Charge slot has to be wiggled to charge

you were right the dust was packed in it was dust not lint and after cleaning it out with great care and a EZ Dabber designed for micro scratch paint touch up the tiny fluff ball at the end of it is less than 2 mm... but I had to pick it out from the compacted dust first with a plastic dental probe it was packed solid once i had loosened it that way i could then whisk it out with the dabber I think I will whittle a plug to fit in there to keep dust out except when charging.

thanks for the pointer about the tooth pick on my old iPhone 4s i could just blow the connector clean on that large one but with this tiny one i never saw any fluff it was packed so tight with dust it looked ok and when the canned air did nothing i thought that it could not be fluff in there. it was not till i picked at it with something hard and pointed that it all came out

thanks again

I Think in my case it is related to the iPhone being carried upside down in my shirt pocket with the screen towards my chest. Removing it with my left hand my left thumb opens the phone with the print scan. Over 18 months of use this way I think dust in the form of dandruff drifted down (yes just like the advertisements said its "the Heartbreak of psoriasis ") and very slowly they built up, and each night when it is plugged in to charge the days flake count would be tightly packed into the slot, so eventually the packed solid flakes caused interference with the contacts in the slot.