How to Tell if Your iPhone is Charging or Not

Knowing how to tell if an iPhone is charging is important. Otherwise, you might leave it plugged in overnight, only to wake up the next morning to a dead or nearly dead iPhone as you rush to work. In this guide, I will show you how to check if your iPhone is charging.

What the iPhone Charging Icon Looks Like

The iPhone charging icon is a green battery icon with a lightning bolt inside. It looks like this:

This will be located in the top-right corner of your screen, in your status bar.

How to Check Charging From the Lock Screen

When charging, tap the screen when your phone is locked. You should still see the green charging icon in the top-right corner once the screen wakes up. Additionally, the screen will typically display a charging status indicating how much the phone has been charged.

How to Tell if an iPhone Is Charging When the Battery Is Dead

If the battery is completely dead, the iPhone may not initially display anything for up to two minutes. The display may remain blank, but that doesn’t mean your battery isn’t charging.

Wait for two minutes. If it’s charging, it should display an image of a nearly-depleted battery after two minutes. However, you may not be able to turn on your phone right away. You may need to wait for 10 minutes before the display can be turned on.

If it’s not charging, you should see an image of a nearly-depleted battery along with an image of a charging cable pointing from the bottom of the screen towards the battery image.

This can be a bit difficult to understand, because some people mistakenly think that if the cable or cord appears on the screen, it means the iPhone is plugged in. However, this is not the case.

Think of it this way: The icons that appear on the blank screen tell you what your iPhone needs to have to be powered on.

If the battery icon appears by itself, it means that your iPhone only needs the battery to be charged, meaning it is currently still dead and not charged enough to turn on the display. Wait up to 10 minutes for it to charge sufficiently.

However, if the battery and the charging cable icons both appear, it means your iPhone also needs to be plugged in. If it’s plugged in and still showing a cable, it means that it is not plugged in correctly, perhaps because the power outlet is not providing power or the cable is faulty.

Other Signs That Your iPhone Is Charging

Another way to check if your iPhone is charging is to go to Settings > Battery. There, you will be able to see if the battery is charging, its current battery percentage, and whether it is charging too slowly.

You may also hear a ding or feel a slight vibration when plugging in the iPhone, if it is charging. However, if your iPhone is on silent or another Focus mode, you may not hear or feel anything.

Of course, if the battery percentage is increasing, then the iPhone is charging.

How Long It Takes for a Dead iPhone to Show Charging

If your iPhone is completely dead, it can take up to two minutes for it to display the battery icon on the screen. It can take up to 10 minutes for you to be able to turn on the display.

However, how long an iPhone takes to start charging from being completely dead depends on several factors. Some chargers and cables allow your iPhone to charge faster than others, depending on their wattage output. Longer cables also tend to take longer to charge, as the power charge has to travel further. Similarly, some power banks have a more powerful output and can charge quicker.

What to Do if Your iPhone Is Plugged In but Not Charging

If your phone is plugged in but not charging, first check the power source. It could be that the wall outlet is not working; try another outlet.

If you are charging it from a laptop but the laptop’s lid is closed, it might not charge. You can usually control this setting from the laptop’s BIOS settings. Some laptops are set not to charge external devices when the lid is closed and they are shut off.

Try using a different charger and cable. Sometimes, the charger or cable may be faulty and not charge properly.

Your charging port may also be the issue. If it is dirty, it may prevent proper charging. Try cleaning it with a can of compressed air or sucking dirt out with your mouth. If the charging port is damaged, though, you may need to replace it. A common sign of this is if your phone only charges when connected to the cable at a certain angle, and this problem reoccurs with any cable you try charging it with.

How to Confirm Charging Using Control Center and Battery Percentage

On an iPhone 14 or any other iPhone with Face ID, the battery will also show up in the Control Center. Swipe down from the top-right of the screen to see the Control Center. You will see the battery icon and the battery percentage.

In iOS 16 or later, you can also go to Settings > Battery > Battery Percentage and turn on Battery Percentage so that it always shows up in the status bar. This way, you won’t only be able to see your iPhone’s charging status by looking at the icon, but you will be able to check the iPhone’s battery percentage at any given time in the status bar at the top.

Conclusion

So, how can you know if your iPhone is charging? You can confirm whether your iPhone is charging by looking at the battery icon in the top-right corner. If it’s green with a lightning bolt inside, it means it’s charging. To check the iPhone’s charging status when it’s dead, wait two minutes until a battery icon appears on the screen. If there’s no cable icon on the screen, it means it’s charging.