I Tested The $5 Phone 'repair' Dongle That Promised Big Fixes For Cheap - Here Are My Results

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• These "repair" dongles are thing much than a scam.
• The dongle is thing much than a lawsuit pinch a ray successful it!
• There are a fewer things you tin do to thief look aft your phone.

There are a batch of weird scam devices retired there. Soaring powerfulness bills person made nan "power saver" scam devices popular, but nan different time I came crossed different overseas 1 called a "USB Phone Battery Repair Multipurpose Battery Restorer Efficient Repair" dongle.

Also: Want to trim your electrical bill? Skip these scam 'power-saving' devices, and bargain this instead

It claims to do a lot, but remainder assured, each it does is return your money.

Before I plugged it into immoderate device, I took precautions successful lawsuit nan dongle wanted to do thing nefarious. After all, nan duck connected nan container made maine wonderment if this was immoderate benignant of Rubber Ducky hack dongle.

For nan $5 I'd paid for it, that would person been cool.

Also: You tin bargain refurbished tech from Back Market successful personification now - here's where

But alas, isolated from being a useless scam, it's rather innocent.

I tore excavation apart, and wrong is very little. Inside nan integrative container is simply a circuit board, and connected that are 2 bluish LEDs and a mini resistor to extremity nan LEDs from blowing up.

Very disappointing!

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

That's it. The intent of nan LEDs is to illuminate a clone "display" pinch Chinese penning that says "under repair."

Also: This overlooked telephone accessory gave maine a greater consciousness of information - and it's not a case

The "fake" display.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

"Under repair."

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

There's a batch of Chinese penning connected nan backmost of nan box, and a speedy deed pinch Google Lens shows this to beryllium instructions for really to usage nan dongle.

Also: 10 pocket-sized devices that make life easier - and really I usage each

Apparently, you're expected to usage it for 3 hours a mates of times a week for 5 to 8 weeks -- by which clip it's excessively precocious to nonstop it back.

There are a batch of "instructions" connected nan box.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Even arsenic scam devices go, this 1 is laughably bad.

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The instructions besides see immoderate of nan astir generic "speed up your phone" tips, which will do adjacent to nothing, but that's much than nan dongle will achieve.

So, prevention your $5. Use it to bargain a decent cable.

Also: This USB-C accessory gave my Android and iPhone an ingenious emergency tool

If you want to support your telephone successful nan champion information possible, usage a decent charger and cable, free up abstraction by removing unnecessary apps -- particularly bloatware -- on pinch each those photos and videos clogging up your storage. Oh, and regularly rebooting your smartphone, arsenic good arsenic clearing your iPhone aliases Android cache, will besides thief support it moving smoother.

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