Fix Your Wall Charger

[GLOCK 22]

I searched for a while and could not find any answers on what was wrong with my wall charger for my Droid. I would have to wiggle it back and forth applying different amounts of pressure until I could find the "sweet spot" to make it charge my phone.

After searching a good bit on here and Google, I found nothing so I decided to take matters in my own hand. Worst case scenario I was going to have to purchase a new wall charger if I messed up.

I hope this helps anyone with the same problem, and here is a little mini-tutorial on how I fixed it:

1. Unplug the charger from the wall
2. Get a pair of small Chanel-Lock style pliers as seen below. (If you don't have a pair of these you can pick them up for about $1 at Harbor Freight and Tools)

3. Squeeze the metallic sleeve that surrounds the pins evenly on the top and bottom - but do it at the angle shown below:

4. When you squeeze, apply small amounts of pressure! Be GENTLE! You only want to bend the top towards the bottom (or vice versa) a tiny bit. The finished product should look like what you see below:

It may take several attempts before you get it right. Just plug it in the wall, and the phone to test it.

Voila! You just saved a few bucks, and you can thank Android Forums and Glock22.

Wish you the best,

GLOCK22

 

[alostpacket]

Very cool, thanks for the tip!

I have yet to try this but I have one Micro USB cable I was gonna toss because it was having problems connecting to both my Droid and my N1.

 

[takeshi]

Are you sure that the wall charger is the problem and not the microUSB port on your device? It's generally the latter that tend to develop problems. I'm not saying that this doesn't help...

 

[alostpacket]

Are you sure that the wall charger is the problem and not the microUSB port on your device? It's generally the latter that tend to develop problems. I'm not saying that this doesn't help...

For me, when I switched cables everything worked like it was brand spanking new. I was seeing problems on two phones with one cable. Once I switched cables both worked great. It could be something with the devices, but I'm thinking for me it was this one cable.

 

[GLOCK 22]

It seems the problem is in the metal sleeve becoming deformed over time. It appears to be aluminum, which is pretty weak.

I refused to throw away all the chargers I had laying around that wouldn't work anymore. I even took and soldered a new tip on to one and it worked like new. It turns out I was over thinking the problem.

 

[SuperWoman]

It seems the problem is in the metal sleeve becoming deformed over time. It appears to be aluminum, which is pretty weak.

I refused to throw away all the chargers I had laying around that wouldn't work anymore. I even took and soldered a new tip on to one and it worked like new. It turns out I was over thinking the problem.

Pure Genius! I actually used my wooden desk and a thick fork to bend the aluminum. Then it got bent a little too much, so I just used the nail scraper of my finger nail clippers. I plugged it in and it worked! I've been throwing away chargers and buying new ones so thanks!!

 

[funkylogik]

^ this! Me too
(Unplug it first if you dont like the tiny electri

 

[Vaportrail_1]

Signed up just to say this method worked like a charm for me and i was about to toss it out

 

[lvt]

While this method apparently works for you, you shouldn't make it your permanent fix because :

1. Most of the times it's the wall charger plug's problem, not your phone's problem. Your phone's USB port is designed to last longer than the plug because it's not user-replaceable.

2. This method is done by reducing the plug's height to create fricson on the small connectors board in order to make better contact, it sounds logical but it's against the original design. The original design uses two small metal clips to retain the plug when it's connected, there is a small gap between the connectors board the the plug to prevent the connectors board from being broken when the plug is moving violently in different directions.

3. People usually use the same wall charger to charge different devices, if you make the plug too stiff, it would damage more than one device.

So when the plug if loose, change the cable or the charger itself if the cable is not removable, this method won't make you a winner because a new charger or charging cable costs 100x less than your phone.

 

[Brian706]

That's a good idea! I had a similar fix for one of my cables. The metal prongs were sunk into the aluminum and it wouldn't stay put in my phone anymore.

I had luck by taking a paperclip and sticking it in the holes that the prongs are in and apply upward pressure to the prongs to make them stick out like new again. This also worked like a charm.

 

[Vaportrail_1]

While this method apparently works for you, you shouldn't make it your permanent fix because :

1. Most of the times it's the wall charger plug's problem, not your phone's problem. Your phone's USB port is designed to last longer than the plug because it's not user-replaceable.

2. This method is done by reducing the plug's height to create fricson on the small connectors board in order to make better contact, it sounds logical but it's against the original design. The original design uses two small metal clips to retain the plug when it's connected, there is a small gap between the connectors board the the plug to prevent the connectors board from being broken when the plug is moving violently in different directions.

3. People usually use the same wall charger to charge different devices, if you make the plug too stiff, it would damage more than one device.

So when the plug if loose, change the cable or the charger itself if the cable is not removable, this method won't make you a winner because a new charger or charging cable costs 100x less than your phone.

Well most of the time is not all the time and in my case i have already tried several new cables all with the same results "Didn't Work". Its most definitely the phone port and yes it can be repaired for $160 more than im willing to invest in it before just getting a new phone and this method will get me by just fine till i do.