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Comment by brotherhoodZero | Hacker News Reader

I may be an odd on out here, but I'm not a fan of the move to USB-C. I don't care about data speeds or charging speeds. I don't even care about durability of the cable as they can be replaced. I care about durability of the charging port on the device and every USB-C device I've ever owned has become "loose" over time. This includes my iPad Mini, so I don't believe Apples has found a solution to this.

Meanwhile, I may have had to replace cables for my older iPhone, but those cables are still solidly in place when I insert them.

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Did you ever try scraping the bottom of the USB-C port with a bobby pin? I find over time pocket lint gets squished at the back of the port and stops the cable fitting in as snug. For some reason it seems to be more of a problem with USB-C ports than lightning ports.

This! I've fixed so many broken and flaky USB-C ports by simply cleaning the gunk at the bottom.

I find that a plastic flossing pick works really well. (I'd be hesitant to use anything metal like a bobby pin.)

Thanks, you guys just fixed my iPhone 12. Which previously required me to awkwardly move the cable to get it to charge

With a plastic toothpick I scraped the inside corners. At first nothing came out, but after a few scrapes multiple dust balls emerged. Honestly a surprising amount

I plugged it in, "that snap feeling again..." charging sound

Yup. Think apple stores use paint brushes for this. They helped me with this once before.

The lightning ports were so bad for this, but they were so easy to clean. Not sure how easy USB C will be to clean

In my experience they aren't too bad. I typically use an exacto knife and just scrape around the bottom of the port for a while until I stop pulling lint out.

I use a sewing needle to pull out lint. Using an exacto knife would scare me, but I'm glad to hear that it works - the ports are more durable than I assumed.

Isopropyl alcohol and an old toothbrush.

+1 to this. A "pick pick blow repeat" technique with a flosser pick typically gets everything out for me. Surprisingly, it most often ends up being jeans pocket lint.

>Surprisingly, it most often ends up being jeans pocket lint.

Why is that surprising? Don’t you keep your phone in your pocket?

You folks just fixed my iPhone 12! It was my first iPhone, and the lightning port "broke" after two months. In the years since then, I just charged wirelessly and made sure I always have a Qi pad available (battery life on the 12 series is not great). I just took a plastic twist tie, the kind you use for PC cables, and aggressively scraped the port's insides, especially the back/bottom since there's no contacts there. Lo and behold, I fished out a lapdog's worth of lint and the phone immediately started charging again.

I’m pretty sure it’s not pocket lint in my case. The loosening happens even on laptops and tablets. The problem is the male part of the connector is inside the device. And it’s quite thin compared to lightning. You move the device around while it’s plugged in and it puts strain on that thin male part of the connector. Next thing you know, the cable visibly can wiggle up and down when plugged in.

Did you try new cables? With USB-C the retaining spring is in the cable, so if it gets loose you just need to replace the cable. With Lightning the spring is inside the charge port in the device, so it's a lot more expensive to replace.

I’ve been saying this for years. Sure, USB-C has better shielding and can reach higher data rates, but I use my phone cable for exactly two purposes: 1) charging, and 2) playing music.

Meanwhile, dirt and sand can get into the new USB-C cables on both sides now, and the tube design is less resilient to being stepped on or rolled over.

I have had Android phones with USB-C and other USB-C devices like iPad Pro for many years now, and "dirt and sand can get into it" never even remotely crossed my mind. And yes they have been working just fine -- current phone is 3 years old and still doing well.

Antidotal and doesn’t dismiss my claim that lightning is more durable.

Every single lightning cable I've ever owned developed a black corrosion on a pin that prevented it from working. Every. single. one. You cannot claim that lightning is durable. It's completely farcical.

Never happened to me. In my experience lightning ports a as close to unbreakable as it gets given that size factor. In contrast every USB-C port seems to get loose or outright break after heavy usage (including lenovo and MacBooks). I will not miss having multiple cables but I will miss the snug and reliable fit that various lightning plugs/ports have maintained over years in my service. It's probably time to move to wireless charging anyways

I could show you my collection of broken lightning cables where the plastic just before the "meat" of the connector is split, leading to visible copper/whatever cables. Which in turn leads to broken copper/whatever cables, which are at best broking the functionality, at worse dangerous (is it?).

Wireless stuff is neat I guess… but it takes up much more space and is much less efficient. The power loss alone seems like a big deal that we don’t really consider. Not to mention that it’s not really any more convenient than say MagSafe is. I find my phone uncharged in the morning far more often because I didn’t align it properly with the pad, than because my cable is going bad.

I will say, it’s nice letting my phone stand also charge it… so I’m also kinda a fan.

This is a surprisingly tough issue for me.

* anecdotal

I thought that looked wrong. Damnit autocorrect. Thanks.

I've had several lightning cables fail from moisture getting from my fingers onto the exposed contacts and causing galvanic corrosion. The tube from USB-C seems to prevent that.

Ah that explains why all my cords have a really tarnished lead.

Are you sure its a tarnished lead? Lots of lightning cables have one tarnished lead (often on each side) from arcing. If I remember correctly using such a cable in a new iPhone could even damage the matching pin inside the phone, leading to the situation where it would start arcing on a non-broken cable (damaging the same leads on the new cable).

Who grabs a cable by the metal bit?

"Your average user" does.

Your anecdote interests me because I've the same thoughts but prefer USB-C instead. I've taken care of my family's iPhones and the issues of pocket lint and loose cables have happened far too often for me to ignore.

The occasions I can remember USB-C breaking are on cables that are from no-name brands.

That said, at least it's easier to clean the ports on a Lightning cable.

Exact same experience here. I hate how USB C has the fragile male end on the port and the durable female end on the cable. It’s significantly more complex and less robust compared to lightning. Is this really the only way to get higher charging/data speeds

You're not alone. My lightning to USB-C cables always break at USB-C side but not Lightning side. Also, a USB-C port in my M1 laptop stopped working and needs repair (and no, flossing pick doesn't help). I actually am wary about this change.

It's not like lightning ports are immune to this. The port on my 11 is so busted cables hardly stay in anymore, and you have to apply pressure manually to ensure the device is actually charging.

And no, it's not dust/lint in there.

actually, i had enrolled my ipad air for apple care, specifically to reserve the right to complain, some day, when i am no longer happy with the port feel.

I agree that the physical usb c connection looks like the worst structure for a connector. Extremely flimsy

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