Your iPhone XS Max isn’t charging or it is facing not charging issue due to unspecified hardware and software issues. It is possible that any hardware components involved in the charging process is not working properly or it is damaged. However, the majority of iPhone XS Max not charging issue is due to software problems and bugs and since there are many moving parts involved, it is possible that a lot could go wrong when it comes to software issues induced due to charging the phone. It could be anything from bugs to system crashes to system failure, bad updates, etc. Thus, we have constructed an explicit troubleshooting guide on how to fix Not Charging Issue with iPhone XS Max that encapsulates all types of problems and their fixes.

How to Fix Not Charging Issue with iPhone XS Max?

Restart the iPhone

This is the first thing you could do if the iPhone isn’t charging even if you connect the lightning cable to the adapter to charge the device. Here, it is quite possible that the system crashed or the firmware failed while facilitating charging and that is what you need to fix. Temporary issues can be resolved simply by adhering to a quick restart and that’s all. Restarting the phone works in many ways improving and enhancing the performance of the device as well as fixing any bugs, system failures as well. Press the Side/Power button plus any of the Volume buttons and drag the slider that says “Slide to Power Off” and it is done.

Check if the phone is liquid or physical damage

Since your iPhone XS Max or consider that any iPhone is not charging, recall if it was physically dropped or damaged or had undergone liquid damage or not. Although the high-end iPhone XS Max is water-resistant, there are certain parameters that it has to meet to stay resistant while a liquid damaged could do more damage to a phone than physical damage. It is quite possible that either the lightning port or any other component related to charging may have gone haywire when you accidentally dropped it. It is counted under hardware damages and thus, it would require a professional’s help to remove the back panel and scrutinize and repair the damaged component.

Reconnect the charger

It is quite possible that the phone wasn’t able to register or make a connection to the charger at the very first thing. This could be explained via bugs or system failure that occurred when you plugged the charging cable into the lightning port to charge the phone. Simply remove the charger and wait for a few seconds before reconnecting it and check if it makes any difference or not.

Forced restart while charging the iPhone

If the previous method doesn’t work in your favor or if the phone has frozen or the screen has become unresponsive or if it isn’t taking any actions, try force restarting the phone while it is charging to verify any difference it can register.

  • To force reboot, your iPhone XS Max, press ‘Volume UP’ quickly and release it.
  • Then, press ‘Volume DOWN’ quickly and release it.
  • Now press ‘Power/Side button’ and hold it until an Apple logo isn’t visible on the screen and release the buttons when you find it.
  • Wait for a few seconds after the phone shuts down to see if it is charging or not.
  • Press the Power/Side button again to turn ON the phone.

Install any pending app updates & iOS upgrades if available

Pending app updates and iOS updates can put your iPhone XS Max in trouble as the system will be bound to attract bugs and it will be susceptible to malware and other foreign agents that you won’t like on your device. Here, you can update all the apps and the firmware as well to get rid of these clutches.

  • To update any pending app updates, go to the App Store.
  • Check out the Updates section where a list of apps with pending updates must appear.
  • You can tap on ‘Update’ button against any individual app and repeat the procedure throughout the list of you can simply press ‘Update All’ to do what it says.

On the other hand, iOS updates usually resolve software errors and random bugs, optimizes the system as well as include a tonne of new features and services which is why it is a must to do and here’s how you are going to do it.

  • Open the Settings app on your device and go to General.
  • Next is to tap on ‘Software Update’ to find if there’s any update available or not.
  • If yes, download it and install it and reboot the system to allow it to make any changes if required.

Check if the charging cable, the adapter is damaged or not

Your iPhone XS Max needs charging so what do you do? You connect the phone to a USB cable via lightning port and connect the Type-A port to the adapter and then to the power unit. Here, almost three components are involved in the charging process apart from your phone and any failure at any juncture can cause not charging issue on iPhone XS Max. First of all, the power unit or power source could be incapable of supply required powered or could be damaged or faulty.

Next up is the charging adapter which is a mini transformer that transforms and converts input from the power unit to required output and any failure at this juncture could either short circuit the device or indulge in a very slow or even no charging. Finally, the cable is vulnerable to a host of forces including stretching, pulling, twisting, twirling, pushing, squeezing, turning, etc which are all the forces that could render the cable incompetent and thus, you mustn’t do any of the said things with the cable to protect its integrity. The best way to verify if the cable or the adapter is inducing the problem or not is to simply switch it up with another cable or adapter to verify if it makes any difference.

Reset All Settings or Restore the Phone

The idea behind resetting all the settings it to scrub out the bugs or any system crash out without endangering any user data stored on the device.

  • To perform the said method, you need to go to the Home screen and tap on ‘Settings’ too.
  • Next is to tap on General and select Reset.
  • Among several reset options, click on ‘Reset All Settings’, enter the passcode if prompted and the system will take care of the reset.

If this doesn’t work, you can try to restore the phone to its original factory settings although it will scrub all the data from the device so take a backup beforehand and then proceed.

  • To perform a restore factory, navigate to the ‘Reset’ section within Settings » General.
  • You need to select ‘Erase all content and settings’, enter the passcode to confirm the selection and it is over.
  • Restart the iPhone XS Max to check if it has worked or not or proceed.

Use wireless charging

Unlike a majority of other smartphones, iPhone XS Max has a wireless charging capability wherein you can just keep the phone on a wireless charging pad and the phone’s battery will start charging unless the battery itself is not damaged or has gone out of life. Using wireless charging also bypasses the need to connect the phone to the charger which could be problematic as well since the cable is susceptible to twisting and twirling while the adapter itself has a host of problems that it could attract. In case if wireless charging doesn’t work as well, the prominent accused here is the damaged battery.

Bring the phone back to the Apple Store

If the problem is persistent to go, visit a nearby Apple Store or a third-party service center depending upon your preference where you can get the phone diagnosed for what is causing the issue and get a proper repair for the same. Yes, it would include paying service and repair charges and replacement (if any), however, what’s the use of a phone if it isn’t charging and thus, this method makes more sense.