Loose USB-C ports on MacBook Pro 2016 (USB-C cables falling out/disconnecting all the time)

After 7 years, I've finally got round to solving a very annoying problem with my MacBook Pro 2016, 13-inch, 2 x Thunderbolt 3 ports, non-Touchbar 2GHz Dual-Core Intel i5, 16GB LPDDR3, 500GB SSD laptop. 

I bought this laptop brand new directly from Apple in 2016 and chose to go with the non-Touchbar, 2 x Thunderbolt 3 ports version as it was miles cheaper and besides I planned on using a powered USB-C hub on the rare occasions that I needed to access anything from my external hard drives. 

Like almost everyone who bought a MacBook Pro in 2016, I had issues with my battery (overheated and didn't hold charge) and my keyboard (some keys failed). 

I had the keyboard and battery replaced and they've been fine ever since. 

However, the USB-C ports have become progressively worse and anything I plug in to either port (be it my power cord or a USB-C flash drive or USB-C to USB-A converter) falls out easily. 

I know it's possible to get Apple/3rd party repair company to replace these ports but the replacement part is a similar design to the original and so in time, it will fail. 

Since the machines that came out in 2016, even though Apple hasn't admitted that the loose USB-C ports were a flawed design, they've quietly replaced them with improved designs (I used a MacBook Air M1 at work and the USB-C ports now "click"/secure USB-C cables positively versus just allowing them to slide in as in the 2016 USB-C port design. 

Anyway, since Apple have been (annoying) dropping support to both their iPhones and their Mac hardware over a certain age in recent years (they will stop issuing security updates after about 7 years), I've recently been using Open Core Legacy Patcher (free from the good people at GitHub) to extend the life of my Apple products from 2012, 2014 and 2016 (I've managed to install Mac OS Sequoia on my 2102 Mac Mini and MacBook Pro 2016). 

And so, having breathed a new lease of life (software-wise) into my geriatric MacBook Pro 2016, I decided to address the ever-worsening problem of my loose USB-C ports!

TL;DR

After reading and trying out various make-shift solutions for stopping USB-C cables from falling out of the loose USB-ports of the MacBook Pro 2016, I decided to take a chance on modifying a cheap USB-C 4-port hub I had lying around. 

I picked up my Victorinox Swiss Army Knife (my model is called "Tinker" with in-built pliers) and I gently positioned the male USB-C jack (of the USB-C 4-port hub) in the jaws of the pliers of my Swiss Army knife and proceeded to squeeze the oval-shaped metal band of the male USB-C jack (effectively making either side of the long-side of the male USB-C jack bulge/bow outwards). 

My theory was to increase the friction of the male USB-C jack inside the USB-C port of the MacBook Pro 2016 by deforming (ever-so-slightly) the shape of the male USB-C jack. 

It worked. 

I squeezed the the oval-shaped metal band of the male USB-C jack slowly and gently, testing it after every press of my pliers (I pressed both sides of the male USB-C jack to achieve a uniform bulge/bow in the oval-shaped metal band) until I was happy with the "tightness"/fit of the USB-C Jack inside the USB-C port of the MacBook Pro 2016. 

Of course, I wasn't expecting the tightness/fit to be the same as a cable that locks & clicks into the USB-C port of a MacBook Pro designed in 2024, but at least I managed to get a much tighter fit than I had before. 

Encouraged by my experiment that took less than 60 seconds to carry out, I decided to do the same thing to the male USB-C jack of my power adapter. 

Again, it worked. 

When I plug in the male USB-C jack of my power adapter into my MacBook Pro 2016 now, it stays put. 

I decided to try one more time. 

I have a Belkin USB-C to USB-A converter and so I decided to modify the male USB-C jack of the Belkin USB-C to USB-A converter too. 

It worked. 

None of the modified male USB-C jacks are perfect, but it's good enough for me and I haven't had any disconnected external hard drives or my power cord disconnecting by itself since I modified my jacks. 

If you're tearing your hair out like I was, (annoyed with Apple for not owning up to and replacing the ports on every piece of hardware they sold with this flawed design) then, I'd encourage you to have a go at my simple and cost-free solution. 

One tip - go easy and don't squeeze too hard. You don't want to crush the insides of the male USB-C jack. 

You just want to squeeze the oval-shaped metal band just enough to make it grip the sides of the USB-C port of your MacBook Pro 2016. 

I'm sure if there are other models that have loose USB-C ports, this simple fix will work on them too, but since I' e only tried this fix on my specific MacBook Pro 2016, I can't promise it'll work on other models of laptop. 

Good Luck!