Charging noncharging phone's battery in good phone

[Rgarner]

Since the "new" S5 apparently won't charge any battery, would it be ok to switch batteries in the "old" phone and thereby (I hope) keep them all charged? I would prefer to be able to use both phones as there are different things in them, including the sd cards. Ultimately I hope to figure out why the "new" S5 isn't charging and do something about that. Otherwise it seems not to be damaged.

 

[Hadron]

I can't see any reason why not. If they are both S5's then the batteries will be compatible between them, including their charging circuits.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I can't see any reason why not. If they are both S5's then the batteries will be compatible between them, including their charging circuits.

Have you tried cleaning the charging port? Sometimes lint or other crud gets in there and prevents the charging cable from making proper contact. Try blowing it out by with canned air, can't hurt and might help.

 

[PitCarver]

That was one of the best things about the S5. Battery replacement is simple, unless you have it in a case. Samsung even sold a dedicated charger for the S5 battery so that you could swap them out.

 

[Rgarner]

Hey, it works! Right now I'm charging a different battery in the "old" phone and it just got to 64% from 20. I still have to figure out how to make the "new" phone charge again. How do I get (and use) compressed air? Is it expensive? What do I do if that doesn't work?

 

[Hadron]

I'd imagine you buy a compressed air can from a hardware store.
A soft lens brush would be another possibility for shifting debris (and air can would be more forceful though). You don't want to use anything hard as this could damage the contacts.

 

[Rgarner]

Would it work to use rubbing alcohol with a q tip? Somebody at a computer store recommended that. Somebody else said get the phone diagnosed at Best Buy first.

 

[Fox Mulder]

You can do that but it's possible for lint from the Q-tip to get stuck in the port and make things worse. Canned air will blow out anything that's stuck in there that may be interfering with good contact.
You can get canned air/air duster at hardware, electronics, and office stores for a few bucks a can. It's a common item.
Best Buy will presumably charge you money to look at it and will either fix it by doing the same thing you could have done for free, say they can't do anything with it, or want a lot more money to take it apart and mess with it

 

[Rgarner]

The hardware store has a can of electronics cleaner. It's about the same price as compressed air. Would that be a good idea?

 

[Fox Mulder]

The hardware store has a can of electronics cleaner. It's about the same price as compressed air. Would that be a good idea?

I'd suggest buying the air. You want to blow out any dust or dirt that's inside the charging port, the air will do that. The cleaner spray is more for things like switch contacts, it can also be helpful with plug-in connectors but it won't displace large dirt deposits like the air will.
Of course we're trying to help you by remote control here, there's no guarantee this will work. This advice is based on experience and what has often succeeded in the past.

 

[PitCarver]

The hardware store has a can of electronics cleaner. It's about the same price as compressed air. Would that be a good idea?

You definitely don't want to spray any chemicals in or on your phone.

 

[Rgarner]

Ok, I've been looking into it. Most places that sell compressed air seem to be selling about 10 or 12 ounces for about $10. An office store has a smaller can, 3.5 ounces, for $5.31 plus tax. How much should I get?

 

[Rgarner]

Well, I finally took the plunge and got Wexford compressed air duster from Walgreens. It was kind of expensive, maybe 11 or 12 with the tax. I guess I just give the contacts a quick blast or two. Do you suppose it might also help my friend's LG that hasn't been working with the G Boom (Bluetooth)? The funny thing is his phone does work with the Wonderboom he recently got, also a Bluetooth speaker. I just don't get it.

 

[Rgarner]

At last I used the compressed air on the "new" phone. It's apparently good for scaring cats, not much more. Seriously, I blasted the charger port and the contacts of the phone and battery. It fired up ok but there's the same old problem, the battery going from 96 to 94% and a message that SAMSUNG'S own charger is somehow not compatible with the S5. Rather than risk any more mischief, I removed the battery and unplugged the phone. Did I use the compressed air wrong, too much or not enough?

 

[Fox Mulder]

No, you did the right thing but unfortunately it didn't fix the problem. It was still worth a try in case it was a simple matter of dirt buildup. Apparently it's a more significant hardware issue.

 

[Rgarner]

What do I do now? There's a lot of inportant stuff on that phone. I guess I could just keep charging the battery in the good phone and then using it in the bad one.

 

[MoodyBlues]

What do I do now? There's a lot of inportant stuff on that phone

Copy it to the other phone?

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Is Samsung not making S5 batteries anymore?

 

[Rgarner]

Having a battery is theoretically not a problem. I've got 3 or 4 of them. How the heck do I get this darn phone to charge them? It was working just fine maybe a month ago. Then I made the bad mistake of letting somebody else use it.

 

[Rgarner]

Ok, now I got the case off the "old" phone but apparently the off button underneath is bad. I'm taking photos of the screen with the other phone and sometimes sending them to you. This is nuts. I think I'd rather have one working phone than two that don't.