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Ink in the charging port

C

Chad Higgenbottom

Lurker
Well.. I'm going to assume that potentially no one else has had this problem.

My pens perennially seem to leak on me at times but this is a new low; I don't know how, but I noticed yesterday that blue ink had gotten into my charging port and upon my charger head. I don't know at which metal tip the "infection" started, but any charger I place into the port gets infected likewise so it matters little at this point.

Ink seems to be well embedded now into the charger throngs and back wall of the port. I tried cleaning with alcohol and a cotton swab but accomplished very little. Most of the pollution seems that it won't go away or at least not easily.

So.. the phone still currently charges. It did seem like I had to wiggle the charger head a bit yesterday to get it to transfer current, but the new head I just used acted as normal. Now that it is "infected" though, I wonder if it will become less and less usable

Any advice on how to clean it? I am afraid that something like this can't help but harm the metal tongs in the port and everything else, eventually killing the port. And I am currently without sufficient money to buy a new smartphone of any kind..
 
Dried ink? Ouch. Yeah, you've got a project. Try picking up an aerosol can of electronic contact cleaner like this stuff:
https://www.wd40specialist.com/products/contact-cleaner/
and be very, very judicious using it. Use a little at a time, in a well-ventilated room.

Looking online at various household solutions on removing pen ink vary widely as it depends on the type of ink since most are not soluble in water and some not with alcohol.
 
I've heard this product does a lot of amazing things..the funny thing is that I always keep a bottle in my car and hardly ever use it..I would try if I were you..just go ahead and apply some on the charging port..i wouldn't do the water submerging..though.

I hope it helps.
 
I'm wondering what the big concern is over ink? It's basically just pigment and a medium. While it's messy, it's not a good conductor or insulator. Unless you've got globs of it preventing the connector from being fully inserted, I'd just stick the plug in and out a bunch of times until the contacts were clear and then not worry about it.
 
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