How to tighten a loose USB connection - Revision history

Shawn at 21:25, 20 January 2016

2016-01-20T21:25:35Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:25, 20 January 2016
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	To clean the jack, flatten a cotton swab, wet with a drop of alcohol, and swab the insides of the jack.		To clean the jack, flatten a cotton swab, wet with a drop of alcohol, and swab the insides of the jack.

	====Results====		====Results of tightening the jack====
	When I first followed the above procedure, I found the jacks to be tighter, that they held a USB plug more firmly, but it was still possible to wiggle the plug and drop the connection temporarily.		When I first followed the above procedure, I found the jacks to be tighter, that they held a USB plug more firmly, but it was still possible to wiggle the plug and drop the connection temporarily.

	===Tightening the plug===		===Tightening the plug===
	[[File:SqueezingUSBPlug.jpg\|thumbnail\|right\|Squeeze the USB plug slightly for a tighter fit. Caution—A malformed plug may damage the jack in the computer.]]		[[File:SqueezingUSBPlug.jpg\|thumbnail\|right\|Squeeze the USB plug slightly for a tighter fit. Caution—A malformed plug may damage the jack in the computer.]]
	I gave the plug itself a squeeze with the pliers, so that the gap inside the plug was slightly smaller. Just squeezing with fingers is adequate; if the plug is too misshapen, it might not fit well, or even damage the jack. Now the connection was very firm, and dropouts were impossible to induce.		I gave the plug itself a squeeze with the pliers, so that the gap inside the plug was slightly smaller. Just squeezing with fingers is adequate; if the plug is too misshapen, it might not fit well, or even damage the jack.

			====Results of tightening the plug====
			Now the connection was very firm, and dropouts were impossible to induce. I don't know whether just tightening the plug would have worked just as well, but I think both sides will work better from now on.

	[[Category:Computers]]		[[Category:Computers]]

Shawn: plug same heading-level as jack

2016-01-20T21:23:49Z

plug same heading-level as jack

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:23, 20 January 2016
Line 23:		Line 23:
	When I first followed the above procedure, I found the jacks to be tighter, that they held a USB plug more firmly, but it was still possible to wiggle the plug and drop the connection temporarily.		When I first followed the above procedure, I found the jacks to be tighter, that they held a USB plug more firmly, but it was still possible to wiggle the plug and drop the connection temporarily.

	====Tightening the plug====		===Tightening the plug===
	[[File:SqueezingUSBPlug.jpg\|thumbnail\|right\|Squeeze the USB plug slightly for a tighter fit. Caution—A malformed plug may damage the jack in the computer.]]		[[File:SqueezingUSBPlug.jpg\|thumbnail\|right\|Squeeze the USB plug slightly for a tighter fit. Caution—A malformed plug may damage the jack in the computer.]]
	I gave the plug itself a squeeze with the pliers, so that the gap inside the plug was slightly smaller. Just squeezing with fingers is adequate; if the plug is too misshapen, it might not fit well, or even damage the jack. Now the connection was very firm, and dropouts were impossible to induce.		I gave the plug itself a squeeze with the pliers, so that the gap inside the plug was slightly smaller. Just squeezing with fingers is adequate; if the plug is too misshapen, it might not fit well, or even damage the jack. Now the connection was very firm, and dropouts were impossible to induce.

	[[Category:Computers]]		[[Category:Computers]]

Shawn: /* Tightening the plug */

2016-01-20T21:13:08Z

Tightening the plug

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:13, 20 January 2016
Line 25:		Line 25:
	====Tightening the plug====		====Tightening the plug====
	[[File:SqueezingUSBPlug.jpg\|thumbnail\|right\|Squeeze the USB plug slightly for a tighter fit. Caution—A malformed plug may damage the jack in the computer.]]		[[File:SqueezingUSBPlug.jpg\|thumbnail\|right\|Squeeze the USB plug slightly for a tighter fit. Caution—A malformed plug may damage the jack in the computer.]]
	I gave the plug itself a squeeze with the pliers, so that the gap inside the plug was ~~a little~~ smaller. Now the connection was very firm, and dropouts were impossible to induce.		I gave the plug itself a squeeze with the pliers, so that the gap inside the plug was slightly smaller. Just squeezing with fingers is adequate; if the plug is too misshapen, it might not fit well, or even damage the jack. Now the connection was very firm, and dropouts were impossible to induce.

	[[Category:Computers]]		[[Category:Computers]]

Shawn at 21:10, 20 January 2016

2016-01-20T21:10:32Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:10, 20 January 2016
Line 24:		Line 24:

	====Tightening the plug====		====Tightening the plug====
			[[File:SqueezingUSBPlug.jpg\|thumbnail\|right\|Squeeze the USB plug slightly for a tighter fit. Caution—A malformed plug may damage the jack in the computer.]]
	I gave the plug itself a squeeze with the pliers, so that the gap inside the plug was a little smaller. Now the connection was very firm, and dropouts were impossible to induce.		I gave the plug itself a squeeze with the pliers, so that the gap inside the plug was a little smaller. Now the connection was very firm, and dropouts were impossible to induce.

	[[Category:Computers]]		[[Category:Computers]]

Shawn: added category, photos.

2016-01-20T21:04:14Z

added category, photos.

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:04, 20 January 2016
Line 3:		Line 3:

	===Tightening the jack===		===Tightening the jack===
			[[File:USBJackHoldingTabs.jpg\|thumbnail\|right\|Two USB jacks. The pairs of tabs on the bottom are for grasping a USB plug. Note the second tab from the left hasn't yet been pried up. ]]
	A quick search online, "macbook pro usb poor physical connection" pointed me to https://serato.com/forum/discussion/1099009 , where comments provided me with enough courage to try improving the hold of the USB jacks inside my computer. I bent two metal tabs in the jack that press the plug so that the gold-plated tongues on the plug press against the gold-plated tongues on the jack. While working on the jack, I also cleaned it.		A quick search online, "macbook pro usb poor physical connection" pointed me to https://serato.com/forum/discussion/1099009 , where comments provided me with enough courage to try improving the hold of the USB jacks inside my computer. I bent two metal tabs in the jack that press the plug so that the gold-plated tongues on the plug press against the gold-plated tongues on the jack. While working on the jack, I also cleaned it.

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	====Procedure====		====Procedure====
			[[File:PryingUSBJackTab.jpg\|thumbnail\|right\|Prying a metal tab in a USB jack.]]
	With the tiny screwdriver, gently pry the beveled tabs further into the cavity, but no more than a millimeter. The ends of the tabs should still be in the recess, so that they don't catch the edge of the plug. Do not be tempted to pry the gold-plated connectors themselves, since they can easily be pulled out of the fold that keeps them in.		With the tiny screwdriver, gently pry the beveled tabs further into the cavity, but no more than a millimeter. The ends of the tabs should still be in the recess, so that they don't catch the edge of the plug. Do not be tempted to pry the gold-plated connectors themselves, since they can easily be pulled out of the fold that keeps them in.

			[[File:FlatteningASwab.jpg\|thumbnail\|right\|Flattening a cotton swab with pliers]]
	To clean the jack, flatten a cotton swab, wet with a drop of alcohol, and swab the insides of the jack.		To clean the jack, flatten a cotton swab, wet with a drop of alcohol, and swab the insides of the jack.

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	====Tightening the plug====		====Tightening the plug====
	I gave the plug itself a squeeze with the pliers, so that the gap inside the plug was a little smaller. Now the connection was very firm, and dropouts were impossible to induce.		I gave the plug itself a squeeze with the pliers, so that the gap inside the plug was a little smaller. Now the connection was very firm, and dropouts were impossible to induce.

			[[Category:Computers]]

Shawn: Created page with "===Symptoms of a loose USB jack=== One day I was trying to configure my new USB-MIDI adapter, and I noticed that intermittently the adapter's power-indicating LED would turn o..."

2016-01-20T20:47:59Z

Created page with "===Symptoms of a loose USB jack=== One day I was trying to configure my new USB-MIDI adapter, and I noticed that intermittently the adapter's power-indicating LED would turn o..."

New page

===Symptoms of a loose USB jack===
One day I was trying to configure my new USB-MIDI adapter, and I noticed that intermittently the adapter's power-indicating LED would turn off and my computer would complain of a dropped connection. At first I thought it was a bad connection inside the adapter, maybe a loose wire,, so I opened the adapter and inspected all the soldered connections—everything looked fine. Then I noticed that when I wiggled the USB plug, the connection was intermittent. The plug, on close inspection, looked just like other USB plugs I have, and clean.

===Tightening the jack===
A quick search online, "macbook pro usb poor physical connection" pointed me to https://serato.com/forum/discussion/1099009 , where comments provided me with enough courage to try improving the hold of the USB jacks inside my computer. I bent two metal tabs in the jack that press the plug so that the gold-plated tongues on the plug press against the gold-plated tongues on the jack. While working on the jack, I also cleaned it.

====Tools====
#Work-light
#Tiny flat screwdriver
#Rubbing alcohol
#Cotton swabs
#Needle-nose pliers

====Procedure====
With the tiny screwdriver, gently pry the beveled tabs further into the cavity, but no more than a millimeter. The ends of the tabs should still be in the recess, so that they don't catch the edge of the plug. Do not be tempted to pry the gold-plated connectors themselves, since they can easily be pulled out of the fold that keeps them in.

To clean the jack, flatten a cotton swab, wet with a drop of alcohol, and swab the insides of the jack.

====Results====
When I first followed the above procedure, I found the jacks to be tighter, that they held a USB plug more firmly, but it was still possible to wiggle the plug and drop the connection temporarily.

====Tightening the plug====
I gave the plug itself a squeeze with the pliers, so that the gap inside the plug was a little smaller. Now the connection was very firm, and dropouts were impossible to induce.