I draw a big sad face on the tubing to remind me. So I officially can't endorse this method ) but my handful of cables with singed tubing do have personality.Ī note about frayed cables: I've used shrink tubes to reinforce cables that are already fraying, but I use those cables in places that I'm only charging the iPhone, not for connecting my iPhone to my computer. Holding the tubing over a candle works very well, but if you hold it too close you run the risk that you will singe the tubing (no problem for black tubing) or singe your actual usb cable. My run-of-the-mill hair dryer didn't put out enough heat to make this a quick job, and drove me a little crazy. Obviously, a heat gun works the best, as it was designed for tasks just like this. This video shows the technique, adding in a pen spring for good measure (which I haven't done yet.)

Use your heat source to shrink the tubing. Slide the other piece into place overlapping where the lightning connector meets the cable. Slide one piece into place where the usb connector meets the cable. Slide 2 pieces of heat-shrink tubing over the lightning port. You can get the heat shrink tubing from many home improvement stores, or online. (I've also used a hair dryer and a candle, both with their own set of challenges. Two pieces of 1/4' diameter heat shrink tubing, 1.5' in length.Ī heat source: ideally a heat gun. I've already pulled so hard on a tubing reinforced cable so much that I slid the tubing a little (the tube slid right back in to place after, and I find it a good reminder to grab at the plastic connector.) Also, when you pull your cable out of the iPhone, the tubing will take a lot of the strain of that pull. This is my favorite method, but it only works for iPhone lightning cables (because the lightning port end is small enough for the tubes to go over.) The heat-shrink tubing will keep the connection ends of your iPhone cable from bending too much, a common cause of wear. Reinforcement method 1: Heat-Shrink Tubing (Lightning cables only) IPhone cables, Apple Watch cables, and MacBook cables all suffer from the same stress points: bending the endpoints frequently and/or pulling too aggressively on the cable/plug connection. We also have a recommendation for a replacement iPhone lightning cable, should you have stumbled on this post after finding your cable has gone to the big cable drawer in the sky.

This article is all about ways to reinforce your Apple cables to extend their lifetime, or fix fraying cables.

Let's face reality: Apple cables tend to wear out and break.

Iphone macbook pro cable