You've plugged in your Google Pixel 5 to charge, but the battery life only seems to decrease. You're worried that your phone will die before you can figure out what's wrong. In this article, I'll show you everything you can do if your Google Pixel 5 won't charge.
Force Restart Your Pixel 5
The first step you'll want to take in figuring out why your phone won't charge is to perform a force restart. Often, restarting a smartphone can resolve minor errors occurring within its software. These glitches can interfere with many of a device's functions, including its ability to charge successfully.
Sometimes, when a phone's software crashes, its screen will turn black and unresponsive to its users actions. If you've plugged in your Pixel 5 and it still appears dead and unable to charge, this does not necessarily mean that the phone itself isn't charging. Restarting your Pixel 5 might fix this problem, or at least indicate whether or not a software crash is the source of the charging error.
How To Force Restart Your Google Pixel 5
To restart your Google Pixel 5, first turn it off. Once it's turned off, press and hold the power and volume down buttons at the same time, continue holding both buttons until a screen displaying the Android logo and the word “Start” shows up on your phone. Once you see this display, select Recovery Mode, using the volume buttons to toggle through your options and the power button to select. After a few seconds your device should restart.
If your phone is completely unresponsive, you can also force restart by pressing and holding the power and volume down buttons. If you hold these buttons down for at least seven seconds, your phone should restart.
If, after restarting, your Pixel 5 can charge again, great! However, you might want to remain alert in anticipation of any other errors that could arise with your device. A smartphone shouldn't just stop charging for no reason, so it's possible there's a deeper issue occurring on your phone. Keep reading this article for more tips on how to comprehensively fix whatever error caused the charging interference to begin with.
Backup Your Google Pixel 5
Whenever a device experiences an issue with its hardware or software, the potential for that problem to get worse can be unpredictable. Before trying any further home repairs, you'll want to backup your Pixel 5 to an external storage source, just in case.
Google Pixel smartphones all come with an automatic backup setting preinstalled. This feature will automatically upload much of your essential data, including your messages, contacts, pictures and videos, to your Google account on a regular basis. If you turn this feature off, which you can do by opening Settings, selecting System and then Backup, any data that's been backed up automatically will be deleted from your account.
If you'd prefer to backup certain files manually, you also have the option to upload directly to your Google Drive account. To do this, open Drive on your Pixel 5 and tap the Plus (Add) icon. After hitting Add, tap Upload, then Upload Files. You'll be able to select every file on your phone that you would like to backup.
Check Your Charging Cable
Once you've backed up everything you would like saved to your Google account, you can safely start troubleshooting again. The next step we recommend taking is to check your Pixel 5's charging cable for damage.
Take a close look at your charging cable. Make a note of any potential fraying, creasing or other visible damage you find. If you see anything that looks relatively serious, such as an exposed wire, this could very well be the reason that your Pixel 5's not charging successfully.
On a similar note, it might be helpful to try a different charging cable if you have one available. If your Pixel 5 can successfully charge with a different cable, you can be almost positive that your original charging cable was causing the problem.
Clean Out Your Pixel's Charging Port
Another common explanation for why a smartphone's unable to charge is that there's something blocking the charging port from connecting to a charging cable. Often, small materials like lint, dirt and other debris can get lodged in a charging port without the user ever noticing. When this happens, it could make it impossible for a phone to successfully charge.
Grab a flashlight and shine it into your charging port. Keep an eye out for anything small that shouldn't be in there. If you happen to find any obstructive material, grab a brush that won't conduct electricity (a new toothbrush is a perfect household item for this task) and lightly clean out the port.
Once you've gotten rid of any dirt in your port, try charging again. If it works, great! If not, keep reading for more tips.
Factory Restore Google Pixel 5
If you've tried every fix so far and still can't charge your Pixel 5, the final home fix we recommend is a factory restore. By performing a factory restore, you'll erase all of your personal data from your phone, and hopefully any bugs in the software interfering with its ability to charge. Before completing this step, make sure that you've backed up all of the essential information on your phone, as you won't be able to access it otherwise.
Before beginning the restore process, make sure that your phone's successfully connected to a WiFi network or cellular data. If you try to factory restore your Pixel 5 without a wireless connection you won't be able to log back into your account when the restore's finished.
Once you're connected, open Settings. Select System, then Advanced followed by Reset options. Under Reset options, select Erase all data (factory reset), then Reset phone. If prompted, enter your PIN, security code or pattern to confirm you want to initiate this reset.
After confirming the reset, select Erase everything. After your data's erased, select Restart. After your phone restarts, log back into your Google account. All of your backed up data should restore into your device from there.
Get Your Pixel Repaired
If your Pixel 5 still won't charge after the factory restore, it;s time to reach out to an expert about your problem. To speak to a technician, or to find out more information about what could be going wrong with your device, consult Google's Repair Center. It's likely your phone's experiencing a relatively serious issue and they'll probably have the precise information you need to resolve it.
Pixel 5: Charging Again!
Losing the ability to charge your smartphone can be one of the most stressful technological malfunctions you can experience as a cell phone user. Luckily, this problem usually has a simple and easy solution. If your Google Pixel 5 won't charge, make sure your charger's working and your phone's clean. We'll get your phone charging in no time!
