11 Ways to Fix iOS 16 "Charging On Hold" error on iPhone

iPhones are very well-known for their battery back, except for the iPhone 12 mini. And the new iOS 16 has made it even better by offering improved battery charging and usage optimization. But the battery is not an everlasting piece of tech and it degrades as you use it more and more. And in this journey of keep using the battery, again and again, you can find the charging issue that says, “Charging On Hold“.

If you are getting this notification on your iPhone and you are not able to charge it, you have landed at the right place. Here I have compiled a list of fixes and best practices to get this issue resolved.

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Why is my iPhone saying “Charging On Hold”?

As I said earlier, the batteries degrade their health over time as you keep using them repetitively. However, this degradation process can be slowed by avoiding charging the iPhone to 100% and keeping it to just 80%. Likewise, Apple introduced the feature to limit charging to 80% in its iOS 13 update.

The charging temperature also plays a very important role in battery health degradation. High phone temperature or charging temperature can impart a drastic effect on the iPhone’s battery health and its life cycle. The high temperature is actually a more serious thing to consider as it is not only on the battery but also on the complete iPhone itself.

With that said, Apple also takes it seriously and puts the charging of the iPhone on hold if it gets hotter. And this scenario is notified to the iPhone user in the form of the “Charging On Hold” notification. As per Apple, there should be the following temperature range in the ambient surrounding for battery charging and operating:

Operating Ambient Temperature Range: 0ºC to 35ºC
Storage Ambient Temperature Range: -20ºC to 45ºC

How to Fix the “Charging On Hold” issue on iPhone

The “Charging On Hold” notification is actually a feature that not just lets you know that your iPhone’s temperature is high but also stops the charging in order to prevent any damage to the battery or the phone. This rise in temperature can be due to a natural rise in your ambient surrounding or can be due to some other technical factors.

While the natural factors are not in your control that much, the technical aspects of things are what you should actually consider in order to tackle the issue. Also, if it is an emergency and you want to get your iPhone charged at any cost, it becomes even more important to get the issue solved.

Fix 1: Cool down your iPhone

The immediate best thing to do is to bring the iPhone temperature to normal. As the charging has been stopped due to high temperature, lowering the temperature of the device will definitely help. You can bring your phone to a cool environment or in direct contact with a cold thing. For example, you can place your iPhone on a:

Marble Table Top
Laptop Cooling Pad
Metallic Surface
Glass Surface or,
Ice pack.

Just make sure there is no sudden drastic change in temperature as it can put the phone in more danger. So, the slow and gradual lowering of the temperature is what you should go for.

Fix 2: Charge your iPhone with a different charger and cable

A defect in the charging adapter or the cable can also make the phone heat up while charging. Incompatible or 3rd-party unreliable chargers and cables are what should avoid at any cost especially when your iPhone is heating like oven.

With that said, replace your charging adapter and cable and try to charge your iPhone with some other ones that are also reliable. Using an original charger and cable is definitely a good choice anyways. It will not just keep you away from the Charging On Hold issue but will also ensure to serve the best possible battery health.

Fix 3: Lower the brightness

Though this is not a fully-fledged fix or workaround to the issue however it is definitely gonna help in cooling down the phone relatively faster. The screen takes up a lot of power thereby increasing the battery usage and if you are charging your phone with the brightness cranked up, it is going to be negatively effective towards charging. Lower brightness while charging is anyways a best practice to get your battery charged quicker and more efficiently.

Fix 4: Remove the case if any

If you are using a case on your iPhone, you should remove it if the phone is heating badly. Again, it is not a definitive fix but a practice to prevent the phone from heating which is also equally effective in cooling down the same if the phone is already heating.

Fix 5: Turn off wireless and cellular connections

On the road to cool down the iPhone faster, you can also try turning off all the wireless and cellular connections if possible. Cellular antennas, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Hotspot, etc. takes significant power as they run even when the phone screen is off. Also, use Airplane mode if possible. Turning off these things will definitely reduce the workload on the phone which will ultimately helps in reducing the temperature.

Fix 6: Disable Optimized Charging

This may sound unexpected, but there have been reports from iPhone users that they have managed to get rid of the Charging On Hold issue by turning off the Optimized Battery Charging feature.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to Battery.

Step 2: On the Battery settings screen, tap on the Battery Health & Charging option.

Step 3: Here, turn off the toggle for the Optimized Battery Charging option.

Step 4: On the popup that appears, select the duration as to how much time you want the feature to be disabled. Select Turn Off to disable the optimized charging indefinitely or select Turn Odd Until Tomorrow if you want the feature to get activated automatically after 24 hours.

Step 5: Now the optimal charging is turned off. Now, just give your iPhone a reboot. Press and release the Volume Up Button, then the Volume Down button. Now press and hold the power button on your device and swipe the slider to the right when prompted to turn it off.

Once the phone is off, press the power button again to boot up your iPhone.

Once the phone is booted, let it cool down and charge it. You should not see the “Charging On Hold” notification from now.

Fix 7: Turn off Location Services

Like the wireless and cellular connections, the Location services also run in the background and use the GPS of your phone. You should turn off your Location Services up until the iPhones get normal in temperature. To disable the Locations Services:

step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Scroll down a bit and go to the Privacy section.

Step 3: Tap on the Location Services option.

Step 4: On the Location Services settings page, toggle if it’s switch to turn it off.

Fix 8: Disable Background App Refresh

The Background App Refresh feature is yet another feature that takes up a good amount of constant computational power as it keeps running in the background. You can disable it for the time being or permanently if you didn’t see any issue after disabling it.

Step 1: Open up the Settings app and go to General.

Step 2: On the General settings page, tap on the Background App Refresh option.

Step 3: On the next screen, again tap on the Background App Refresh option.

Step 4: Here, select the off option to disable the Background App Refresh. The Off option will get a blue tick mark when get selected.

Fix 9: Disable Fitness Tracking

Fitness Tracking is also a feature that can be disabled when you are trying to minimize the load on your iPhone so that it can cool down faster. Here;s how you can disable Fitness Tracking.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to Privacy & Security.

Step 3: On the Privacy & Security settings page, tap on the Motion & Fitness option.

Step 4: Now, toggle the switch of the Fitness Tracking to off.

Fix 10: Check for software update

It is very much possible that your current iOS 16 build is experiencing some glitches or bugs, causing the heating of the phone. The chances are even higher if you are on iOS 16 beta. Hence, consider checking for updates and shift to the iOS 16 stable version.

The process to shift from beta to stable is different, and you should refer to some detailed videos for this purpose. Other than that, here’s how you can check for updates on your iPhone.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Next go to General > Software Update.

Step 3: If there is an update available, go ahead and download, and install it by following the on-screen instructions.

Fix 11: Contact Apple Support

Lastly, if nothing works in your favor it is better to have some professional help from Apple itself. An Apple technician would do the job more professionally by better diagnosing and fixing the issue accordingly. You can use this link to get Apple Support help for your specific region.

Bottom Line

And here comes the end of this fixing guide. The “Charging On Hold” notification is a simple and clear indication that your iPhone is heating abnormally and that’s why the charging has been stopped. The simple way to get it solved is by checking whether the heating is due to the ambient surrounding being hot or if is it a technical issue.

In the prior case, you can try cooling down the device by following the tips mentioned above. However, if it’s a technical issue, then either the software or the hardware is causing the problem. Seek Apple Support in this case.

11 Ways to Fix iOS 16 “Charging On Hold” error on iPhone

Why is my iPhone saying “Charging On Hold”?