If I had to think of an object that personified the word ‘flimsy’, iPhone’s USB charging cable would fit the bill perfectly. I am a living testament to how frail those things are. In the two years that I’ve been using my iPhone, I’ve had to buy 3 replacement cables. 3!!!
Despite my best attempts to keep them tangle-free and protected from any stimuli that could cause the slightest damage, these charging cables have a death wish of their own. They seem to be designed to mysteriously come apart at the seams (literally), rendering them absolutely useless, and me fairly suicidal. One would imagine that a tech giant like Apple would make the lifelines of our iPhones more robust, but nooooo … maybe that’s just too much to expect from them.
However, necessity (or, in this case ‘desperation’) is the mother of invention. And YouTube is a parallel dimension where one discovers the answers to all kinds of problems. A kind soul has uploaded a video that shows us how, using the most basic things you find around the house, you can prolong the life of your iPhone charger.
Pay close attention, because this is nothing short of genius. I bow to the brain that discovered this solution. As for you, Apple, we expected better from you!
Mission: To rescue the Apple USB charger from quick and certain death
What you need:
- That ridiculously delicate USB charging cable of yours
- A tiny spring extracted from any ballpoint pen lying around in your house
- That plier you’ve been meaning to use for a really long, but haven’t
What to do:
- Take the spring from the ballpoint pen and elongate it by stretching it from one end. Those who are cursed with banana fingers can use pliers. And those who have delicate finger, yeah well, good for you. No need to show off!
- Now, take this spring and fit it into that annoying space where these chargers generally tend to get frayed; you know, the part where the cable meets the USB you plug into your laptop / adaptor.
- Now wind the spring around the cable, thereby creating an armour for it. You might need the plier towards the end to give a clean finish to the coil.
- If you want to be thorough, you can repeat the process for the other end of the charging cable, in which case you will need another spring extracted from another ball pen.
That’s it! You’re done. Your charger is safe and protected and no amount of pulling, twisting or tangling will be able to damage it. You can bend it like Beckham or swing it around like a lasso and it will remain impervious to your abuse. Huzzah!
If you’re more of a visual person and these instructions did absolutely nothing for you, watch the below video:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb855nz4rLE&w=560&h=315]
Lastly, may we observe a minute of silence for those ball pens that laid down their coils so that we didn’t have to pay for Apple’s stupidity. Respect.
Apple products also have the tendency to heat up. Will the heat not have any affect on the spring?
Most likely it shouldn’t as the heat from the wire is not too much. But still key an eye when using to be totally sure.