How to clean iPad charging cable
Alcohol swabs make cleaning wires a breeze. Simply clean the cables down and they’ll look as good as the day you bought them. When you connect in the Lightning cable, does your iPhone no longer charge properly? This is a common problem, but happily, the solution is simple.
It’s possible that the issue isn’t with the iPhone, but with the charging cable. Take a good look at the connectors for any signs of oxidation. It will appear as black markings on the gold connections that are difficult to remove.
How to Fix Intermittent Charging Issues with an iPhone Cable and port?
This article explains how to clean the critical parts if your iPhone won’t charge or charges intermittently due to a faulty cable or charger port. The lightning charging cable pins and iPhone port will need to be cleaned on a regular basis. This is especially true if the lightning connector pins on the cable have dark marks on them. Don’t go out and buy a new cable just yet! If we can, we love to save you money at TheTechMentor.com.
I’ll show you how to clean the iPhone charging cord and connector pins in a safe and effective manner.
Symptoms – Your iPhone’s charger connects and disconnects
Your iPhone charger connects and disconnects, which is a common symptom. You’ll probably discover, as I did, that if you push the cable in farther, it appears to restart charging.
It’s inconvenient that the charger appears to connect to charge but then disconnects if you bump the cable or even disconnects by itself. If you charge with another cable you have or borrow and it works at first but then only works intermittently, you may be concerned that the problem is with your iPhone rather than with more than one cable. This can be explained, and in most cases, cleaning everything as described in this post will help.
Cleaning a Lightning Connector
The lightning connector on the charging cable is clearly marked, as shown. Dirt and filth can be found all over the connector or a dark mark on pin 4 or pin 5.
The majority of the following will be required:
- Water
- Soap
- Sodium bicarbonate
- White vinegar and/or
- Lemon juice
- Cotton bud (sponge).
- Tooth pick
With a dark mark on pin 4, clean the lightning cord
Inside a plastic and metal casing, the lightning connector (the charging cable connection at the iPhone end) features numerous tiny gold or metallic lines. These are the connector pins, which are (or can be) attached to one of the cable’s wires. The equivalent pins within the iPhone port are literally touched. Each pin connects a circuit, and each circuit has a defined purpose that remains constant.
A pinout shows the specifications of each pin (beyond scope of this article). The crucial element is that the black mark is always applied to the same pin, because the charging circuit is the most powerful circuit.
Holding the cable away from you, that corresponds to pin 4 on the left.
With a dark mark on pin 5, clean the lightning wire.
If you skipped ahead to this phase, you might have missed the fact that pin 5 connects the charging circuit to your iPhone because this is the most powerful circuit, lint, dust, oil, or filth on the connector or within your iPhone charging port can cause more than just charging problems. As the charger connects and disconnects, the power arcs (or sparks) can scorch into the surface, leaving a dark imprint.
Step 1: Remove any grease or oils from the surface.
- To remove any remaining grease or oils from your hands, wash them with gentle soap and water.
- Dip a sponge or cotton bud (Q-tip) in a small amount of warm water with a pinch of soap.
- It’s fine to use dishwashing detergent or hand soap.
- Both sides of the lightning connector should be rubbed.
Step 2: Remove the tougher deposits.
We need something stronger than soap to clear the soot or tougher carbon deposits that have been baked on by arcing (or sparking) as the charger connects and disconnects.
- Make a small batch of cleaning solution. This water should be slightly warm, but it’s fine if you only have cold water. A half-cup of water is more than sufficient.
- Add a teaspoon of bicarbonate powder to the mixture. One of the various names for this substance is sodium bicarbonate.
- If required, stir to ensure that it dissolves. When bicarbonate dissolves in water, an alkaline solution is formed. You can attempt without it if you really don’t have it.
We also need to add a little acid, which may seem counterproductive. Are you afraid about getting a reaction? Don’t be that way. Together, they make a buffered solution that will aid in the cleaning of your equipment.
- Add white vinegar or lemon juice (if you don’t have any vinegar) to achieve this. If you have both, you can utilize them. These aren’t particularly potent acids. They won’t be active enough to cause any damage to your cable or pins.
- Dip another cotton-bud or Q-tip into the solution now (or even dish sponge if that is all you have).
- To clean the end of the lightning connector, scrub it with a toothbrush.
- Wiping will not solve the problem. Prepare to rub and scrub for a few minutes, pausing to assess your progress.
- Soak it in distilled white vinegar for a few minutes.
Corrosion can be removed with vinegar. For a few minutes, soak the corroded cable’s end in a tiny amount of distilled white vinegar. If the corrosion is severe, the cable’s end may need to be immersed for an hour or more.
