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Comment by Arbortheus | Hacker News Reader

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.

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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.

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?

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.

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