iPhone battery not charging after DIY battery replacement. Why?

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iPhone 5

Sixth iteration of Apple iPhone, announced on September 12, 2012. Repair of this device is similar to the previous models, requiring screwdrivers and prying tools. Available as GSM or CDMA / 16, 32, or 64 GB / Black or White.

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Ryan Santos

Rep: 109

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Posted: 08/30/2013

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iPhone battery not charging after DIY battery replacement. Why?

I recently had some issues with my jailbroken iphone 5 where the battery just wouldn't last. The percentage would read 40% and just die. It eventually got to the point that the phone would die at 100%. A fully charged battery but still turn off after 5 minutes of use.

Yesterday i changed the battery myself using an ifixit guide and success was had!

Or so i thought! The phone turned on but only had 12% battery. No big deal so i plugged it in to the computer. At this point the phone restarted itself and then showed 9% battery. I left it plugged in for awhile and noticed that the battery still showed a charge of 9%. I rebooted it and it then showed a 6% charge. I left it plugged in over night and it still only shows a 6% charge.

When plugged in, the phone claims it is charging and does chime at initial plug in. Could i have done something wrong when connecting the new battery? Has anyone else experienced this before? Please help!

P.S. warranty is obviously void now and my update isnt due till november. :/

UPDATE: Apple Store rejected the phone (like I knew they would). Took it to a iPhone repair kiosk at my local mall and they put a new battery into it and it was fine. I did everything correctly in my fix but the replacement battery I received in the mail was faulty. Thanks for your answers everyone!

Answer this question I have this problem too

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Did you double check your work? Check all your connections carefully. Check the dock connector for any broken, bend or corroded pins. Clean it with some isopropyl alcohol and a soft toothbrush. Use a few puffs of compressed air to blow out any debris. It is of course possible that you have charging coil issues......

09/04/2013 by oldturkey03

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9 Answers

Did you double check your work? Check all your connections carefully. Check the dock connector for any broken, bend or corroded pins. Clean it with some isopropyl alcohol and a soft toothbrush. Use a few puffs of compressed air to blow out any debris. It is of course possible that you have charging coil issues...... — oldturkey03

behrang mohajer Rep: 109 1 1 · Answer 1 · 2016-10-30T00:59:22-07:00

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behrang mohajer

Rep: 109

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Posted: 10/30/2016

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You should check if the battery port has a non-conductive insulator on the back. If the the port and the small sheet metal cover (that is fastened with the screws) are directly connected the phone will not be charged. some of the new batteries do not have this insulator when you purchase them.

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this is EXACTLY what was causing the problem. the replacement battery did not have any insulating material on the back of the connecter. a tiny slice of electrical tape was all it took to fix it. back to 100%

09/12/2017 by albert einsteinz

still helpful in 2018!

January 21 by Eduard Feicho

tried that but it still won't charge for me.

February 20 by Navnit Baral

Try lifting the screen half open to a 90 degree angle but make sure to not break the display cable by overdoing it. This will allow you to turn on the device while the battery connector is definitely not touching any grounding metal plate.

February 21 by Eduard Feicho

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konradsa Rep: 37 1 · Answer 2 · 2015-02-21T10:51:51-07:00

konradsa

Rep: 37

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Posted: 02/21/2015

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Has a similar issue, posting it here to help in case someone is facing the same thing:

I noticed that my battery was charging fine with the little battery port cover removed, but as soon as I screwed the cover on, the battery wouldn't charge, even though the iPhone was indicating that charging is in progress. Figured that it must be some electrical issue, and upon closer inspection, I saw the plastic insulator on top of the battery connector was flaking off. So I put a little piece of plastic tape on top of the connector and screwed the cover back on. The battery is now charging fine, I suspect the cover was causing a short with the connector that allowed the charging current to escape.

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Thank you. It worked for mine. I added a piece of black electrical tape, and that solved the issue.

05/21/2017 by masofg1

ok i'm going to try the plastic tape one more time tonight.

February 20 by Navnit Baral

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Atronx @gadgetguys Rep: 367 Gadget Guys LLC 4 · Answer 3 · 2015-07-29T22:38:55-07:00

Atronx @gadgetguys

Rep: 367

Gadget Guys LLC

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Posted: 07/29/2015

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Possible battery terminal or battery cable damage. The cheap batteries on amazon are a crapshoot. If the cable or terminal are damaged / crossed it will do all kinds of strange things to the phone. Things like sitting on 1 percent charge, loosing charge, causing no boot or boot loops. Strange but bad batteries can cause all sorts of other issues. Buy a premium battery from a reputable USA based parts supplier and try that first. Lots of iphone dr type stores are carrying cheap batteries they purchase for $4 in bulk.

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Thanks so much,,I appreciate the feedback. 8-)

07/30/2015 by robertkimrey

That is exactly what happened. I purchased a $ 5 battery from Ebay, the new battery would only show the apple logo for a few seconds on/off ,tried charging it , it did not work,but when I installed the old batterry, it worked fine. I will be ordering a battery from a reputable supplier

11/05/2017 by jss

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Jaime Herrera Rep: 13 1 · Answer 4 · 2015-03-05T06:45:28-07:00

Jaime Herrera

Rep: 13

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Posted: 03/05/2015

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I had the same issue, I replace the battery wouldn't charge more than 40% and after a few hours would only be at 6% so I put the old battery again to make sure I didn't brake anything on the phone and sure enough it took the charge all the way to 100% again so is not the phone,is the cheap Chinese battery! yeah it was cheap but I just lost $14 dlls on another Chinese scam shame on me! might as well go to a dollar store and buy it from them!

GOOD LUCK FINDING A GOOD BATTERY ON LINE! ALL OF THEM ARE CRAP!

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biswajitsharma Rep: 13 1 · Answer 5 · 2017-01-25T12:52:32-07:00

Hello, I'm Biswajit, from India!

I've an iPhone 6 plus on which I faced a screen flickering issue on the top part which I solved by putting a piece of black tape under the display connector cover & it acted as a permanent solution to me for abput more than 1 year.

After 1.5 year my iPhone 6 PLUS's battery wear level reached 40%, I decided to replace the battery myself & I ordered one from eBay.in!

After receiving the battery I started to replace by myself.

Removing the old battery from phones lower body is really disgusting, it took me around 1 hour to remove!

Then, I unpacked the new one & placed in that placed & glued!

Finally connected the battery connector to the circuit board & assembled the phone.

When I turned on the battery level was at 2%, then I charged the phone for more than 2 hrs in switched off mode as per instruction manual by the seller on eBay.

But, when I turned on the phone the battery level was at 2%, me like, WTF!!! Thinking, the eBay seller cheated me with a faulty battery, I retested my phone & it didn't worked at all!!

Then, I googled & come with no results!!

After that, I opened the phone & disconnected battery connector from the board, cheched whether there's any dust or plastic film in the connector, but there was nothing!

Then again I connected the cable to the board very carefully, it made a 'click' sound in the right side & i felt like the left side is li'l bit tilted upward & I pressed it gently & it again made a 'click' sound. I connected my USB cable to the phone & it appeared to be charging & when it turned on I saw the charge level increased to 3% after few minutes, hoorrrayyyy....:D...I successfully resolved the issue!!

So, guys plz do check your battery connection with the board, it should make two 'click' sound on right & left side of the pin, make sure both sides are leveled equally making a proper connection!

I'll be very happy if my information solves anyone's problem!

It does help! Actually, with all previous not responding functions too. Just carefully repeat all previous manipulations and try to clean up the surface inside with a soft painting brush. — Iryna Bilan

Brody Goodwine Rep: 1 1 · Answer 6 · 2014-01-07T13:21:55-07:00

Same issue here. I replaced both my wife's and my batteries on our iPhone5's.

Mine was running iOS6 and the replacement was issue-free.

Hers was iOS7 and I used the cheap ~$7 amazon batteries for both.

- First it seemed to brick her screen, which still doesn't work.

- Replaced screen with one from backup iPhone5, now screen worked.

- Went ahead and did power button replacement (big surgery of course) and then noticed this battery issue.

- Phone was at 94% when done, worked fine, but she drained it and no charger combo here would work. 3+ cables, both OEM and generic, used in wall plugs, Macbook Pro/HP Laptop, etc. No combo will charge. It recognizes being plugged in and gives the "plug in" symbol which always goes away when I plug it in, but the battery does not charge any....It's not a cable connection issue.

- It doesn't appear to be a battery-specific issue, since I've swapped back and forth between OEM and new aftermarket.

- Anyone have an idea? Seems like an odd mix of iOS7 and any major phone work precipitates this, since most above have had the logic board out at some point. HELP!!

Hi Brody.. I am also facing same issue .. did you get the solution for it.

My Problem -

When phone discharged completely then not able charge it again. — Nilesh
i had the same issue when battery drained its not getting charge again i need to put the same battery to another iphone and charge when gets fully charge its getting on and gets charged also please help... — Sither Tsewang

robertkimrey Rep: 1 · Answer 7 · 2015-07-29T20:05:44-07:00

I bought my replacement iPhone 5 battery from Batteries Plus. I followed the instructions, put screen back on and the phone powered up, but as others have posted it reads that it is charging but it is stuck at 3 percent. Every once in z while it will restart on its own and I get the brick screen then it goes away back to normal. Very weird. I paid 40 bucks for the new battery. The local dr phones store wanted to charge me 69 bucks for the new battery. The old one swelled up so bad the screen was bubbling up and I could see inside the left side of phone. Not sure what to do? Maybe buy another new battery? Not sure. Suggestions? Thanks. Rob

Emerson Reed @reedem73 Rep: 1 · Answer 8 · 2016-09-27T12:04:10-07:00

I have a similar issue with my iPhone 5. My battery was loosing charge and when I recharged it would hit 25% then drop to zero. Also when I tried to charge it would say "this cable or accessory is not certified" despite all being genuine apple cables. So the local mobile phone kiosk replaced the battery. It would charge at the store but not in my car and it did charge once at home but then stopped again at 25%.

I took It back and left the phone with them and were able to charge it again but when I got home no charger would work. Same issue .."this cable or accessory is not certified."

Either therecharger is nuclear powered or I am going mad.

Are there specials chargers out there? This is so frustrating and I look like an idiot when I return to the mobile repairer.