How to remove debris or sand in phone charging port
Living by the beach although beautiful can present certain hazards to the technology we carry with us everyday – our phones. If you need to clean your phone due to stray, try these tips.
One of the first issues you will see if you phone is bogged down by sand is that it won’t charge. Sand or debris in a phones charger port won’t allow it to connect properly. There’s a couple of safe (and not so safe) ways to clean your phone charging port.
How NOT to clean sand from your Phone Charging Port
First off let’s dispel some myths of things NOT to do when cleaning a phone charger port. DON’T try to clean it with a toothbrush or by blowing with your mouth. Although they seem like logical ideas, the toothbrush bristles may get stuck and cause more problems. As for blowing with your mouth, you may add water particles with tiny drops of saliva flying into your phone.
STEP 1 – Clean Phone Charging port with Compressed air
The best option to remove debris from your phone charging port is to blast compressed air into it. This can be done with an ‘Air Duster’ product that can be purchased from many stores in Australia such as Bunnings, Office Works, Kmart and Supermarkets. You can also try manually with a bulb syringe. Steps to clean your phone this way:- Make sure your phone is off.
- Check instructions on your compressed air cannister and attach the fine nozzle.
- Aim it at the phone charger port and hit it with a few quick blasts.
Note: You may need to try multiple angles to get all the sand out.
STEP 2 – Clean Phone Charging port with a Toothpick or Paper Clip
If step 1 didn’t work or you don’t have the right tools, another good way to clean debris or water from your phones charging port is to use something fine to poke in there. It’s important to make sure you do this gently so you don’t damage the internals of your phone. Steps to do this:
- Make sure your phone is off.
- Wrap some tape around the paperclip or toothpick with the sticky side facing out.
- Slide it around in your phone’s charger port to catch anything foreign in there.
NOTE- This method may dislodge more debris that may need to be removed with the compressed air again so you may want to try step one again.
Now after completing these steps, try plugging your charger in and seeing if it all worked and your phone starts charging as normal. If these steps didn’t work for you, you may need to seek the help of a professional. Here at Phone Expert, we can help with charging port issues and many other phone repairs you may need – contact us or request a quote.