Got given an iphone a few weeks ago. The charger I bought for it stopped working so I borrowed one for a bit then gave it back. Had to go back to my old Nokia. Just borrowed another cable while I’m waiting for the cable to come back into stock. This doesn’t work either. I’ve tried pressing the 2 buttons together and rebooting my computer with the cable attached. Any ideas?

Which iPhone 4 or 3GS?

It’s 4 years old so can’t be 4. It was sat in a drawer for a year and it charged ok at my friends. Maybe it needs to be plugged in an apple computer to start to work, bloody apple. Thought they were meant to be easy to use.

No doesn’t need to be plugged into an Apple machine, mains adaptor is fine; maybe buy a new mains adaptor / USB cable.

Didn’t apple change the iphone connection so that you had to use an iphone cable and not an ipod cable and you can’t tell the difference between the two just by looking?

Common problem is a bit of fluff or pocket debris getting into the connector at the bottom of the phone, which then prevents the charge cable from seating properly.

Have a quick poke about in there and make sure it is clear.

When you plug it into a PC does it show up as a device? Can iTunes see it?

Didn’t apple change the iphone connection so that you had to use an iphone cable and not an ipod cable and you can’t tell the difference between the two just by looking?

This is correct.

New cable, new mains adapter (or at least one that you’ve seen work on another iPhone – not iPod), if it still doesn’t work it may be borked.

Did it charge with your old charger? Did it work OK with the first cable you borrowed?

My iPod classic and nano usb cables work great with my old 3GS and 4S.

How old are they Drac?
My missus has got a really old nano, and the my iphone won’t charge from the cable for that.
Modern ones, no problem, but the old ones are different despite looking the same. They will fit and the connection to a computer will work but it won’t charge.

Original Nano the dodgy exploding one anyway and iPod is probably 2nd generation, certainly before the iPhone was released.

This happened to me with an iPod Touch. I popped in to a local Apple store. Staff were really welcoming and helpful. Turned out to be a silly, easy fix, as the cable was at fault. I could’ve bought an Apple one for 18-odd quid but took a chance on the cheap eBay ones. They’ve been great and charge both my iPod and iPhone.

I’ve had cheap cables die on me… probably the cable.

The cable that broke was a cheap ebay one. The cable I borrowed was a probably an ipod one as it has a few audio cables connected to it. Thanks for the replies.