It’s true what they say about getting what you pay for, especially when it comes to electronics. The team of repair specialists at mendmyi in the UK have recently been receiving far more iPhone 5 repairs than they are used to. Every iPhone 5 owner had the same complaint: the device wouldn’t recharge after the battery died. The screen wouldn’t even light back up.
After some careful examination, mendmyi discovered that even replacing the battery wouldn’t solve the problem. Once the new battery was empty, the phone still wouldn’t charge. The baffled phone repair specialists decided to open up the phone for a more thorough investigation. What they found was that the U2 IC had been damaged, a component which “controls the charge to the battery, runs the power to the sleep/wake button, controls the USB function and and regulates the charging to the power IC that charges the iPhone 5.”
In other words, it’s pretty important.
The symptoms of a faulty U2 IC include the inability for the battery to charge beyond 1%, the phone automatically powering on and, of course, a blank screen when the iPhone is connected to a charger.
The cause of the damage? Third-party chargers and USB leads. By charging your iPhone 5 with an unofficial charger, you risk unregulated variables in voltage and current while charging your phone, potentially shorting out the U2 IC and necessitating a replacement of the component. Plugging your iPhone 5 into a cigarette lighter can also lead to similar problems.
It’s always safer to stick with official Apple charging accessories, even if they do cost more than the third-party alternatives.
