Often times we are asked to determine if the charge port is bad or if the battery needs to be replaced on a device.
If a device has trouble taking a charge, that would indicate a problem with the charge port.
If a device has trouble holding a charge, that would indicate a bad battery.
For charge port trouble, often times it just needs to be professionally cleaned. Most iDropped stores do this for free; others charge a nominal fee. If you have to hold a cable a certain way to charge it, or it feels like it doesn’t go in all the way, or if the cable won’t stay in the port, that is a symptom of a bad charge port that just needs to be professionally cleaned.
In terms of symptoms of a bad battery, we’d advise you to check the settings for the battery health. Usually if the battery health is 80% or less on an iPhone, it is due for a new battery. Or, if it simply says “Service” in the battery settings.
If a device charges slow, that can be the battery and/or the charge port, or a deeper issue on the charging circuit. Most of the time it is the charge port at fault. Sometimes it’s the battery. Rarely is it a deeper board issue, but that is possible.
Drop by your local iDropped electronics repair shop for an honest assessment of your charging port and battery performance. Hope to see you soon!