4 ms·
The connector on every phone I have ceases to work eventually not because the connector is broken, but because the socket has (sufficiently) filled with pocket
by deathanatos 4y ago
The connector on every phone I have ceases to work eventually not because the connector is broken, but because the socket has (sufficiently) filled with pocket lint such that the plug isn't able to reliably connect anymore. One just needs to remove the lint from the port. (And note that you won't see the lint by gazing into the port, either; it has usually been compacted into the bottom of the socket by the plug squishing it down.)
I've fixed ~4 phones by doing that.
This was a problem with USB micro, too.
- axiolite 4y agoMagnetic cables are a good solution to this and other problems. The magnetic tip stays inserted at all times, preventing lint infiltration.
- ilyt 4y agoThen you need some extra connector or cable after few years and realize none of them are in production anymore...
- lesuorac 4y agoAnd this is why I buy a case of junk .... Still have some working iPad 1 chargers (fat lightning).
- axiolite 4y agoI've only seen two designs of magnetic USB cables. The most popular is round, and I've confirmed different manufacturers' tips/cables are fully interchangeable. The other style is oval shaped, and those would obviously be incompatible. And what's the worst that happens? I might eventually have to switch to normal, horrible cables, like you use every single day? Enjoy wearing out your cables and devices...
- MayeulC 4y agoI have three incompatible round tips: 20W, 4 connectors, 60W, 5 connectors (x2). Aliexpress brands respectively uslion (x2) and elough.
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 4y agoFrom my understanding, this violate the spec potentially connecting all the pins at the same time which causes some sort of spike in power which is bad?
- Certhas 4y agoAny suggestions for how to clear the socket out?
- Dma54rhs 4y agoPlastic sharp object to pick. Maybe toothpick and loads of lighting.
- Gigachad 4y agothe wooden ones require a knife to shave them down thinner.
- mattkrause 4y agoI would just go by feel. Even when there's a lot of lint in there, it can be really hard to see it, so just probe around until nothing else comes out.
- hallway_monitor 4y agoI know the sibling suggested a toothpick, but everything besides a needle has been too large and too week in my experience. There's nothing important at the bottom of the port so just jam it in there and scrape around until you can get a bunch of lint out. You will be surprised what you find.
- kibwen 4y agoI use a safety pin. The amount of lint I get out is unbelievable. And I have to scrape hard to get it all out, it's extremely compacted. Don't stop until you hear the sound of metal on plastic.
- jprd 4y agoWhittle the toothpick a smidgen with a razor blade or similar. Metal scraping flimsy metal contacts that are nigh-unrepairable is a hard lesson. Unfortunately it is also one that I seem to need to re-learn on a consistent basis.
- eyelidlessness 4y agoI just dig out my lightning port with a toothpick every time I wake up to find my phone didn’t charge. I have no idea how safe that would be with a USB-C port, which is literally the only reason I dread the otherwise obviously-good transition of iPhones to a standard port.
- phonepostingsux 4y ago> no idea how safe that would be with a USB-C port I've cleaned mine with a needle several times without any issues. Being a little careful seems to suffice.
- cesarb 4y agoIt should be safer with a USB-C port, since the springs (the most fragile part) are in the cable, not in the port; with lightning, the springs are in the port instead of the cable.
- masklinn 4y ago> This was a problem with USB micro, too. It's also a problem with Apple's Lightning. Every once in a while I preventively take a toothpick to my iphone in order to delint it.
- pclmulqdq 4y agoYou can delint a lightning port with a toothpick, though. I use special (tiny) plastic tweezers to clean my USB-C ports.