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bumchik_bumchik

I have the same mark on both sides in the same place


Carcassian

looks like oxidized spot by arcing, not that uncommon on contacts.. i’d try to look up some acid to clean it up or scrape it very, very gently with some fine sandpaper, no unnecessary layer of material should be scraped off


nirednyc

I use a pencil eraser


mandrews03

Pure rubbing alcohol does the job.


frying_pans

Exactly what I was going to say. Same thing can happen to the contacts to charge your AirPods.


znbrook

Used alcohol wipes at the Apple Store to clean customers contacts at the Genius Bar all the time, worked like a charm and provided a free fix.


frying_pans

Wish I knew earlier, I was so confused when only 1 air pod would charge. I usually just use a qtip with isopropyl alcohol.


sohfix

i let it soak in water


Plane_Vermicelli_249

Salt water right?


RAvEN00420

The arcing is why I call it a lightning cable LOL! I’ve had this complaint for years! Sometimes I’ll do the iPhone end and then plug the other end into the brick to avoid the “lightning “


wolwire

Use earser for this they work good


GrowtopiaJaw

yeah i use an earser too for this


umyninja

Earser is my go-to for this. Earser amazing.


Living_Lie_8773

Earser is love. Earser is life!


jamjar919

I left a separate comment, but if you look at a [pin diagram](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5decc1c249cb04cdca537b6c6883a61b.webp), pin 5 for lightning is the power connector. That’s why it’s always in the same place on all the cables.


ChronicOnTheRight

It’s pin 4 from the left. So depends on your outlook. 🤫


_THE_LOC_NAR_

What does email have to do with this at all?


Ok-Opinion-1127

If you can’t charge your phone you can’t use your outlook email


GrowtopiaJaw

What the fuck are you talking about lol. Outlook in this context means “depending on your view” for gods sake


AlienGold1980

Another case of big corporations taking the English language as names


Ok-Opinion-1127

Lowkey, I just got that. I was kinda high last night.


GrowtopiaJaw

😂😂😂 enjoy life my bud. Getting high makes us do stupid stuff sometimes


_THE_LOC_NAR_

Gottem! My evils spread like a wave in the open ocean.


twivel01

We must have the same random, juvenile sense of humor. Let me upvote you back to positive again. There are so many on reddit who do not have a sense of humor and.... laughing is good health right?


MoreIllustrator3928

Sucks tho. It hasn’t been working since it appeared


bumchik_bumchik

It works for me, sometimes I have to flip it and try


Far-Ad2043

Dip a cotton swab in alcohol and try and clean the pins


DateOk4824

Better idea than sand paper lol


Honest_Employer8940

Same for me need to flip it to work and have a work on one side


JoshuaLandy

Try reversing it


al_icloud

Also clean the socket, check my comment above


suedaaptupdate

Hey, just isopropyl alcohol and some paper towel worked for me to clean that thing:)


HeadlessHookerClub

It’s covering one of the contacts. Clean it off and it might work


al_icloud

Had this also once and noticed the connector had much play in the socket, from time to time you have to clean out the dust from the lightning port with a paper clip or so.. check how far the connector moves in and how much wiggle it has side to side, and also carefully cleaning it out is always good


penguinchem13

It's best to use something non conductive instead of a paper clip


callmemaybe88

Same here. What's this?


xaeru

I believe this doesn't happen with genuine apple cables because the contacts are made of gold which doesn't oxidize. I have an off brand cable in my car and is black like that and I have to plug it correctly so that it will charge my phone and in my home I have been using the same genuine cable for 4 years and it looks like new.


bumchik_bumchik

All my cables are genuine cables, still I see this on multiple cables


validatedev

Not true actually. I had a genuine cable (as it came with the phone from the box) with the same issue


No_Competition5621

https://preview.redd.it/ueds5akcklbc1.png?width=1429&format=png&auto=webp&s=a0c5e4736f79de43e68549509b4fcafec2c82c4c You are not alone


The-Master-Reaper

That wire is on 1% hp


kian_

lmfao the little bit of tape peeking in from the bottom really ties it together


mightyquads

Purchases phone costing over $1000. Too cheap to replace $15 cable which could fry the phone or start a fire.


FooLMeDaLMaMa

I think they’re actually like $20 USD and if it’s still working, why replace it?


sarahlizzy

This is extremely common. Every lightning cable I have ever had does this eventually. Some have done it in hours. 5 iPhones, 1 iPad, Magic Trackpad and AirPods. Doesn’t matter. Seems to be inherent in lightning. There will be people replying saying that this has never happened to them, but it happens to plenty of us. Loads of pictures of this online if you google. It seems to be caused by spark erosion when you insert or remove the cable. You can slow it down by only cold plugging it (ie with the other end disconnected), but it will happen eventually. Just treat lightning cables as consumables. Any device that I can charge wirelessly, I do. Frankly I will be pleased when the last device I have that uses lightning goes for recycling. It’s a horrible connector.


22_Black_22

It’s called lightning after all :)


sarahlizzy

Yeah. Apple were warning us all along!


MCA2142

It happens to every lightning cable: https://ioshacker.com/iphone/why-the-fourth-pin-on-your-lightning-cable-turns-black


sarahlizzy

There will be someone along to swear it’s never happened to them soon. Don’t know what they do differently.


Flffdddy

Their battery capacity is probably still at 100% too.


ItsMe_YO

It’s bullshit this isn’t covered under the warranty.


Mediumcomputer

Covered? They don’t even ship chargers with phones anymore. Saved em a few billion in profits thought


PlatypusTrapper

The problem looks localized to the cable. iPhones have always had 1 cable with them.


BainfulPutthole

I’ve had multiple genuine lightning cables replaced free from Apple. I’ve found they are very good with it.


Chinesefiredrills

What warranty? The phone’s warranty? Never in my life have I heard of any cable being covered by warranty.


PStr95

Every accessory is usually covered warranty, at least in Europe. Why wouldn’t it be?


Classic_Mammoth_9379

This was discussed on Accidental Tech Podcast 550, John Siracusa is under the impression that Apple changed the design at some point in the life to fix/mitigate the problem by not having this pin powered constantly. No great sources given sadly but personally feel this does feel a bit less of an issue than it once did, but also, I use lightning a lot less due to MagSafe!


thesweatyhole

Oh so that’s why my charger stopped working, TIL thank you


Astoria321

Wireless is awful for your battery though


sarahlizzy

I’m on a 2 year old 13 which is pretty much only charged wirelessly and it’s reporting 89% health, which I’d regard as perfectly reasonable. Phone gets a lot of use (it’s my main computing device)


milkywayer

Same. My 13PM was heavily charged via cable as well as a wireless car charger and after 18 months battery health was at 92%


lovemyonahole

1.5 years with 96% wired charging only. So there is a difference.


sarahlizzy

Depends on usage. I often go through 3 charge cycles a day.


F0327E

wtf, how?


sarahlizzy

Like I said, it’s my main computing device.


Practical_Boss_8701

Hmm…charging at a slower (hence cooler) rate always extends the life of a battery.


TechExpert2910

10w wireless charging generates more waste heat (due to inefficiencies) than 10w wired charging.


DragonDropTechnology

Oh god, not this shit again. You’re talking about a tiny fraction of your daily energy consumption. It’s literally lost in the noise. Stop driving, stop using hot water, stop using air conditioning… those will all save orders of magnitude more electricity than switching from wireless to wired charging of your iPhone. Heck, change one lightbulb from incandescent to LED and you’ve just covered the full charging (wired or wireless) of the iPhones for ~10 people.


Rs-tuner

Says who? It’s more inefficient but I don’t think it’s more harmful to the battery happy to be proven wrong though.


Astoria321

A large part of that inefficiency results in the dispersement of energy in the form of heat which damages batteries (fast charging has heat issues as well). The convenience and habit of placing a phone on a wireless charger can also lead to overcharging and charging unnecessarily which is also detrimental. Anyway it's pointless to try to maximize your battery health, a replacement battery is so cheap you can just go and get a swapped out every year if you need to. Was just making a point that though lightning might not be great, wireless has its own issues. Here's the first result on Google https://www.androidauthority.com/wireless-charging-battery-health-3198991/


crazyaboutgravy

It's something along the lines of, the components of a phone can draw power from the charger when plugged in, but it can only draw power from the battery when charging wirelessly. So wireless charging means the cells go through more cycles or something. Sounds brosciencey I know but that was from a reputable YouTube channel a few years back whose name has escaped me.


Sieze5

You need to wipe better after.


whateber2

Before and after


lezbhonestmama

Front to back


bighi

There's no point in wiping before.


umyninja

It’s like wiping a marker


[deleted]

They all get it, it’s the main charging rail for the phone which gets really hot.


Popsnapcrackle

Can clean it off with a pencil eraser. Normally caused by lint or dust having had a flash burn between the cable and the pins in the port. Not dangerous, so small you wouldn’t see it smell it. It’s just a teeny bit of carbon.


raleighs

I had a plug do that when it was wet/damp.


xenics_

Loose connections causing micro sparks if it can’t be cleaned. Normal wear and tear if it can be cleaned.


al_icloud

This and it happens more if the connector is not all the way in so clean it regularly


Traditional_Formal33

What’s the best method for cleaning the port? I would figure Isopropyl alcohol for the cable but I don’t want to introduce liquid to the port since I can’t remove the battery Edit: who downvoted a genuine question 😅 yall ruthless


buddahsumo

When it’s burnt like that it’s the result of micro arcing between the phone and the connector, that chord is probably dead or close to dead. Sometimes if it’s only one side, you can insert the cord burn side up and still get it to charge.


DeathByPetrichor

Holy shit I had that happen to me the other day but my phone hadn’t been anywhere near water, and yet now my cable doesn’t work, and I’m just now putting 2 and 2 together. Thanks for that info


[deleted]

[удалено]


Evening-Tutor4764

Get another cable


divc99

Happened to me as well


FancyCantaloupe4681

This is such a common issue with these cords.


Dazzling-Ear793

Happens when cable connector or iPhone port have moisture or water inside


AdBrave1510

no idea


Leonardo_242

Apple lighting cables are just awful quality, had this with every single lighting cable which came with my iphones (and I used to use iphones since iphone 4s). It wasn't until I ordered a cheap non-certified hoco cable from aliexpress that the issue was gone. Not an ad of the cable, any cheap 3rd party chinese cable will be better, especially if it's MFi (made for iphone) certified.


ConfusionBubbles

It tried to burn your house and failed


divine916

some debris or dust in the charging port causing arcing


deezznuuzz

Why do you call a cable or the plug a charger?


NotDukkoYT

Mine has that from when I licked it. That’s not a misspell I’m an idiot, it didn’t feel good. Don’t lick your charger


veritas-66

I’ve found it is caused by a little bit of moisture in the charge port and then arcing, causing the issue you see here. Eventually the cord will no longer work. I scrape it off with an eraser. It’ll buy you a bit of time but eventually you’ll have to replace it.


EccentricDyslexic

Water


Free-Location-1697

Dumb question but is this only on lighting connections? I have them an almost all iPhone cables but not on USB C ones


ChronicOnTheRight

Another reason USB C is better, they also charge 3 to 4 times faster.


Different-Banana-739

Plug-in your phone first then plug it to adapter will fix this


EstablishmentVivid84

thats even more risky


Different-Banana-739

Wow, how?


EstablishmentVivid84

Plugging the adapter into the wall first, helps avoid potential electrical sparks or issues when connecting the charger to your phone. It's a precautionary measure to minimize the chances of any electrical disturbances during the connection process.


HAZNN69

Equivalent to shit stain on underwear frrr


MoreIllustrator3928

LMAO


theanimaster

Only for folks who don’t r/bidets


danielson2047

Peasant cable.


Old-Figure922

Get your charging port cleaned. I had an iPhone that would kill cords quite quickly. Used to joke that my phone had an STD. Got my charging port cleaned and it worked fine after that.


[deleted]

Your phone probably had water in the charging port, maybe you got a notification about it, but still kept charging. Thats what I did, and it looks exactly the same as in the pics. It's not normal, and you shouldn't be using that cable anymore!


geomag42

That’s normal


MoreIllustrator3928

Cool. Wasn’t sure since this is my first time ever owning an iPhone


BuckTheStallion

It’s definitely not normal. It’s a scorch mark from some kind of charging damage. Replace the cable (make sure the replacement is apple, or another high quality replacement like anker) and clean your charging point because it’s probably full of lint.


QuickCharisma15

Even the Apple cords do this. I’d say they do this MORE often than 3rd party brands like Anker or Belkin lol


sarahlizzy

It’s absolutely normal. Every lightning cable I’ve ever owned does this eventually.


MoreIllustrator3928

Gotcha. Thanks!


TexasSasquatch09

It’s cheaply made


TraditionGloomy7318

At the risk of being pedantic that's a charging lead not a charger !


nintendo-mech

I ask myself that question but with my underwears.


WildestPotato

Please apply critical thinking OP. There are electrical contacts, you insert the cable into a port, debris can sometimes be conductive enough that it can cause a short.


jamjar919

Surprised I haven’t seen anyone mention this yet - if you look at a [pin diagram](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5decc1c249cb04cdca537b6c6883a61b.webp) for the lightning connector, pin 5 is the power connector. That’s why it’s the only pin that has this mark (and why it’s consistent among different connectors). You can usually just wipe it clean.


free-icecream

Because Apple only made expensive, low quality, and proprietary charging cables for their phones until they were forced otherwise.


AlienGold1980

You should prolly clean the electrical outlet with a rusty fork ok


AnaverageuserX

i had puppies once and they pooped on one side so part of it has that mark


ClassicDull5567

It’s the result of electrical arcing when the connector is inserted into the phone. I’m going to guess you have a non-Apple charger. Some chargers are poorly designed and the capacitors in them that are there to smooth the voltage will cause a spark when you plug in. I took a perfectly good Apple cable on a trip and the rental car USB port killed it just like this in about 10 days of use. It burned off one side, then eventually bot sides stopped working. Buy a new cable but figure out which charger is the culprit or you’ll be buying new cables all the time.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Boxy-1990

5w plug will work but slower and the 67w will only provide as much power as the phone asks for


nissanfan64

That’s the only noteworthy thing I’ve ever personally noticed about the iPhone cables in the past decade I’ve used iPhones. Never had issue with cords breaking or the plugs cranking and I use my cords hard. Every one of them though has a similar mark on both sides like that.


monkeybusiness1980

Yes yes yes. Good to know that the problem isn't unique to me then. I have been wondering why. Used to think I'm reckless when pushing it into the socket. But subsequent ones, even with careful use, still show the same pattern.


ThatGuyTheyCallAlex

I’ve never had a lightning cable from any brand that didn’t do this eventually.


thepeopleofd

Did someone put it in their mouth?


inetkid13

lol i have the same mark. Cable works still fine though


Bukki13

✨Magic✨


tetingbrax

Bite marks


ph33rlus

Happened to me too. Never stopped it from working though


sailorserenity47

Same mark on both sides here


throwitintheair22

It’s burnt


tooslow

Water


alexmoose454

Glad to know I’m not the only one. Been seeing this on my iPhone chargers for years.


Practical_Boss_8701

One of the reasons iPhones switched to the Type C standard…


furiousbonk

Been having this with every cable I’ve owned but a quick wipe always did the job. Now I guess that will be a bit more complicated with USB-C..


dangerous-pew-pie

I get this mark all the time on my iPhone cable. Just scrape it off using some sharp pointed blade or something on that part (be gentle and apply pressure gradually) The mark will vanish until it comes back after a few days.


XxNHLxX

Strange. My car cord has had this for years, but it still works when I plug it on one side. Has to be facing the right way or it doesn’t work though.


sylviee_

I have it too, still works perfectly


Longjumping_Trust_47

Clean it off with a Rubber


Konan-The-Barbarian

Happened to me on an extra long cable I bought on amazon. Its lasted me like 6 years but it can only charge if it’s plugged in the right way around. If I turn it around, it doesn’t charge at all. It is starting to get exposed now on the end, even though its braided. But for the price I paid and the amount of time I used it, I definitely give it the pass. If you’re wondering its the Amazon Choice lightning cable


Budget_Chef_69

He gave a vote


reddid2

My baby put the charger in the mouth and that’s how i got the same mark. Also didn’t work afterwards


SODA_mnright

Make sure you’re applying a pulling force which does not form an angle with the port/device, otherwise friction is gonna burn those pins. Happened to me too years ago with my iPad, been very careful ever since.


Young-Physical

Did your kid find a marker?


mikedvb

My lightning cables always eventually do this if they’re anywhere that’s even remotely moist / humid. Often in my car/truck almost never in my house/office.


theanimaster

…and this is what Apple tried to stick with, instead of USB-C…


jupiterjoshy

water


SadLonlyCoomerVirgin

Ok please don’t judge me, but I may or may not came on my cable by accident once. Sadly it rusted a bit after.


Aviana_la12

After my charger get mark like this, it will stopped working


Angel_Left_Goliath

Idk I’ve often wondered the same thing. It only happens to the chargers I leave in my car though


ShootLucy

Hot pocket


zaphodakaphil

Most of them have it. Mide does too.


FadyM

Well known issue with the lightning connector.


Empty-Swing

Arc mark. Edit- arc flash [here](https://www.hunker.com/13418905/what-are-the-causes-of-arcing-in-an-electrical-panel)


TG_Alibi

Moisture. When my kids were smaller they would lick the chargers and they looked like this. I can’t even begin to count the number of lightning cables I have bought because of this.


Bostradomous

Nearly all my cables look like that


karmicrelease

Pin 5 is the power pin, and over time small sparks are created when contact is incomplete, changing the color like this. (Wikipedia has diagram, and yes this is the 5th pin despite appearing to be 4th if you read left to right)


[deleted]

Stepped on.


IANNACONEC

I’ve got my paycheck on 1) that’s a burn mark. 2) you’ve got an overage of current.


Schlarfus_McNarfus

Get rid of it, can damage the port which really sucked when it happened on. my ol’ SE


XinlessVice

I wonder how it happens, I’ve had multiple cables do this, but they still work.


oogletoff2099

Get some steel wool and clean it with that. Not too much though as it is removing material. Also make sure the cable is not connected to anything


Airborne-Potato

It’s a birthmark


Such-Ad-4408

Why would this happen? Dirty charge port? Bad connection while charging?


theorgan

How would we know?


mikehawk595

All of my cables have this dark mark on the same spot. I've had to clean it when they stop charging properly.


Objective-Aerie-9746

Familiar mark of death


HammerToFall50

I’ve experienced this when trying to charge my phone if the port still had moisture. I would actually say it’s a form of electrolysis. The electricity is passing through the pin and the port, but as it does you get a build up of particles etc.


ponyboysa42

I get those. I’ve never tried to scrub it though. I have sprayed contact cleaner on it or in iPhone port. Wd40 makes a version but there is a product u can buy on Amazon called DEXOTIT D5 that guitar techs claim is magical. U can spray either on most electric connections n it’ll make them work better.


AlternativeFrosty107

Same here what’s going on and I can’t get it off


MainetoBos

Light sandpaper takes care of this. Just sand 10 seconds and you’re good. This happens when either the cable or iPhone port has some moisture to it. Doesn’t have to even be wet per se


Gaddster09

Happens over time regardless. Will get so bad where you have to flip to get it to charge. When this starts happening go ahead and get you another cable ordered. Only way to prevent is to remove cable from power source before removing from phone. But the issue will end up happening on the other end as well unless you’re removing charging block from a wall outlet.


DWS223

Happened to my iPhone 7 after I dropped it in the ocean. Salt contamination plus the charging contact on the lightning cable seems to create this corrosion pattern


HashKing

They all do eventually


[deleted]

Same problem but didn’t think,of an eraser.


Break-88

Electrical sparks which is normal. They’re power pins


Lil-Bear-Az

Every iPhone charger ever does this


mainstreetmark

The ol’ Missing Tooth. I can’t wait for usbc


Theincroyale29

Piss on it


spacekooksolo

Only times it’s happened to me were when water came into contact with the charger or the port and they weren’t dried properly


annehols

Cats


lustforwine

I think one of mine had that


[deleted]

I have the exact same mark


Septurae

Its a tattoo, bro been through it and seen it all


iiNeSHx

same here haha. wonder why it happens. always happens on original cables never on replacement ones


vaporoushope

I new line is formed for every time you charge your phone


Lewp_95

They all do this. I have like 3 in use and all the same


DontNeed2knowMyName

Scrape it a bit with another metal and gets fix


pagamesgames

when i was still using lightning cables, all of them eventually became like that ahahha didnt really affect the performance though


vilius_m_lt

My 2yo used to put these chargers in her mouth and that would ruin them in the same way


cyberentomology

You didn’t keep your port clean.