Time to clean the lint out of the charging port
The charging port is the bellybutton of the device
It’s always this unless you can think of a time you specifically damaged the port. And you’ll be surprised how much shit comes out with the tip of a plastic toothpick; how it was somehow actually managing to still charge in the first place lol.
I honestly enjoy it when this happens. It’s so satisfying getting to pull obscenely large wads of lint out of the port
Depends on the port, micro usb used to just wear out over time.
Mine started doing it too. Turns out the charging port was full of dust!
Good to know…
They’re absolutely right, that is the cause 85% of the time. Make sure to get a non-conductive pick made out of plastic or wood (e. g. literally a toothpick) and remove the dust by circling around the little protrusion, then clean the rounded corners with a little hooking motion.
Caused by gunk in the charge port. It naturally accrues over time. Local repair stores will have the specialized tools to fix it.
Edit: people who are saying toothpicks havent actually done the job properly before, I’m willing to bet. Toothpicks don’t fit properly in a USB-C port, and can barely get inside a lightning port. Not to mention that if it breaks, you’re fucked and have to go to a repair shop anyway.
Me too, alcohol and toothpick
Can confirm rubbing alcohol can improve your experience with failing phone charge port. I got to the point with one where it wouldn’t charge unless I applied a minuscule amount of alcohol around the metal prong in the phone with a shaved down toothpick before plugging it in. This tip is mentioned exclusively for those trying to extend the life of an end-stage phone and I take no responsibility for any fires or harm to the phone.
That said, there were never any problems when I did it and it extended the phone’s life maybe 8 months, and after a few months it didn’t even need the alcohol. Maybe it improves conductivity or used the charger head to over time clean the phone port. This was a micro-USB charger because I like using 8 year old, $60 phones.
Can confirm. Clean these out all the time. about 75%-80% of the time this is the cause of this exact issue.
Toothpicks work great. They are wood or plastic so they won’t conduct electricity.
Time to fish out the impacted lint from the charge hole with a pin! You’d be surprised how much lint can get jammed up in there.
This. I was sure I had mine completely clean 3 times and was pretty resigned to wireless charging only before a hardened sliver of detritus dropped out. Back to working like new.
Makes me seriously consider something like a Magnetic USBC connector
USB C? See if it isn’t full of garbage accumulated inside. I had to use a needle to scratch it out. Shit was so dense it was pretty difficult to clean. Eventually (~20 min of intensive scratching), I managed to clean it and I got rid of the problem.
Until I found the problem, I ended up buying bs. Another charger and an inductive charger.
Got myself a Fairphone 5 just a few weeks ago. With this, switching the charging port is a 20€ + 10min time investment.
i dont have a fairphone-amount of cash lying around, but I’m seriously wondering if it doesnt end up to be cheaper in the long run for those who do.
how long does it get security updates?
https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/9979180437393-Fairphone-s-Operating-System
They promise 8 years (possibly 10), so at least until late 2031.
Im pretty sure it will end up being cheaper for me on the long run, especially compared to an iPhone. Im kind of amazed that its not more expensive considering they probably spend like twice as much for the components (or rather for the conditions they are produced under), while still being more or less competitive. But I guess its possible if you dont go for 200% profit margin.
I have nothing constructive to contribute other than I feel smug and superior because I have a fairphone, so I can change mine if that ever happens.
sharp pair of tweezers or a needle or a toothpicks should be able to help. tons of instructions on how to do it in this thread, but I will add my 2 cents as a phone tech and say that if it’s a lightening port, you want to keep your tool as vertically in the middle of the port as possible while scraping horizontally. for USBC, keep your tool as close to the walls as possible while avoiding the center “tab”. this is so you don’t scrape the contacts. if you do that, you will need a port replacement (usually 80-100$ on most devices). once you scrape as much as you can out. you can use an old toothbrush or whatever works to brush the port clean with some isopropyl to clean any dirt on the contacts, which will come off easily now that it’s not being supported but the other debris you cleaned out with the tool.
Why not use plastic or tooth pick and start with alcohol?
whatever works best! it’s just kinda hard to find something plastic that skinny and sharp, and I use tweezers as it’s the most efficient (but also the most prone to damage if you make mistakes I guess).
starting with the brush/isopropyl is not a bad idea for cleaning the contacts (and should be the first thing tried if a device isn’t charging) but it usually doesn’t actually get stuff out of the port. if a port is only charging at a specific angle, it’s cause there’s debris stuck in there. in my experience it’s usually very hard to get with a brush as it’s been compacted and cemented over however long you’ve had the device.
That’s great, thanks for explaining.
even if it were broken, this would be such an easy fix if phone companies wouldn’t make it impossible to repair their phones. its freaking infuriating.
I think you could do this repair at home with no prior experience on a lot of androids. for an iphone you have to remove the motherboard though which is pretty obnoxious
I had a little plastic army guy go missing from my diorama. Turns out, he was in the charging port,of my phone. :)
This is why I try to use my wireless charger when I don’t need fast charging, reduces the strain on my charging cable and the USB C port
increases strain on your battery tho
How, from the heat?
yes! heat is kinda the worst thing you can do to a battery. I’m not a chemist, but I believe the chemical reaction that charges/discharges a lithium ion begins to breaks down when performed in a heated environment, and I can confirm that consistent exposure to heat is how you get the really puffy spicy pillow batteries.
If there is a problem with capacitance then this won’t help, but if it might just be dirty then power it down and clean the charging port with a can of 99.99% compressed alcohol electronics cleaner, then use a can of air duster, repeat a couple of times. Afterwards, press the case firmly to ensure it’s still held together. Leave to dry completely before trying again.
Look into magnetic charging adapters. I’m just putting them on my wife’s devices out of the box now.
Yes, started using them a few years ago. It’s a game changer.
Possibility 1 the port is full of crap, clean the port with a thin stiff piece of plastic.
Possibility 2 the port is broken, treat your equipment better.
Possibility 3 the cable is bad, replace the cable and treat your equipment better.
One time my headphone stopped working without weird angle thing.
Out of nowhere. Just stopped working.It was perfect with good quality sound befire but no “only one ear” or “certain angle” or “bad quality sound” nope.
I didn’t have my guard up and paid dearly for it.
