This $6 dirt-cheap answer retains my telephoneR...

Pocket-lint. Apart from being the perfect supply for all issues tech, it serves double obligation in our pockets, wreaking perpetual havoc on our smartphone’s

USB-C ports
. All through the years, and regardless of my finest efforts to mitigate the difficulty, a number of of my well-worn smartphones have succumbed to crud-filled charging ports. On my

Galaxy S20
particularly, it reached a degree the place my USB-C cables would merely fall out of the system, owing to the unfastened connection attributable to tightly-packed mud particles and material fibers.

Earlier than you say it, I am all too conscious of the truth that I can

clean out my phone’s charging port
with a little bit of isopropyl rubbing alcohol, a needle, and a while and persistence. The issue is that I lack persistence, and I haven’t got a very regular hand, both. That is how I ended up frying my S20’s charging port altogether — a talent problem, to make certain, however a difficulty nonetheless.

After this unlucky prevalence, I made a decision to pivot in a special route solely. I requested myself how I might probably mitigate the basis explanation for my pocket-lint-packed troubles. Because it seems, cleansing out the mud and particles in my pockets is a shedding battle. After some analysis and extra ponderance on the matter, I ultimately settled on this game-changing $6 answer, as an alternative.

Anti-dust plugs are the answer to my woes

USB-C mud plugs are economical, efficient, and ingenious

Look, I do know I is likely to be elevating an eyebrow or two in saying this, however I genuinely imagine the 50-pack of USB Kind-C mud plugs I bought from Amazon is the most effective $6 funding I’ve made in years. Apart from being a extremely cost-effective answer to the age-old downside of lint-infested charging ports, they supply just a bit little bit of extra insurance coverage and peace of thoughts for anal-retentive people like myself.

Regardless of trendy smartphones providing official

IP ratings for dust and water ingress protection
, I can not assist however really feel like my telephone is safer when sporting its mud plug. I used to be initially skeptical whether or not the plugs would type a good seal, or in the event that they’d find yourself falling out or inflicting another points in apply. Fortunately, in my expertise, they match cosy as a glove, they keep put, they usually solely come away when intentionally eradicating them from my telephone’s port.

If you happen to’re a wired telephone charging type of individual, then this answer in all probability is not for you. I can not think about the annoyance of inserting and eradicating a mud plug every day, and even a number of instances a day. For me,

as a wireless charging Qi2 evangelist
, maintaining my telephone’s USB-C port obfuscated gives no extra friction in my day-to-day life. I solely ever take away the plug within the odd circumstance the place I am transferring recordsdata to my PC, performing a guide backup, or plugging in a USB-C peripheral.

What I notably love in regards to the set of mud plugs I bought is that they are inconspicuous. They do not jut out of my telephone a lot in any respect, they’re barely seen when out and about, and, if I by accident lose one, I’ve a number of dozen others sitting idly at house. I’ve so many kicking round, in truth, that I’ve even gone forward and plugged up the USB-C ports on my

external SSDs
for good measure, too.

All of this has received me pondering: why do not USB-C ports function built-in lint boundaries on the {hardware} specification degree? I definitely do not need to return to the times of the

Galaxy S5
, with its finicky and disruptive charging port cowl, however my model of gadget nirvana definitely contains USB-C gadgets with unobtrusive built-in mud and lint shutters. I doubt we’ll see such a factor hit the mainstream anytime quickly, and so I am going to proceed to hoard my assortment of mud plugs for the sake of my lint-adverse sanity.

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