Any tips on cleaning the usb port?

[LesB]

Usb port is really really dirty, and possibly slightly corroded. I have tried everything I can think of. Q-tips are too big, toothpicks cant scrub, old tooth brush wont get it..... Looking for any ideas you might have.

 

[L0u1]

Usb port is really really dirty, and possibly slightly corroded. I have tried everything I can think of. Q-tips are too big, toothpicks cant scrub, old tooth brush wont get it..... Looking for any ideas you might have.

That dirty, really??? Whoa!
Try compressed air...Once that is cleaned out, definitely get it covered with something until you get one of USB dust plugs on Ebay

 

[janathan]

Spray SMALL amount of WD-40. it will work. use the dropper.....be careful if u spray a lot it will go inside the found.

 

[LesB]

That dirty, really??? Whoa!
Try compressed air...Once that is cleaned out, definitely get it covered with something until you get one of USB dust plugs on Ebay

Yeah that dirty....I do heating and A/C repair and occasionally drop my phone in the dirt, that explains my shattered screen too. Tried compressed air, well nitrogen but same difference, didnt work too well. I did get it clean though. Here is how.

I had an eye dropper of sorts, it was actually from when I had a tooth pulled to rinse the socket, it has a very small tip. I filled it with alcohol and gently pulsed it into the opening. This rinsed most of it out but the contacts still looked very dirty. I took a paintbrush from my kids playset, it had very stiff bristles, squirted a little alcohol in and brushed it, repeated that about 5 times and it is clean as a whistle.

Have to look into that dust plug, thanks for the tip.

 

[bemenaker]

Make sure you have the battery pulled if you are using alcohol as it will conduct electricity. Never put alcohol on live circuits.

 

[LesB]

good call, didn't think to mention that!

 

[phonesyfreakies]

WD-40 is a terrible idea! While it might help the usb port work better for a while, it will actually leave residue including anything it dissolves. Compressed air won't hurt, but it won't help much either. Isopropyl alcohol probably isn't the worst thing you could use, but it isn't ideal. For one, it's just a liquid, which isn't the best for cleaning hard-to-reach areas like micro-usb. It's conductive, and less than pure (ie, commercial) concentrations of isopropyl will actually have a percentage of water and take a long while to evaporate, not to mention that it's a less than ideal solvent. Also, I'm not sure if this applies to any cell phones at all, but "some" plastics can be critically weakened by isopropyl.

Fortunately, they actually make a substance for just this purpose. It actually combines the best parts of isopropyl (volatility, leaves no residue), wd40 (very good solvent for cleaning), and compressed air (comes in pressurized spray can). It's called contact cleaner, and it works magic on wonky USB ports, scratchy knobs, etc. Highly recommended, especially over the alternatives. Mine is radioshack brand ("Control/Contact Cleaner and Lubricant") but you can also find it online. DeoxIt is a major/trusted brand name for the stuff.

 

[svim]

Spray SMALL amount of WD-40. it will work. use the dropper.....be careful if u spray a lot it will go inside the found.

My apologies for sounding trollish but I think it's important to emphasize that's just bad advice. Very bad. WD-40 is great to loosen rusted lugnuts or stubborn pipe fittings but it's also petroleum based and leaves a lubricant film. If too much is applied and seeps into your phone it can actually damage it. Instead, read through phonesyfreakies comments. Contact cleaner is designed to clean metal contacts and electronic components, and it evaporates without leaving behind any residue.