My FP 3 all of a sudden developped a charging problem. Bought 04/2020, no issues so far, no changes in cable or charger. I use a FP3 charger and a generic cable, it’s worked fine. A few days ago it started to tell me “charging slowly”, and my yes, it IS chargiong slowly. Can’t be a cable or charger issue, because my daughter’s FP3 just charges as usual with the same charger and cable.
So what can I do? Any idea what the problem may be?
If you search for “how to clean usb-c port” or similar you’ll find a lot of suggestions.
I’d recommend you start by carefully using a vacuum cleaner with a narrow tool. Some people recommend using compressed air cans. But where does the dirt go, eh? Sure, some of it comes out, but a lot goes further in
My 5p’s worth : USB-C port unfortunately, much like the very common USB micro-B, includes a very thin “tongue” which carries the circuit contacts.
This to my mind is much less good design than Apple’s Lightning port, which is really robust and easy to clean. I think the best design solution I’ve seen. Frankly I can’t understand why the industry didn’t negotiate a means of adopting Apple’s ideas - well doubtless money, as usual. Maybe there’s a technical reason too. But the fact is that USB-C is more fragile and allows little room for cleaning, while affording ample scope for the dirt to accumulate. @anon9989719 's idea is good - if you can be bothered to remove the case for each charge. Or put a bit of adhesive tape on the outside of the case to cover the hole. But for cleaning, use great care not to damage that thin piece inside the port!
Or consider a magnetic adapter, if you primarily use the port for charging.
The port is occupied, so no dirt.
The port should live longer because no mechanical stress from inserting and removing a connector with every charging.
With the Fairphone 3 bumper on, the adapter even barely sticks out (I can attest that for a NetDot 10th Gen. USB-C adapter), but on the downside this doesn’t have the DIY look and feel of the above-mentioned solutions .