How To Fix A Broken iPhone Charger Cable 

The first thing I do when unboxing a new iPhone charger cable is put a couple layers of heat shrink tubing over the end to reinforce the cable. I then cut some pieces of Gaffers tape and tape on either side over the heat shrink and plastic connector to form little "wings". This allows you to pull on the wings when disconnecting and never pull on the cable itself. I have three heavily used cables that are over 5 years old and still in perfect condition.

i just got a new iphone this christmas......and i did the "good" solution right away with no damage on the cable.......prevention is better than cure

I've used shrink tape but never thought about incorporating a spring, brilliant!

Thank you the clear instructions with no annoying music. I appreciate having different options as well.

Just make sure to protect the connector metal end while heating, since it has a white plastic that houses the connector pads which are easily damageable with heat. I’ve damaged a cable before trying to heat-shrink it.

1. That broken shielding acts as a ground. While you may not specifically need it, it's a good thing to re-connect it if possible. 2. Many phone cases have an opening for the cable just big enough to fit the plug end through. Be sure as you enlarge the plug end by putting heat shrink or tape on it that you don't prevent the plug from going into your phone case. You may need to start the heat shrink further back from the end of the plug. 3. Love the marine heat shrink idea!

Go with 3. But for all solutions only cover 1/2 the connector body to ensure connector will fit through iPhone protective case and make contact with phone lightning socket.

I have a cord that needs repaired. After watching this, I would definitely do the 3rd option. Seems like it would hold up well. Thanks Scott!

Great video bro! I’m 76 and a diyer and never knew about the tape thing, I’ve always stretched to tear it! Thanks for the lesson and the spring idea! ☮✌🏻

Definitely the 3rd one is the best. I usually use liquid plastic for dipping tool handle. Also I used it for the rod outdoor chairs’ legs to protect the floors and work amazing

Do option 3 on a new cable for preventive maintenance. 👍

Solution worked like a charm. If you can’t get a spring, you can use an old paper clip and a needle nose pliers to wrap it and provide more support

Hi, I had to go with the tape version just to save money. I already had some tape but I did learn from you I was not wrapping it correctly so thank you for that! 🙂 Great video!

I love all your videos! One suggestion to get a tight tube over the plug would be to put in 1 drop of hand-wash soap into the tube. This trick helps slide even the tightest tube over the cable plug.

I have 2 kids that seem to go through chargers faster than i can keep up with! So glad you made this video, now we can repair them and i know my kids will have fun doing this too!!

Variant on the 3rd solution: Use a zip tie to or 2 to provide ribs for strain relief. Trim them to length after. The adhesive keeps them in place and you don’t have to destroy a pen.

I cut a straw into a spiral and then heat shrink that. Also, tape would’ve helped fill the gap with the first kind of heat shrink.

Doing this to new cables prevents them from ever going bad. Apply the fix early.

For heat shrink tubing, you can also get a higher grade version that reduces in size by a factor of three. That will give you a tight seal against both the cable and the head.

You may find that your “best” solution will fail sooner than the middle one: adhesive-lined heatshrink tends to be more rigid, so you’re creating a new stress point at the end of the heatshrink (just like the cable fails at the end of the original strain relief). Paradoxically, softer heatshrink makes for a more robust strain relief. I usually create strain reliefs by applying multiple layers, to taper off the rigidity rather than have an abrupt transition, which is where failure occurs. (I’m an electronics technician, so this is not just with repairs, but when making custom cables of various kinds.)

All good fixes - however I had a similar, but slightly different problem. That being, my cat loved to chew on my cable rendering it unusable. After this happened twice, I brought a roll of what I call engine loom split plastic cable covering and installed it over the entire cable length. It not only protects the cable, but provides some strain relief at the ends.

Thanks for your demonstration! Have 3 to fix, so hope all goes well.

These are pretty cool tips especially the 3rd solution. I have used electrical tape in the past and it did the job until I was able to buy a need cable. Thanks for the tips!

I really like that marine heat shrink material. It seems to work well in lots of applications. And harvesting those little springs. Never thought of that, thanks!

My preference is None Of The Above. For a similar price one can buy a magnetic-tipped cable that comes with an assortment of low-profile also-magnetic-tipped plugs (lightning, usb type c, and micro-usb). This lets you leave the plug in the device's port all the time to eliminate wear&tear on the port, and it takes only a few seconds and only one hand to connect or disconnect the cable to/from the plug. The ease & speed & non-wear of connecting & disconnecting facilitates keeping the battery charge level within a narrow healthy range that extends the lifespan of the battery. (I programmed my phone to speak the charge percentage about once every 10 minutes if either of the following conditions is true: the charge exceeds 80% and the charger is connected, or the charge is less than 50% and the charger isn't connected.) However, I know almost nothing about the Apple lightning cables -- my phones have always been Android with micro-USB or type C ports -- so perhaps I'm overlooking something important about iPhone (lightning) cables.

Pov:You are at 1%

I prefer the best method … The electrical tape, the wire spring, then the shrink wrap. However, I would add one more step. I will perform this best method before I start using my new charging wire. I will add this first after the purchase. Thank you for showing.

They also do sell 3:1 heat shrink which would've been so useful too. With adhesive would work well as well and would be very rigid from the glue. I personally have never broken a phone cable that way although I know many people who do.

I know I'm a year late but my god are you a life saver. This is the only charger I have that works for my chromebook and a new one costs so much. Thanks man

Nice work. I typically use solution two and find that the cable jacket will crack again where it meets the shrink tubing after a year or two and will have to be repaired again. Still better than buying a new cable.

If I notice cracks, 1st fill then in with crazy glue & tissue paper, then added pen spring- great idea from this vid!

Your last solution is an excellent idea. Thanks. Very much for the help.

Better or best. But I have heat shrink assortment. Should buy marine anyway. Why didn’t this ever occur to me. Also helpful on using tape, though I’ve used it all my 75 years.

Never knew about the Marine grade shrink tubing, but now I may consider using it.

Thanks, I have used shrink wrap before but I didn’t even know there was a Marine version… awesome content.

Great video. I use the second method. I did not know about the spring hack. Thx. BTW use caution on using the heat gun near the cable tip. I've been careless in the past and have ruined a cable.

i had tried using electrical tape but it always turned into a mess because i wasn't doing it right... i did your tape method as a quick fix, but will be purchasing the heat shrink and trying that method for a longer term repair. i just subscribed to your channel because there are so many useful vids here!

Thank you for this! My iphone charger cable is leaking blue liquid on the same spot.

Very clever using an ink pen spring and the heavier marine-grade shrink wrap. I agree, that should be the best. Whoever came up with that had their thinking cap on.

Last one was the one I used a few months ago

I am just finishing working on a cord where the male connector itself was damaged when my cellphone fell off my night stand. My phone landed.upright onto the floor, with the connection bending at a 90° angle at its weak point. Since it stopped working, I immediately knew that one or more of the wires soldered onto the connector had broken loose. I had to cut away the molded rubberized plastic covering the solders, cut the cable an inch down, and reconnect the four wires in their correct sequence. What people need to remember is to put the sheink wrap on the cableI before they solder it back together. That way they can just slide the prope size shrink wrap up the thinner cable instead of trying to slip a larger shrink-wrap over the larger connector end. Cheers

I like A+B (tape + tube). I don't have springs laying around.

If you have a old plastic 30 pin cable you can use a 30 pin to lighting adapter to repurpose them to charge your phone

You can use a very small amount of hot-glue underneath the heat-shrink to add more stability and fill in to the most damaged areas. When you apply heat to the heat-shrink the hot-glue (typically EVA plastic) is also becomes molten and fills in any gaps as it shrinks and get squeezed. Helps create a good water-seal on the edges + help the heat-shrink grip better. You can buy heat-shrink with similar pre-applied glue on the inside, but sometimes you want to make due with what you have at hand :) Usually a good idea to start the heating in the middle to let the hot-glue flow both ways and reduce mess.

Great idea, but maybe an improvement of the spring method would to apply heatshrink after the electrical tape, then put the spring on then the outer heatshrink. This would help the tape in place and the tape will make the heatshrink a more snug fit than without because it increases the diameter. Or course it'll depend on the size of the spring and cable. I've always felt it was a shame to throw away those little springs inside pens; now I've got a perfect reason to keep them!

Self fusing silicone repair tape. Shrink tubing is too stiff and the cable just breaks at the end of the heat shrink.

Dude your a total legend, absolutely brilliant

It would be a good idea to put strain relief on new cable to make it last longer. If the inner wires are exposed, they are probably frayed on the inside of the insulation. No telling how long it will last even if you tape it up. It's a good idea to start looking into a new cable at that point.

Thank you. This was great video. Something that everyone struggles with.

All three options are good. However, I feel the you'll be moving the kink further down. I would use option 3.

I tried to wrap electrical tape around two cables (option 1) but without succes :-/ My cables look less damaged than yours but I think they might be broken differently or somewhere else so they cannot be fixed. Some comments indicate that they made it work after having used your method to apply the tape. I have watched the video several times and I think I do it the same way as you by stretching, angling and keeping it tight 🤔

Thanks for the video, tired of constantly buying new cords - I will be the best route for my cable!

Wow, very informative for a fix it yourself dummy. I wished I watched the video before I bought the heat shrink wrap. But, I'm going to do #3, the best. Thanks!

The last one is best. Bcs it also protect the cable from the finger pressure and twisting when inserting rhe cable in the phone socket

Does tape work?

Wowww many options.. I like the second one.. the heat makes a custom fit.. another great video

Thank you for showing the amateur way of doing it at first. 🤗

Thank you so much I just fixed my cellphone charger right away after watching this video.i used the first method .thanks so much for the tips.

Again, with your best solution, I’d use standard shrink tubing under the spring instead of tape, but if using tape… wrap the tape around the cable, don’t twist the cable into the tape…

This is one of those examples where u left it better than it was.👍🏽🇺🇸

Great video! My tape-only repair job failed because I didn't wrap it properly. And now I'm inspired to go for the best approach. Is there a heat gun you recommend? There's no link to one in your description, nor could I find one in your favorite tools.

I used the shrink tubing before and it ended up tearing the cable insulation at the end of the shrunk tubing. Because it's hard and sharp edge.

Can u use dollar store grey duct tape instead of electric tape? Or is this is electrical hazard if the open wires are exposed to the silver/grey duct tape?

My favorite way to repair these kinds of cables is to use a silicone putty like Sugru. Roll it into a flat sheet with your hands, wrap around the cable and press tight. Then let it cure for 24 hours.

Nice idea, I have a cord I need to do that with. Thanks

I tried the “best” solution -preemptively, my cable wasn’t yet showing any damage - but wasn’t able to make it work. I wasn’t able to get the 1/4” marine grade shrink tubing over the housing with even one layer of the scotch brand 33+ electrical tape in place. I’m sure it’s a matter of my own lack of experience with this sort of thing. I removed the electrical tape and used just the spring and the shrink wrap. But I still wonder whether the electrical tape by itself might have provided more protection. I might try that on my spare cable.

Fantastic tips. Saved me $$$. Already have the heat shrink, tape and springs on hand.

You can't tell me that the manufacturer is unable to fix this problem. They don't because it forces you to buy new cables more often. Thx for this wonderful information!

I don't want to jinx myself but I have yet to have a cable get damaged like that. Maybe I'm more careful than others. Maybe I'm lucky. But with the amount of these cords I have around the house, I guess I would have seen it before. My son has damaged a couple of cables because but they weren't the OEM Apple ones, they were those reinforced cables that look was more resistant from factory but he still managed to bend it enough that it stopped working - no damaged insulation or wires were visible.

Mine recently charger wire for some reason has a cut mark on it and this might be the case so thx for the tip

What can I say 👍👍👍👍Third one is the best. You need no soldering iron.

the marine heat shrink is an overkill imo, but I like your video

I just buy quality cords for $30-$40 and they last for years.

This was a good presentation. One thing I noticed however is your “better” choice seemed a bit too flimsy compared to your “good” choice. It seemed like the electrical tape created a more firm protection for the wires. I wonder how much better it would be to first tape it, then apply the shrink material. Doing that would really make it “better”. What do you think?

Great video. #3 option is my favorite! 😊

The best with spring.Worked like a champ. Thanks fun fix!

What if you can afford it?

I've already done that but the spring idea is a good one , looks like im stocking up on old springs lol

This video was super helpful thanks!

What if you heat shrink BEFORE the cable gets that bad?? You know, a little preventive maintenance.

The third solution was best

All 4 of my daily used iPhone lightning cables are 4 to 7 years old. Secret ? Throw out the useless 1 meter cables Apple use to include in the box (too much bending strain) and replace with 2 meter cables.

I've been doing this to my wired headphones since 2012 but with regular tape then I started doing this to my iPhone chargers Ive never had to replace a charger.

My cousin used one and always used his smart phone like a computer for social media for Facebook. He always kept it interesting for his friends and family. His charging cord shorted out. My point is if you want something you are sure won't damage your phone and you definitely only get what you pay for. Invest in a heavy duty charging cord.

Great tips as always. Thanks!

Mine is too far gone. The wires are broken. The marine solution would be great when the cord is new.

Great video. I'll try the 'best' one. Greetings from Australia.

Well the problem i have is i opened up the whole casing so i can reconnect the live wires that its - and + touching and making fire :/ I just dont know what wires go to what plot

3rd solution, without a doubt! Great video, as always…

big thanks for the tutorial! I went for the budget version this time around ;)

I’ve been doing this for years! 👍 a good method

Awesome video! Those heat shrink tubes are on my list!!

The best solution is the last one 😊

The pen spring can be very sharp after cutting.

ऐसे मेरा हो गया h but charg nhi hota es charger se plsss kindly tell me

Shoe goo takes no time , leave it over night. Not quite as pretty but that spot area on the cable will never fail

Awesome! Practical! Thank you so much!

I just got an older MacBook Air and the cable has some issues, most likely going to do this 👍

By golly I love this!!!

Maybe put some silicon glue on the cable before sliding the tube on.