenforce the part of the cable that’s most likely to fail.

If you have been using iOS devices, you probably have seen a good share of frayed cables, which appear predisposed to breaking, like when the outer sheath breaks because of repeated bending, exposing the wires to natural elements. If this describes your USB cable, then you need to get a replacement.

While some of the problems are visible to the naked eye, sometimes the cable will be damaged without showing signs. The wires can break while protected inside the sheath. This is common on inexpensive third-party cables, which spontaneously stop working, mostly because the regulator chip in the cable is damaged.

You cannot see this damage, so the recommendation is to try another cable and see if it works. Ideally, you should prefer an authorized cable by Apple designed to fit in your device.

Also, avoid cables that aren’t MFi-certified. These are often the cheap types you can find in the local convenience store. Generally, MFi-certified cables have conformed to Apple’s standards, so the quality is good.

Low-quality cables will sometimes overheat and could damage the internal components of the iPad. If your iPad displays a warning saying “This Accessory May Not Be Supported”, you could be using a cable that’s not recommended for your iPad.

Lastly, it’s worth checking if the iPad port or connector is bent or broken.

You May Need A New Charger

A damaged charger can also impede the flow of power to your iPad. If you have a third-party charger, it’s possible the charger is not up to Apple’s quality standards. You can rule this cause out by out by swapping chargers. If replacing the charger doesn’t work, move to the next point of diagnosis.

Your Wall Outlet Could Be the Problem

The iPad might not even be the source of your problems. It could be that your wall outlet is faulty, so no power is transferred to the iPad in the first place. A bad power source will frustrate you as it cannot charge your iPad.

One way to know if it’s the power source is to try a different charger that works on another power source. Some of the problems that often damage the power source include poor grounding.

If you have a power strip, the screws should be turned to ensure the outlet is properly grounded. Otherwise, you might not get it to work while charging your iPad. If the screws are not turned in order, the iPad may work perfectly but will not charge.

After pinpointing the source of the problem at the power source, you should contact an electrician to fix it.

Fixing components that connect to your home power system should be left to experts, so don’t approach it with a DIY mindset.

There’s a risk of fire or electrocution if you make the wrong connections. The electrician will advise you on which components need to be replaced to avoid the same problem in the future.

How to Know When Your iPad is the Issue

But, how do you tell if the iPad is the reason the charging process is not working? After eliminating all other possible causes to no avail, you might start to suspect that the device is damaged.

The cause could be software-based, so a restart of the device can possibly fix the issue. Also, it’s possible that running an outdated version of software could be causing trouble.

Another common reason the iPad will not charge is because of overheating. If you’re using the iPad while charging, or if you’re running a power-intensive application, the iPad can overheat, which can also interfere with the charging process.

The charging process also produces some heat itself, so if the device is already running hot, you could experience challenges trying to charge it.

Give it some time to cool down and ensure you’re not running any programs. Also, close Bluetooth and any apps that could have background processes enabled. If you have a fan, you can place the phone near the fan to speed up the cooling. Once it’s cool, you can try to plug it in for charging.

Forcing a Restart on Your iPad

If you plug the device into power and it does not respond, you can start with a reboot to refresh the system. Often, when the software goes down, the screen remains unresponsive even when you plug in a charger. A hard reboot will solve this.

The process to reboot the iPad depends on whether your device comes with a Home button or not.
If it does not have the Home button, follow these steps:

  1. Holding the top button, also hold volume buttons until you get the power off slider.
  2. Slide it to switch the iPad off.
  3. Wait a moment.
  4. Hold the top button for the Apple logo to appear and once booted, try to charge the device again.

If the iPad does have a Home button, here are the steps:

  1. Holding the top button, wait for the power off slider to show.
  2. Slide it and power down the iPad.
  3. Wait a moment.
  4. Hold the top button to show the Apple logo. After the device boots, plug it into the charger to see if the charging process is working.

If after rebooting the iPad is still not charging, it’s probably not a software bug and you should look elsewhere.

Updating Your iPad’s Software

Person holding tablet

Sometimes, the iPad is not charging because you need to update your software. To update your device and fix bugs, you can go to the Settings page in the General tab, Software Update section. You can also update your iPad software via USB using iTunes.

New software updates often come with new programs and can fix errors in the system. To download and install an update on your iPad, connect the device to your PC or Mac via USB cable.

Follow these steps to install new software on iTunes:

  1. Connect the iPad to your PC via a USB cord and open iTunes.
  2. Under the Devices section, click on the iPad. You can find this on the left side of the screen. Also, you can find the device in the Devices area on the top right side of the screen.
  3. On the Summary tab on the iTunes window, click on the “Check for Updates” link.
  4. Complete by clicking the “Download and Update” option if prompted. Leave the device plugged in to complete the update.