I tested a $5 phone fix dongle that made bold promises - here's the truth

This little gadget claims to restore your phone to its original condition. But is it actually viable?

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• These "repair" dongles are nothing more than a scam.
• The dongle is nothing more than a case with a light in it!
• There are a few things you can do to help look after your phone.

There are a lot of weird scam tools out there. Soaring power bills have made the "power saver" scam devices popular, but the other day I came across another odd one called a "USB Phone Battery Repair Multipurpose Battery Restorer Efficient Repair" dongle.

Also: Want to cut your electric bill? Skip these scam 'power-saving' devices, and buy this instead

It claims to do a lot, but rest assured, all it does is take your money.

Before I plugged it into ...