Featured Image Credit: Priscila Zambotto /Ming Yeung / Staff / Getty
Do you find yourself trying to wiggle your charging cable around in Android or Apple iPhone, similar to what we did with wired earphones before the wireless earphones days, because it won't charge?
Instead of giving up on your phone so easily, there's a simple hack you can do to get your phone charging again which could save you a trip to the repair shop and any incurring costs.
The issue might be caused by a build-up of dust and dirt in your smartphone's charging port.
Over the course of months and even years, your charging port has probably gathered much pocket fluff and all other kinds of dust and grime or dirt.
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As a result, the connection between the charging port and cable becomes less stable and may result in your phone not charging at all.
It's time to clean it out.
Simply grab a small poking device like a toothpick or cocktail stick that will fit in your phone's charging port. Then, without trying to push the dirt deeper into the device, gently scrape out the grime that you can see, including the sides.
For Lightning ports on older iPhones, you can scrape back and forth, while for USB-C ports, focus on scraping around the charging connector in the middle of the port.
After a few minutes, you'll start to dislodge the material and pull it out of the port - and be surprised how much stuff actually comes out.
Also, make sure to use a wooden or plastic device as it's less likely to scrape against anything inside and cause any internal damage.
It's going to be hard to tell whether you've got all of the dirt out of the port, as it's quite difficult to see inside, but once you feel you've had a good go at it, try plugging your charging cable in again to see if your phone charges.
Hopefully, you got it all out and your phone is now back to normal and charging again - saving you from buying a new phone or taking it in for repairs.
However, if not, try getting in deeper and pulling out more dirt before trying the charger again.
If still to no avail, it might be time to replace the charging cable or get a tech expert to take a second look.
