Grieve with me

Years ago when fixing phones most of the charging problems was just that. Most of the ear speaker issues were from makeup getting caked up in the mesh screen. And most of the motherboard issues came from people dropping them in the toilet/lake/ocean.

I honestly enjoy it when this happens. It's so satisfying getting to pull obscenely large wads of lint out of the port

Depends on the port, micro usb used to just wear out over time.

My dad had Parkinson's at the end of his life (and a general lack of coordination his whole life). Those magnetic charging adapters were a lifesaver for him. He just needed to get the cord close enough to the charging port on his phone and it would snap together. No coordination required.

It was also nice when he would forget to disconnect the cord. As soon as he walked away, the cable would pop off. No more broken cables from being yanked out of the phone or the wall.

I have these for all my chargeable things. Bought like 4 packs with multiple port types, so I have tons of extra cables in case some die. They are great for game controllers, phones, tablets, rechargeable keyboards, and all sorts of other shit. All you need is multiple ends, and you can use the same cables for everything. It’s glorious if you have a mix of port types.

Get a wireless charger if your phone supports it. It will likely be slower, but still work.

You'd be surprised how caked a charge port can be, you know you've cleaned it correctly when the plug goes in all the way and doesn't stick out a bit.

When it still doesn't connect correctly and/or you feel play in de cable/chargeport, it might just need replacing.

Then repeat step 1.

Note: cleaning didn't work for my kids phone, took it to the store, they cleaned it out and it works since 1 year now.

Take a toothpicks and carefully break it in two halves. Ideally you are left with something about half as wide as the original pick. You want thin and sturdy pieces to get into the port. Now carefully scrape the lint and dirt out of the port. The dirt tends to compact on the bottom, so you have to scrape a bit to get it all out. I would recommend to do it in direct sunlight to better see the interior of the port. Torchlights usually are either to bright on the spot or to dim.

Works like a charm.

They're absolutely right, that is the cause 85% of the time. Make sure to get a non-conductive pick made out of plastic or wood (e. g. literally a toothpick) and remove the dust by circling around the little protrusion, then clean the rounded corners with a little hooking motion.

Sewing needle, use the eye side to dig around, I cut wood and ends up with chips in the port all the time, it's not a problem

Use the eye side instead of the pointy side

Can also remove dirt from the speaker recesses this way

Imagine the superiority you'd feel by using a sewing needle to just pull the shit out of there and not even have to disassemble your phone

I use a sewing machine needle, works great, just don't go crazy and break shit.

Plastic dental flosser with a pick. Cut the tip flat. Easier to reach the edges and less likely to damage the port.

I’ve done a little bit of okay cleaning with a toothpick, then much better cleaning from the repair shop.

Can confirm rubbing alcohol can improve your experience with failing phone charge port. I got to the point with one where it wouldn't charge unless I applied a minuscule amount of alcohol around the metal prong in the phone with a shaved down toothpick before plugging it in. This tip is mentioned exclusively for those trying to extend the life of an end-stage phone and I take no responsibility for any fires or harm to the phone.

That said, there were never any problems when I did it and it extended the phone's life maybe 8 months, and after a few months it didn't even need the alcohol. Maybe it improves conductivity or used the charger head to over time clean the phone port. This was a micro-USB charger because I like using 8 year old, $60 phones.

I wouldn't recommend using that toothpick while drunk, my dude.

Consider one of those protective cases that has the flap that covers the charging port. Yeah, a minor annoyance when you want to plug the charger in, but it keeps the port crud free. I’ve used variations of that style for years and it keeps the phone in good shape even when it’s collecting rust- or sawdust in the shop.

https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/9979180437393-Fairphone-s-Operating-System

They promise 8 years (possibly 10), so at least until late 2031.

Im pretty sure it will end up being cheaper for me on the long run, especially compared to an iPhone. Im kind of amazed that its not more expensive considering they probably spend like twice as much for the components (or rather for the conditions they are produced under), while still being more or less competitive. But I guess its possible if you dont go for 200% profit margin.

Personally I've started buying generation or two behind high-mid range phones as refurbished. I get a highish end phone for about what I used to pay for a lower end phone. There are better materials which go into higher end devices (I learned this when I worked for a phone manufacturer. Kinda shocking but also makes perfect sense at the same time)

It's the Sam Vimes theory of socioeconomic unfairness, often called simply the boots theory.

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
-- Men at Arms

whatever works best! it's just kinda hard to find something plastic that skinny and sharp, and I use tweezers as it's the most efficient (but also the most prone to damage if you make mistakes I guess).

starting with the brush/isopropyl is not a bad idea for cleaning the contacts (and should be the first thing tried if a device isn't charging) but it usually doesn't actually get stuff out of the port. if a port is only charging at a specific angle, it's cause there's debris stuck in there. in my experience it's usually very hard to get with a brush as it's been compacted and cemented over however long you've had the device.

Toothpick. Wood only. Never do this with metal.

This is the way

Digging around the forums it's really easy to find replacements! FP3 replacement parts are still widely available, and you can find FP2 parts by doing a bit of digging. Remember to contact your local Fairphone Angel too!

How is the OS unusable when you can always install a custom rom?

Fairphone even encourages it.

For me it works perfectly fine. I don't need a super computer in my pocket

And had an audio jack

Remember when the little chip that held the pins in the middle would get obliterated?

I've never had any issues with micro usb, yet no usb c on a phone survived for more than 2 years. It's ridiculous.

How is it worse on the battery than wired chargers? I'm guessing heat?

I have exclusively charged my phones wirelessly for about a decade. My batteries typically end up healthier than my wife’s over a long period of time.

How, from the heat?

Just fn around.

s10 here reporting for duty.

You mean Apple's copy of the open source standard Qi charging?

You can get magsafe cases for basically any phone these days

You might also have an option to limit the % instead