If the charging tip of your phone charger has somehow broken off in the charging port of your phone, you will not be able to charge your device until the broken tip is removed. Charging tips are notoriously difficult to remove once broken in this way.
You will need to ensure that you attempt to remove the broken charger from your phone’s charging port carefully, so you do not damage the charging ports on your phone.
This guide will walk you through the different causes of a broken phone charger as well as offer detailed troubleshooting methods for removing a broken phone charger tip from your phone’s charging port. It is important that you address any broken charger issues as soon as possible. This can help avoid further damage to your phone.
Why Do Lightning Cables Break in iPhone?
The next part of this guide will focus on the different reasons that your phone charger may have broken off while inside your iPhone. This list can help you identify the reason that your cable broke and help you avoid the same issue in the future.
The main reason that lightning cables break is rough usage, drops, and wear and tear over time. All of the causes will be discussed in more detail below.
It is important that you attempt to identify the cause of your broken charger so that you can avoid the issue in the future. Doing so could help save you money on replacement chargers and potential repairs on your phone.
1. Rough Usage
Rough usage is one of the most common causes of a broken lightning cable. Because the internal components of a phone charger are so sensitive, they are easily damaged due to improper handling. This includes yanking, being twisted up, or being exposed to moisture or extreme heat.
Lightning cables are not very durable and are not equipped to last very long when exposed to rough usage. Improper storage of the lightning cables could also be an attributing factor to the damage incurred.
You should always remove the charging cable from your device carefully, so as to not damage the wiring of your lightning cable.
You should avoid letting the lightning cable gets tangled in any way, as this will also cause wiring issues that could potentially cause your charging tip to break off in your phone.
It is also common for people to accidentally trip over their phone cords, causing damage to the internals of the lightning cable. Any type of rapid extortion of force on the cable in any direction could cause the wiring and external casing to weaken, increasing the likelihood of a break.
Proper storage and usage of your lightning cable is important to ensure that you get the longest lifespan out of your lightning cable. This can also lower the chances of your phone charger breaking while inside your iPhone.
2. You Dropped It And The End Snapped Off
Dropping your phone and catching it by the charger while it is plugged into the charging port can cause the end of the lightning cable to break off in your phone.
The end part of a lightning cable is not particularly durable and can be easily snapped off if enough force is applied in any direction.
This is a common occurrence, as many people unplug their phone charger from the power supply and leave it plugged into their phone during transport. When this happens, it is natural that when dropping your phone that you attempt to catch it in any way possible.
Unfortunately, when trying to catch your phone by the charging cable, you will oftentimes cause the charging tip to break off while still inside your phone. You should never attempt to catch your phone by the charging cable if you drop it.
This will lower the chances of your phone charger being broken off in your iPhone. Newer models of iPhone are extremely drop resistant and with the addition of a phone case, can likely survive a drop from a moderate height.
3. The End Of The Lightning Cable Was Weak
Over time, the strength of the coupling that keeps the charging tip of your lightning cable attached can diminish, causing your cable to be more likely to break when attempting to remove it from your iPhone. This is likely the most common reason for lightning cables to break while inside iPhones.
The average charging cable for iPhone will last around a year before needing to be replaced. That being said, depending on the way that you use your cable and how carefully you remove it from your phone, this lifespan could be much shorter.
The end of your lightning cable is the most sensitive area on the cable. When the connection between the charging tip and internal wiring becomes damaged or weakened over time, this will eventually cause it to break.
Once you have had your charging cable for some time, you will need to be extra cautious when removing the charging cable from your iPhone. This will lower the likelihood that your charging cables break while still in your iPhone.
How to Remove Broke Charger From iPhone
The next part of this guide will outline the different ways that you can go about removing a broken charger from your iPhone. Keep in mind that all of the following methods should be carried out carefully to avoid damaging your phone’s charging port.
Some of the most common ways to remove a broke charger from an iPhone is to schedule a Genius appointment, using magnets or tweezers, or using a sim ejector. These methods and more will be detailed in the list below.
Before moving on, you should first examine the list of common causes of broken phone chargers so that you can help avoid these types of issues in the future.
1. Schedule A Genius Appointment
If your phone charger has broken off inside your iPhone’s charging port, you can consider scheduling a Genius Bar appointment to have them remove the charger from your phone. The Genius Bar is Apple’s repair team.
iPhone owners can call and schedule a Genius Bar meeting or fill out a reservation online. During your meeting, you will be able to present the Genius Bar technicians with your phone and have them remove the broken charger from it.
This is often the best solution to a phone charger that has broken off while inside your iPhone. Because of the sensitive nature of your charging port, it can be easy to damage when trying to remove it yourself. It is best left to trained professionals to perform.
That being said, scheduling an appointment at your nearest Genius Bar could be inconvenient. Should you wish to try and resolve the issue yourself, this guide will provide additional at-home methods for resolving these types of issues.
2. Use A Magnet
If the magnetic part of your charger has broken off in your iPhone, you should consider using a relatively strong magnet (view on Amazon) to try and pull it out. The magnetic force will work well on the metal tip that your iPhone charger uses to transfer power to your device.
You should consider using a magnet with an N rating of at least 48 to properly achieve the magnetic force needed to drag the metal charging tip out of your iPhone’s charging port. The N rating is how strong a magnet is. The lowest N rating magnet available is N 27 and the strongest is N 64.
It is likely that you will need at least a magnet with an N48 to generate enough magnetic force to pull the charger from your phone’s charging port.
Because of the way that the charging tip interlocks with the iPhone charging port, you may need to attempt some of the other methods on this list first to loosen the connection up enough for the magnet to be effective.
3. Use Tweezers
Tweezers are another useful tool for removing a broken phone charger from an iPhone’s charging port.
To properly use tweezers to remove a broken charging cable from your iPhone, you will need to carefully insert the tweezers into the charging port of your iPhone. Once you have a grasp on the broke charging tip, you should carefully pull it out.
It might take several tries to get a good enough grip on the broken charger tip to successfully remove it from your phone’s charging port. It is also extremely important that you are careful to not damage the charging port while inserting the tweezers.
Your phone’s charging port is the most sensitive area on your device, so extra caution should be used when having to stick something inside it for any reason.
The tweezers can also be used to loosen the broken charging tip from the port enough for the magnet method to be more effective.
4. Use A Sim Ejector
A sim ejector is included with all iPhones and is intended to give users the ability to switch out their sim cards using the specialized lock and key mechanism. The sim ejector can also be useful when attempting to remove a broken charging cable from your phone’s charging port.
Use should use the smallest sim ejector tool that you have available, as the charging port is quite small and this will give you more precision when trying to remove the broken charger.
Insert the sim ejector into the charging port and attempt to move the broken charging tip out of the charging port. This can take a couple of tries.
You should do this carefully, as the sim ejector could easily damage the charging port internals of your device if you are too rough.
The charging pins located inside your iPhone are easily damaged, meaning this method requires a certain level of precision to successfully avoid damage to your device.
5. Use Super Glue
Super glue can be utilized to help you remove the broken charging tip from your iPhone. To do this, you will need a screwdriver with a flat tip to apply the super glue too.
It is extremely important that you use a screwdriver small enough to fit inside your phone’s charging port without touching the side. Ideally, you would use a pocket screwdriver or glasses screwdriver that is both thin and narrow.
Once you have found the right-sized screwdriver, you will need to apply a small amount of glue to the tip of the screwdriver. Quickly insert the screwdriver into your phone’s charging port as tightly against the end of the broken charger as you can.
Make sure that the glue has made contact with the broken charger tip and allow the glue to set for around 45 seconds. It is important that you do not let the glue dry all the way, else you run the risk of gluing the screwdriver into your phone as well.
Once the glue has begun to set, you should attempt to pull the broken charger tip out of the charging port. Oftentimes, the coupling from the glue to the broken charger tip will be enough to successfully drag it out with the screwdriver.
This is one of the riskier methods on this list. Unless you are confident with your ability to use this method without causing damage to your iPhone, you should consider using one of the other troubleshooting methods on this list.
6. Use A Toothpick
A toothpick is also skinny enough to fit into your iPhone’s charging port without touching the charging pins located inside. Because of this, you could potentially use a toothpick to dislodge a broken charging tip from your phone’s charging port.
You should still be careful when trying to shift the charging cable tip out of your phone’s charging port. You should gently try and encourage the broken end to become dislodged.
You can use this method to help loosen up the broken charging cable tip from your charging port and use another troubleshooting method on this list to help finish the job.
7. Use Safety Pin
A safety pin is also skinny enough to fit into your iPhone’s charging port without touching the charging pins located inside. Because of this, you could potentially use a safety pin to dislodge a broken charging tip from your phone’s charging port.
You should still be careful when trying to shift the charging cable tip out of your phone’s charging port. You should gently try and encourage the broken end to become dislodged.
You can use this method to help loosen up the broken charging cable tip from your charging port and use another troubleshooting method on this list to help finish the job.
8. Use Nail Clippers
If the piece of broken charger is sticking out far enough from your iPhone’s charging port to be grabbed, then you should consider using a pair of nail clippers to grasp the end of the broken charger and pull it from your phone.
This is a good method to consider if it is a viable option. Because there is no need to go inside the charging port to try and dislodge the broken end of the charger, the risk of damaging your charging pins is minimized.
The best type of nail clippers that you can use to do this is the smallest available. This will ensure that you have to grip and precision to successfully pull the piece of broke charger out of your phone’s charging port.
This method will not be viable unless the broken charging tip is sticking out far enough from the charging port to be grabbed by the nail clippers.
Final Thoughts
This guide has provided you with all of the information you need to successfully remove a broken charger from your iPhone.
A broken charger in your iPhone is a serious issue for your device. You will not be able to charge your device using a cable until you are able to successfully remove the broken piece in your phone’s charging port.
Using the methods provided in this guide, you can ensure that you can easily remove any broken charger from your iPhone and also determine the causes of your broken charger. Knowing the causes of a broken charger can help you avoid these types of issues in the future.
Keep in mind that all of the troubleshooting methods contained in this guide should be carried out extremely carefully, as your charging port contains sensitive internal components that can easily be damaged by excessive poking and prodding.
If you do not feel comfortable addressing this issue yourself, you should consider contacting the Apple Genius Bar and scheduling a repair.