USB-C wired earbuds don't make good connection with Pixel phones (?)
June 21, 2024 12:21 PM Subscribe
I've had two Google Pixel phones so far, the 2XL and now the 8 (Pro I think). I have to wiggle the USB-C plug inside the charging jack over and over for the sound to come through to my ears, and it doesn't always stay. Is this a known flaw of Pixel phones? or of USB-C ports on phones? I miss my 3.5mm hole!
Best answer: USB-C sockets on items that go in people's pockets are super susceptible to picking up lint fibres because they're made entirely of small crevices.
Then, every time the USB-C plug goes in, whatever loose fibres are sitting around in the socket get rammed all the way down inside it. Eventually, so much lint has been rammed into the depths of the socket as to stop the plug from seating properly, which makes its multiple incredibly tiny contacts not line up properly, which causes repeated USB connection and disconnection cycles, which messes badly with audio being streamed over USB.
The best tool I've used for getting enough lint out of a USB-C socket to allow the plug to seat all the way home is made from a dressmaking pin, one of the long skinny ones with the round plastic bead at the head end. Press the very tip of the pin against something hard and unyielding like the bottom of a coffee cup, firmly enough to turn just the thinnest part of the point into a tiny little curved claw. That can be used to dig around gently gently gently in the bottom of the USB-C socket to scratch up and lift out the lint. Line the curve of the claw up so that it more or less follows the little oval track of the socket rather than pointing inward toward the contact plate or outward toward the edge. Seriously, be super gentle. You do not want to bend any of the metal bits in there.
I'm always impressed by just how much felt I can dig out of those sockets and how much more securely the plugs sit afterwards.
posted by flabdablet at 1:22 PM on June 21 [1 favorite]
Then, every time the USB-C plug goes in, whatever loose fibres are sitting around in the socket get rammed all the way down inside it. Eventually, so much lint has been rammed into the depths of the socket as to stop the plug from seating properly, which makes its multiple incredibly tiny contacts not line up properly, which causes repeated USB connection and disconnection cycles, which messes badly with audio being streamed over USB.
The best tool I've used for getting enough lint out of a USB-C socket to allow the plug to seat all the way home is made from a dressmaking pin, one of the long skinny ones with the round plastic bead at the head end. Press the very tip of the pin against something hard and unyielding like the bottom of a coffee cup, firmly enough to turn just the thinnest part of the point into a tiny little curved claw. That can be used to dig around gently gently gently in the bottom of the USB-C socket to scratch up and lift out the lint. Line the curve of the claw up so that it more or less follows the little oval track of the socket rather than pointing inward toward the contact plate or outward toward the edge. Seriously, be super gentle. You do not want to bend any of the metal bits in there.
I'm always impressed by just how much felt I can dig out of those sockets and how much more securely the plugs sit afterwards.
posted by flabdablet at 1:22 PM on June 21 [1 favorite]
I will just add that this issue is not unique to USB-C connections - I have to perform some variant of flabdablet's de-linting ritual on my phone, which has a lightning connector, from time to time (although in the case of the lightning port I usually manage the job just fine with a toothpick or wooden skewer.)
posted by Nerd of the North at 1:37 PM on June 21
posted by Nerd of the North at 1:37 PM on June 21
Just to add that even if it looks like nothing is happening, even with a bright light shone at just the right angle to see into the port, keep going with flabdablet's gentle needling. That fluff can be both compressed into something akin to a wad of quilted armour and exactly the same off-grey colour as the inside of the port. Just keep at it until a strand comes loose, and then you're away. It's a candidate for r/oddlysatisfying when it gets going :)
posted by protorp at 1:47 PM on June 21 [1 favorite]
posted by protorp at 1:47 PM on June 21 [1 favorite]
Precision tweezers (tweezers with pointy noses) are the best things I've found for cleaning out USB-C ports.
However, this is hands-down the main reason I switched to bluetooth headphones.
posted by dobbs at 2:03 PM on June 21
However, this is hands-down the main reason I switched to bluetooth headphones.
posted by dobbs at 2:03 PM on June 21
Best answer: And you can use one of those magnetic tips, or a rubber/silicone plug.
posted by at at 3:05 PM on June 21
posted by at at 3:05 PM on June 21
My pocket knife has a plastic toothpick as one of its accessories. I have found this to be the perfect tool for cleaning out my phone's USB-C port: it's thin, flexible, has a slight curve at the tip, and just soft enough that I can't really damage the connector even with aggressive digging around. If you've got a pocket knife with one of these, I definitely suggest giving that a try as well as the other options above.
posted by biogeo at 7:05 PM on June 22
posted by biogeo at 7:05 PM on June 22
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Does the same thing happen with different wired earbuds, or with a USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor? Maybe some earbuds have an ever-so-slightly-larger plug that makes a better connection.
posted by hovey at 12:56 PM on June 21