How can I unclog my headphone port on my phone? [duplicate]

Question

So, my phone rather surprisingly spends a lot of its life in my pocket. In the course of its day to day life, it gets what I assume is pocket lint in the headphone jack. This buildup has made it so that I can't use my headphones.

A friend suggested joining the 21st century and getting a set of Bluetooth headphones, but I don't want to deal with another device to charge. Tweezers are too big to fish the lint out, and a toothpick seems too blunt to snag it. Any suggestions as to what I can use to extract the buildup?

Answer 1

Drop into a drug store and in the toothbrush section look for a proxabrush which is long tiny VERY rugged and with flexible bristles that are stiff but not hard. Use the brush in the same manner as directed for the woodscrew (insert, twist, withdraw, remove stuff, repeat) but with no fear of damaging any delicate parts in the phone jack.

The short bristles that stick out at 90° are arranged in spirals that are great for snagging lint fibres, threads, and "stuff." There's no metal-to-metal contact so there's no need to power down, or remove batteries, etc. They come in different lengths, shapes (cone, straight), thicknesses, and widths. I use them for cleaning and applying lubricant to tiny things. All my needs have been met with a few sales samples. The handles are colour coded to tell one size and shape from another.

Answer 2

You can pull soft materials out of a narrow space using a screw.

First, check the size of your phone's audio jack (it is likely 3.5 mm), then pick up a wood screw that is about 0.5 - 1.0 mm narrower than that space.

Power down your phone completely. Then, holding the screw between your thumb and index finger, gently "thread" the screw between your fingers, moving the screw into the space of the audio jack. Be mindful so not to push too hard against the back end of the audio jack component, or to unnecessarily scrape up the metal contacts inside.

When it feels like you are far enough to be into some foreign material, gently pull the screw straight out, trying to draw out any foreign obstructions caught up in the treads.

Repeat as necessary until no more foreign material is removed. This should clear out any excessive obstructions lodged in the audio jack space.

Answer 3

Use a vacuum cleaner with a small nozzle attachment. Apply the suction directly over the hole for the headphone jack to remove loose debris.

As an added bonus, this will get some heavier materials that may have migrated down the hole.

Once you have successfully removed the foreign materials, purchase a simple plastic plug for the jack to keep it clean. They even come in fun designs.