Inspect every end-face first. If it is clean, then it can be inserted as is. Most likely, it has accumulated some form of contamination and needs to be cleaned right before insertion:

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Cleaning patch cords with a Cleaning Card:

1. Remove the plastic cover from one cleaning zone.
2. Apply a minimal spot of solvent to the starting corner of the cleaning zone.
3. Holding the connector perpendicularly, swipe the end-face from the wet spot into a dry zone.
4. Inspect again to ensure a complete cleaning. If necessary, expose a new cleaning zone and repeat steps again.

1. Pull a clean wipe from the Cleaning Cube.
2. Apply a minimal spot of solvent to the starting edge of the wipe.
3. Holding the connector perpendicularly, swipe the end-face from the wet spot into a dry zone.
4. Inspect again to ensure a complete cleaning. If necessary, repeat the steps again on a new portion of the exposed wipe on the Cube.

Cleaning inside ports with Swabs:

1. Pull a clean wipe from the Cleaning Cube.
2. Apply a minimal spot of solvent to the wipe.
3. Touch the swab to the wet spot on the wipe for 3 seconds to absorb a minimal amount of solvent. A damp swab works better than a wet one.
4. Insert the swab into the port and turn several times while applying gentle pressure.
5. Follow the damp swab with a dry one, using the same procedure to remove any remaining solvent from the end-face and alignment sleeve.

* Note that applying solvent directly from the pen to a swab will result in excess solvent on the swab.