Why do iPhone 5 chargers break so easy

Tom_James2 · 04-06-2014, 22:41

I have gone through so many chargers with my iPhone 5 and they just break so easy and I take good care of them.. Why do they break so easy does anyone else have this problem??

Lyceum · 04-06-2014, 23:19

Me!

I've had every iPhone from the 3G to the 5. I used the same charge cable I got with my 3G with the 3GS. The 4 and the 4s. It worked fine.

So far in 15 months I've gone through 5 lightening cables. They're abysmal. Apples greed in needing everything to be propriety means replacing it is a pain in the backside. They can't just use micro USB like very other phone manufacturer can they. Because then they couldn't rip you off more by charging £20 for a cable.

This one seems to be lasting so far. It has plastic around the bit that always gives way

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00H...1920343&sr=8-1

Mystic Eddy · 04-06-2014, 23:33

I'm still using the same cable I got when I got my 5 on release day. Admittedly, the cable has frayed around the lighting connector, but I've used Sugru on it to cover the wires and increase the resilience around the neck and so far so good

.
Remember that the cables come with 12 months warranty, so if they break, Apple will replace them FOC.

IslandNiles · 04-06-2014, 23:40

My 5s cable is still perfectly fine after seven or so months. The cable from my iPhone 5 is still usable but very frayed around the connector. For me, the issue isn't that the cable is too flimsy or poorly made. It's that it isn't quite long enough. So, often when it's plugged in, the cable is taut and at a sharp right angle just underneath the phone, putting stress on the cable in the same place every time.

I know you can get a 2 metre cable, but Apple charge £25 for it!

Lyceum · 04-06-2014, 23:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystic Eddy

I'm still using the same cable I got when I got my 5 on release day. Admittedly, the cable has frayed around the lighting connector, but I've used Sugru on it to cover the wires and increase the resilience around the neck and so far so good

.
Remember that the cables come with 12 months warranty, so if they break, Apple will replace them FOC.

If you can get to or live by an apple shop and can get an appointment.

I couldn't get an appointment for 10 days and was told they wouldn't look at it without one (I took it to my nearest apple store but they refused and insisted I make an appointment). So called apple. They'll send you one but want you to pay £20 which they will refund when you send the broken cable back to them by trackable means.

Either way, appointment or by post your without a charge cable for a few days. Which means you're without a phone for a few days. That wouldn't usually bother me but I don't have a landline and there was a family emergency going on at the time so I couldn't be without my only means of contact.

But given the fact the veo one I linked too has lasted longer than the original I'm glad I didn't go for the replacement now.

Mystic Eddy · 04-06-2014, 23:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lyceum

If you can get to or live by an apple shop and can get an appointment.

I couldn't get an appointment for 10 days and was told they wouldn't look at it without one (I took it to my nearest apple store but they refused and insisted I make an appointment). So called apple. They'll send you one but want you to pay £20 which they will refund when you send the broken cable back to them by trackable means.

Either way, appointment or by post your without a charge cable for a few days. Which means you're without a phone for a few days. That wouldn't usually bother me but I don't have a landline and there was a family emergency going on at the time so I couldn't be without my only means of contact.

But given the fact the veo one I linked too has lasted longer than the original I'm glad I didn't go for the replacement now.

I agree that their replacement procedure isn't as easy as it could be, but at least it's there. Could always get a third party one from Poundland, but from experience, these charge slower than the MFi cables.

KieranDS · 04-06-2014, 23:58

I still have my original one from my iPhone 5. Haven't even opened the packaging for the one that came with my 5S.

It's been used so much the cable is now yellow as opposed to white

Black Box · 05-06-2014, 02:22

I'm on my second cable in one year (Apple replaced it under warranty).

The guy in the Apple store said the cables go because people pull the cable instead of the plastic connectors at each end.

A ribbed section near to where the cable joins the connector would solve the failure problems with these cables I reckon - it'd relieve stress on the wires inside.

MGS4SnakeRulez · 05-06-2014, 08:21

Never broke an iPhone 5 charger.

muchly · 05-06-2014, 08:30

My cables have also always been fine. It's true you should never pull by the cable and only with the plastic top otherwise it gets too taunt and can split.

lee18xx · 05-06-2014, 08:44

I use pound land ones and to be fair they last about six months each !

Lidtop2013 · 06-06-2014, 04:44

Never had one break here aswell

noise747 · 06-06-2014, 12:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom_James2

I have gone through so many chargers with my iPhone 5 and they just break so easy and I take good care of them.. Why do they break so easy does anyone else have this problem??

Just like there phones, they seem to break easily as well. considering how few people I know that have a Iphone, I see a lot of them that have got broken screens,

Lyceum · 06-06-2014, 12:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by noise747

Just like there phones, they seem to break easily as well. considering how few people I know that have a Iphone, I see a lot of them that have got broken screens,

I've had every iPhone since the 3G. Never had a broken screen (watch me smack my screen today now haha) and never had a fault with any of the phones.

whoever,hey · 06-06-2014, 12:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lyceum

I've had every iPhone since the 3G. Never had a broken screen (watch me smack my screen today now haha) and never had a fault with any of the phones.

My wife and i both had iphones and both the home buttons stopped working reliably. The quality is terrible of iphones especially considering their extortionate price.

Los_Tributos · 06-06-2014, 19:14

I guess mine lasted about a year. Am now using ones you can buy for around £1 which seem to last around 4 months until the iphone 6 comes out rather than shell out for an Apple one.

Lidtop2013 · 06-06-2014, 23:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lyceum

I've had every iPhone since the 3G. Never had a broken screen (watch me smack my screen today now haha) and never had a fault with any of the phones.

Same here, dropped my iphone 5 a few times onto the floor and didn't damage it(got a thin case on) and never had a fault right from the 3GS to the 5 I've got now.

noise747 · 07-06-2014, 11:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoever,hey

My wife and i both had iphones and both the home buttons stopped working reliably. The quality is terrible of iphones especially considering their extortionate price.

i remember when I was looking at buying a Nexus 4 and people saying how fragile that is, but after a year, it is still working and not even a scratch on it. a couple of weeks after having it, I picked up my coat when visiting Dad in hospital and it flew out of the pocket and landed on the hard floor, I thought that was it, I did not want to pick it up. but it was fine.
i have got a rubber case around it, only a cheapy, but i think it have protected the phone over the year. I have knocked or dropped it a few times.

i know very few people who got Iphones, but most of the ones I do know have had a broken Iphone. Only a couple I have known to have smashed their Android based phone and one of them was a brand new Samsung s3, they left it on the top of their car and drove of. Needless to say it did not survive. they realised when it slid down the rear window.

kyussmondo · 08-06-2014, 10:01

They are fine if you are careful with them.

My wife on the other hand uses it on the iPad Mini and it gets twisted all over the place. Kids and kittens do not help either.

cnbcwatcher · 08-06-2014, 11:25

I don't have an iPhone but I have an iPod touch and two chargers have broken in the last few months. I'm not particularly careless with them so I don't understand how they break. My friend's iPhone charger broke a few months ago as well.

Los_Tributos · 08-06-2014, 13:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyussmondo

They are fine if you are careful with them..

No they're not.

moox · 08-06-2014, 13:38

Apple seems unable to make a cable that doesn't fray and break in short order. Probably because proper strain relief and thicker cable would ruin the aesthetics.

People have been complaining about MacBook charger cables since the dawn of time (including where they short circuit and burn) - and when they break it's something like 80 quid for a new one, if you can't get Apple to do a free one.

Stig · 08-06-2014, 13:45

We have used the charger that came with an iPad Mini, and it now charges an iPad Air and an iPhone 5c, so is used a lot.

Either the charger from a iPad is better quality, or we manage to take care of it.

IslandNiles · 08-06-2014, 14:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Los_Tributos

No they're not.

Yeah they are. If you don't stretch them taut all the time (as I mentioned earlier can be a problem because of the cable's short length) or pull them from the device with the cable rather than the connector, they're fine. They don't just spontaneously fall apart.

jchamier · 08-06-2014, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stig

We have used the charger that came with an iPad Mini, and it now charges an iPad Air and an iPhone 5c, so is used a lot. Either the charger from a iPad is better quality, or we manage to take care of it.

I think the thread is talking about the USB to lightning cable rather than the charger block itself. My iPhone 5 is two years old in Sept/Oct, and I'm still using the original plug in charger and USB to lightning cable it came with - but since I work with cables a lot, perhaps I'm gentle and don't ever pull on the wire

I've seen plenty of broken micro-USB cables at work from the people with Android, WinPho, and Blackberry devices.

04-06-2014, 22:41	#1
Tom_James2 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 115	Why do iPhone 5 chargers break so easy I have gone through so many chargers with my iPhone 5 and they just break so easy and I take good care of them.. Why do they break so easy does anyone else have this problem??

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04-06-2014, 23:19	#2
Lyceum Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3,124	Me! I've had every iPhone from the 3G to the 5. I used the same charge cable I got with my 3G with the 3GS. The 4 and the 4s. It worked fine. So far in 15 months I've gone through 5 lightening cables. They're abysmal. Apples greed in needing everything to be propriety means replacing it is a pain in the backside. They can't just use micro USB like very other phone manufacturer can they. Because then they couldn't rip you off more by charging £20 for a cable. This one seems to be lasting so far. It has plastic around the bit that always gives way http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00H...1920343&sr=8-1

04-06-2014, 23:33	#3
Mystic Eddy Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 3,885	I'm still using the same cable I got when I got my 5 on release day. Admittedly, the cable has frayed around the lighting connector, but I've used Sugru on it to cover the wires and increase the resilience around the neck and so far so good . Remember that the cables come with 12 months warranty, so if they break, Apple will replace them FOC.

04-06-2014, 23:40	#4
IslandNiles Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 13,091	My 5s cable is still perfectly fine after seven or so months. The cable from my iPhone 5 is still usable but very frayed around the connector. For me, the issue isn't that the cable is too flimsy or poorly made. It's that it isn't quite long enough. So, often when it's plugged in, the cable is taut and at a sharp right angle just underneath the phone, putting stress on the cable in the same place every time. I know you can get a 2 metre cable, but Apple charge £25 for it!

04-06-2014, 23:41	#5
Lyceum Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3,124	Quote: Originally Posted by Mystic Eddy I'm still using the same cable I got when I got my 5 on release day. Admittedly, the cable has frayed around the lighting connector, but I've used Sugru on it to cover the wires and increase the resilience around the neck and so far so good . Remember that the cables come with 12 months warranty, so if they break, Apple will replace them FOC. If you can get to or live by an apple shop and can get an appointment. I couldn't get an appointment for 10 days and was told they wouldn't look at it without one (I took it to my nearest apple store but they refused and insisted I make an appointment). So called apple. They'll send you one but want you to pay £20 which they will refund when you send the broken cable back to them by trackable means. Either way, appointment or by post your without a charge cable for a few days. Which means you're without a phone for a few days. That wouldn't usually bother me but I don't have a landline and there was a family emergency going on at the time so I couldn't be without my only means of contact. But given the fact the veo one I linked too has lasted longer than the original I'm glad I didn't go for the replacement now.

04-06-2014, 23:56	#6
Mystic Eddy Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 3,885	Quote: Originally Posted by Lyceum If you can get to or live by an apple shop and can get an appointment. I couldn't get an appointment for 10 days and was told they wouldn't look at it without one (I took it to my nearest apple store but they refused and insisted I make an appointment). So called apple. They'll send you one but want you to pay £20 which they will refund when you send the broken cable back to them by trackable means. Either way, appointment or by post your without a charge cable for a few days. Which means you're without a phone for a few days. That wouldn't usually bother me but I don't have a landline and there was a family emergency going on at the time so I couldn't be without my only means of contact. But given the fact the veo one I linked too has lasted longer than the original I'm glad I didn't go for the replacement now. I agree that their replacement procedure isn't as easy as it could be, but at least it's there. Could always get a third party one from Poundland, but from experience, these charge slower than the MFi cables.

04-06-2014, 23:58	#7
KieranDS Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: London Posts: 15,938	I still have my original one from my iPhone 5. Haven't even opened the packaging for the one that came with my 5S. It's been used so much the cable is now yellow as opposed to white

05-06-2014, 02:22	#8
Black Box Forum Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 572	I'm on my second cable in one year (Apple replaced it under warranty). The guy in the Apple store said the cables go because people pull the cable instead of the plastic connectors at each end. A ribbed section near to where the cable joins the connector would solve the failure problems with these cables I reckon - it'd relieve stress on the wires inside.

05-06-2014, 08:21	#9
MGS4SnakeRulez Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 16,705	Never broke an iPhone 5 charger.

05-06-2014, 08:30	#10
muchly Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 249	My cables have also always been fine. It's true you should never pull by the cable and only with the plastic top otherwise it gets too taunt and can split.

05-06-2014, 08:44	#11
lee18xx Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,794	I use pound land ones and to be fair they last about six months each !

06-06-2014, 04:44	#12
Lidtop2013 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: West Midlands Posts: 2,450	Never had one break here aswell

06-06-2014, 12:05	#13
noise747 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Herefordshire Posts: 22,810	Quote: Originally Posted by Tom_James2 I have gone through so many chargers with my iPhone 5 and they just break so easy and I take good care of them.. Why do they break so easy does anyone else have this problem?? Just like there phones, they seem to break easily as well. considering how few people I know that have a Iphone, I see a lot of them that have got broken screens,

06-06-2014, 12:48	#14
Lyceum Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3,124	Quote: Originally Posted by noise747 Just like there phones, they seem to break easily as well. considering how few people I know that have a Iphone, I see a lot of them that have got broken screens, I've had every iPhone since the 3G. Never had a broken screen (watch me smack my screen today now haha) and never had a fault with any of the phones.

06-06-2014, 12:51	#15
whoever,hey Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 30,072	Quote: Originally Posted by Lyceum I've had every iPhone since the 3G. Never had a broken screen (watch me smack my screen today now haha) and never had a fault with any of the phones. My wife and i both had iphones and both the home buttons stopped working reliably. The quality is terrible of iphones especially considering their extortionate price.

06-06-2014, 19:14	#16
Los_Tributos Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 720	I guess mine lasted about a year. Am now using ones you can buy for around £1 which seem to last around 4 months until the iphone 6 comes out rather than shell out for an Apple one.

06-06-2014, 23:45	#17
Lidtop2013 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: West Midlands Posts: 2,450	Quote: Originally Posted by Lyceum I've had every iPhone since the 3G. Never had a broken screen (watch me smack my screen today now haha) and never had a fault with any of the phones. Same here, dropped my iphone 5 a few times onto the floor and didn't damage it(got a thin case on) and never had a fault right from the 3GS to the 5 I've got now.

07-06-2014, 11:33	#18
noise747 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Herefordshire Posts: 22,810	Quote: Originally Posted by whoever,hey My wife and i both had iphones and both the home buttons stopped working reliably. The quality is terrible of iphones especially considering their extortionate price. i remember when I was looking at buying a Nexus 4 and people saying how fragile that is, but after a year, it is still working and not even a scratch on it. a couple of weeks after having it, I picked up my coat when visiting Dad in hospital and it flew out of the pocket and landed on the hard floor, I thought that was it, I did not want to pick it up. but it was fine. i have got a rubber case around it, only a cheapy, but i think it have protected the phone over the year. I have knocked or dropped it a few times. i know very few people who got Iphones, but most of the ones I do know have had a broken Iphone. Only a couple I have known to have smashed their Android based phone and one of them was a brand new Samsung s3, they left it on the top of their car and drove of. Needless to say it did not survive. they realised when it slid down the rear window.

08-06-2014, 10:01	#19
kyussmondo Forum Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Posts: 1,731	They are fine if you are careful with them. My wife on the other hand uses it on the iPad Mini and it gets twisted all over the place. Kids and kittens do not help either.

08-06-2014, 11:25	#20
cnbcwatcher Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: At college, in L.A.'s office Posts: 54,221	I don't have an iPhone but I have an iPod touch and two chargers have broken in the last few months. I'm not particularly careless with them so I don't understand how they break. My friend's iPhone charger broke a few months ago as well.

08-06-2014, 13:00	#21
Los_Tributos Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 720	Quote: Originally Posted by kyussmondo They are fine if you are careful with them.. No they're not.

DS Forums

Why do iPhone 5 chargers break so easy

08-06-2014, 13:38	#22
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Apple seems unable to make a cable that doesn't fray and break in short order. Probably because proper strain relief and thicker cable would ruin the aesthetics. People have been complaining about MacBook charger cables since the dawn of time (including where they short circuit and burn) - and when they break it's something like 80 quid for a new one, if you can't get Apple to do a free one.

08-06-2014, 13:45	#23
Stig Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Sandy Heath, Beds. UK Posts: 10,383	We have used the charger that came with an iPad Mini, and it now charges an iPad Air and an iPhone 5c, so is used a lot. Either the charger from a iPad is better quality, or we manage to take care of it.

08-06-2014, 14:09	#24
IslandNiles Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 13,091	Quote: Originally Posted by Los_Tributos No they're not. Yeah they are. If you don't stretch them taut all the time (as I mentioned earlier can be a problem because of the cable's short length) or pull them from the device with the cable rather than the connector, they're fine. They don't just spontaneously fall apart.

08-06-2014, 17:34	#25
jchamier Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: This forum Posts: 3,392	Quote: Originally Posted by Stig We have used the charger that came with an iPad Mini, and it now charges an iPad Air and an iPhone 5c, so is used a lot. Either the charger from a iPad is better quality, or we manage to take care of it. I think the thread is talking about the USB to lightning cable rather than the charger block itself. My iPhone 5 is two years old in Sept/Oct, and I'm still using the original plug in charger and USB to lightning cable it came with - but since I work with cables a lot, perhaps I'm gentle and don't ever pull on the wire I've seen plenty of broken micro-USB cables at work from the people with Android, WinPho, and Blackberry devices.