[Tutorial] Fix looseness from microUSB port

A while ago I noticed that my micro USB cable does not fit well on my U8800 and when I picked up my phone the cable the cable always fall out without doing any force. After reading various sites, to decide what would be the best way and after I did it I'm now leaving here how to solve this problem. In my case it was dust and lint that accumulated because of taking the phone in pocket, etc..


Tutorial

You should use a toothpick, previously buffed with a fine sandpaper like the image below. You can use other objects, but with the toothpick you can do it without turning off the phone because it isn't a electrical conductor and you can also sharpen the tip very easily.


You should clean the area paint in blue below:


After this you should give special attention to areas in microusb port marked in red below which is where bolts fits and attach the cable to the port. You should try to clean as much as possible the dust that has entrenched there.


In my case after 5 minutes of hard work this was the result:
Picture missing!!! A lot of dust!

I used the lamp on my bedside table for a better look inside the door. Those black things are dust that came out of there now do not have any slack in the port works at 100% and I can move the phone without any problem.

How to fix female conector by flipswitch5point

flipswitch5point said:

Tried this, didn't get any dust :/ but what when I was cleaning it I saw the two little holes in the female side of the port that the clips for the male end are supposed to latch in. Turns out my male end was suffering from... impotence? Lol. I took a needle and adjusted the clips on the cable and it holds fine now. Just posting this for anyone else who's suffering looseness not caused by dust.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Excellent. Thank you. Allow me to add my experimentation.

All power off, battery out.
In selecting the cable, it appears that there are three things to take into consideration when it comes to the male microUSB connector.

The length of the exterior actual male plug sleeve. Some are shorter, and do not sit completely in the female.
The difference in length I have seen is usually sub-millimeter, so do not expect to find a meter long male plug versus a standard.

The two retaining pins. They can be stamped from the outer metal, or inserted as a separate part. You can tell this easily by looking the male plug from the side. The retaining clips should not be shaped sheet metal, and should not be able see through under the hump or V of the clip. The clip can also have the back end or hook side worn off.

Finally the internal connectors. I noticed some that skimp on the width and the height of the V of the connectors inside the male connectors. If they are thinner width, they will be weaker, and flatten out much faster than one that is thicker. The second part to this is that the hump on connectors that are thin also tend to be not as high therefore less pressure for the connection.

To fix these problems -
plug length - This can be remedied by minor shaving of the plastic around the male plug, but best to get a new one that is longer.

low retention clip. If it is stamped sheet metal versus the insert, it is actually easier to fix. Grab the clip and gently bend it up a millimeter or so.

Worn off retention clip. I have tried to put solder on it and reshape but the danger of the solder popping off and frying too many things is too high.

Low connection line. Use two needles to create a higher V or hump. First try to push head on the bottom of the hump with a single needle, or use one needle to hold the tip down and press in the V groove with the other to raise it.

Thin connection line. There is nothing you can do about it.

There is one more thing I have seen in cheap knock offs. The female plug connection plates worn off. This is where the connection lines press against, and rub each time it is inserted or extracted. The only two way I know to fix this is to clean and run solder to build the surface up, or replace whole plug. Unless you do a lot of surface mount repairs, forget it.

Final cleaning tip. When I tried the fine idea of sharpened toothpick by telmosousa, I had some technical difficulties. This is most likely because of my senility. To get any material out I had to scrape it to the side of the female plug, then press against the female housing and drag it out that way.
I took a metal needle, thinnest I could find and tapped the head with a hammer. The sharp end of needle bent just ever so slightly into a J. This allowed me to drag out the material from the plugs much easier.

Again, thanks telmosousa.

If your cable (still) falls out, bite slightly on the plug.

You're welcome.

:cyclops: icanhaznewspost?

Thanks!!

Inviato dal mio HTC EVO 3D X515m usando Tapatalk

Could this be the reason my phone is charging only if I connect the usb cable at a very certain angle (have to use couple of books to arrange this setting)...