I replaced my iPhone 5s with an Android phone about 18 months ago. One of the reasons was that the charging was acting up. I tried it with two other leads, but it seemed to be the lightning port that was faulty. Of course there were other reasons – battery running out fast, storage limited, camera OK but not brilliant, apps getting slow and becoming un-updateable. Don’t start me about the iPad that is also getting totally unuseable because of these issues!

Anyway, Covid came along and I needed a webcam that had good resolution and zoom. I found out that I could use the old iPhone for this, and downloaded the IVCam app to my PC and iPhone on wifi. The app wasn’t brilliant, but I paid for the full version and updates have improved it hugely recently. The nice thing is you can use it wifi or with a lead. Wifi meant that the battery remained a problem, but on the lead it was excellent – except – the connection kept failing due to that dodgy port.

I did a bit of internet browsing and found a topic on a forum somewhere about this issue. The writer suggested using a wooden toothpick to clean any dust out of the port. Really? I thought, then I remembered the fluff and dust in my handbag and thought – yes, really, lets give it a go!

So I did, and its worked! Loads of fluff and dust came out and now the lead fits snuggly and securely in the port – its rare to loose the connection – and usually due to me tugging the lead. See how much fluff came out in the photo below. I still prefer the Android phone for use as a phone, but am chuffed to have found a use for my now redundant iPhone and to have solved the problem with the lightning port.