Apple Lightning Connector Broken Inside iPad Mini Port – Eeek!

TOPICS:

Posted By: Judie Lipsett Stanford

Apple Lightning Connector Broken Inside iPad mini

Can you spot the Apple Lightning Connector Broken off inside this iPad mini?

Have you wondered how well the new Apple Lightning connector might hold up over time? I’ll admit not giving too much thought to it, because I chose to focus on the fact that I could plug the Apple Lightning Connector in from either side — a welcome new convenience from the old 30-pin.

So far, I haven’t had any issues with my iPad mini or my iPhone 5, but when I came home from Mobile World Congress, I got a shock. Kev’s youngest daughter had plugged the Lightning connector into her iPad mini, and the tip of the charger had broken off in the port. The port space is too small for even my tiniest-tipped tweezers to fit inside; even if they could fit, there is not enough of the broken tip sticking out to grab!

That meant an online chat with Apple support …

Customer [4:40 p.m.]:

Hi, I have an iPad mini, and the Lightning connector has broken off IN the port! =/

Advisor [4:41 p.m.]:

Oh no! That’s crazy, so when did this happen?

Customer [4:42 p.m.]:

This week. I was at MWC, came home to find out that it had happened while I was gone! (this is our house iPad, my main iPad was with me ?? thankfully!)

Advisor [4:43 p.m.]:

Alright, well I knew the thing was flimsy but this is officially the first time I’ve ever heard of it breaking off in the device! So give me one moment to see what we can do for you, Judie

Customer [4:44 p.m.]:

Please. Thank you =(

Could we possibly be the first? Surely not. But if so, then what a dubious honor. We don’t have an Apple Store nearby, so we will be bringing the iPad on vacation with us when we are in Hawaii. Apple support wasn’t sure if this would be a repair or replacement situation, so that will remain to be seen.

If you have one of the new devices that use it, how is your experience with the Lightning connector going? Anything wonky happening? Or is it working well for you? Do tell!

Apple Lightning Connector Broken Inside iPad mini

Something doesn’t look right here …

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. If you are shopping on Amazon anyway, buying from our links gives Gear Diary a small commission.

About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She started in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie is best known for her device-agnostic approach, deep-dive reviews, and enjoyment of exploring the latest tech, gadgets, and gear.

2 Comments on "Apple Lightning Connector Broken Inside iPad Mini Port – Eeek!"

  1. Olivier | October 12, 2013 at 4:29 pm |

    This happened to me too. My 9 month old twisted the cable and the tip of the charger remained stuck inside the iPad.

    The solution which worked for me was to use a pair of pointy tweezers, and pull the stuck part out.

    It worked wonders.

  2. Kristi Hinkle | November 28, 2013 at 5:59 pm |

    This just happened to me. It’s Thanksgiving Day and I went to plug in my iPad before I left to go to a family dinner. It snapped right off! I am very gentle with all my electronics and have never seen anything like this. I’d say Apple has a real problem and their chargers are defective. I’ll be taking this to the store first thing in the morning and I do not plan on paying for a replacement! We’ll see how it goes. If I don’t get a satisfactory result, who all is interested in filing a complaint with me?

Comments are closed.