Battery Life Draining When Charging

vd1998 · Dec 2, 2014

My Samsung Galaxy S4 was at 30% battery when I put it on the charger. 10 minutes later, it was at 25%. I now have no battery life, and when I put it on the charger, the only thing that happens is a series of ongoing vibrations. I got the phone around February 2014, and I am on Verizon. I have tried all the classic techniques: changing the USB cable, using another charger, taking out the battery and putting it back in, and even letting it sit on the charger for 45 minutes undisturbed. None of those worked. I checked Youtube videos, other posts, and basically any other suggestion that I can find, but to no avail. Please help me with this problem! I am a high school junior, and many of my essays and classmate contact information is on my phone, so it's extremely difficult to have it be broken! Thank you in advance!

jj14x · Dec 2, 2014

What charger and cable are you using? Is it the OEM one? If not, what is the current rating of the charger you are using?
When you plug it in, does the battery icon show charging? Is it showing USB Charging or AC/Wall charging?

vd1998 · Dec 4, 2014

I'm using the charger and cable that came with the phone (the white Samsung one). I have also tried using my younger brother's Samsung Stratosphere (I think that's what it's called) charger and an old Blackberry charger. The battery icon does show charging, and it doesn't specify what type. However now my phone is completely dead and it shows nothing when I put it on the charger.

jj14x · Dec 5, 2014

Given that it is not showing anything when you put it on the charger, I wonder if your battery has gone bad. How long did you leave it on the charger? (try overnight - 8 hours or so to be safe).
Try a replacement battery (borrow from a friend, or from a cellphone service provider/cellphone sales) and see if that solves the problem. If so, you may just need a new battery.

bobolinko · Dec 5, 2014

Just take your phone into a provider's store and ask them to check the battery and charger (bring them with you) and they will be able to, in no time, tell you exactly what the problem is. No muss no fuss, and most importantly, NO MISTAKES!
Good Luck!
-bob

vd1998 · Dec 5, 2014

@jj14x I charged my phone for around 30 minutes at first. Then I noticed the depletion of battery. I turned my phone off and then back on. After that, I put it on the charger for around 3 hours. My phone completely died. 10 minutes later, I was no longer able to turn it back on. Many of my friends have iPhones, so it'll be hard to find someone with a similar phone that I can use to borrow the battery. Do you recommend going to an electronic store (Fry's or Best Buy) and purchasing a new battery? Thank you for all the help! I really appreciate it!

vd1998 · Dec 5, 2014

@bobolinko I've had a phone break before. A few years ago, my Sony Xperia PLAY was broken, so I took it to Verizon to see if they could fix it. They took one look at it and told me there was nothing they could do about it, and that I had to use an old phone, or buy a new phone after my contract expired (which was 1 year later). My parents ended up having to pay a lot of money each month, even though I wasn't even using a phone. Therefore, I don't think going to Verizon would be a good idea, because I do believe that my Samsung phone should work. Do you recommend going to an electronic store instead? Thank you for the help!

vd1998 · Dec 7, 2014

Just some updated information: I changed the battery but nothing happened. The charger still drained battery rather than charge. I called Verizon, and even went to the store. They won't do anything (obviously). When I do plug it into the charger, there is a sign that comes. It's an empty battery with a circle in the middle. Does anyone know what that means?

triger · Dec 10, 2014

Is it hot when you charge? Mybe its a hardware problem try charging it on a computer first if its still draining

Stanman · Dec 11, 2014

I have a similar but not exact issue, but I have had to handle your issue a few times. Here's what I have done:
1) take out battery, for one minute at least
2) clean battery and battery bay terminals
3) reinsert, close case
4) plug into charger - may have to gently push the charging port to all four quadrants (up, down, side, side)
- you might try going to the USB alone if the outlet charging is not working
5) once a solid charging symbol is on for one minute, then gently push on-off button on side.
6) battery with green charging indicator should turn on
7) leave to charge

My issues are a little different than yours, but this approach has worked for me multiple times.

jj14x · Dec 12, 2014

vd1998 said:
Just some updated information: I changed the battery but nothing happened. The charger still drained battery rather than charge. I called Verizon, and even went to the store. They won't do anything (obviously). When I do plug it into the charger, there is a sign that comes. It's an empty battery with a circle in the middle. Does anyone know what that means?

To me, that seems to indicate a problem with the charger or the charging cable, or the microUSB port where the charging cable is connected to the phone.
The store should have checked all this though - surprised they didn't do anything!!

By any chance, do you have access to a wireless charging back and charger? If so, try that as an option (assuming you are not making any progress elsewhere)

vd1998 · Dec 13, 2014

@triger no it feels fine when charging...the only problem is that the battery drains rather than charges. Everything else works 100% fine

vd1998 · Dec 13, 2014

@Stanman I've tried pretty much all those suggestions before...nothing works :/

vd1998 · Dec 13, 2014

@jj14x I've tried multiple chargers and charging cables...they all do the same thing. None of them work. I have one of those battery packs (I think that's what it's called...it's like a narrow silver rod that charges your phone wirelessly) and that also does not do anything different. I called Samsung and they were probably more useless than Verizon. They said they didn't know what is wrong and to take it to Best Buy to see if the Samsung workers there can fix it...hopefully the Best Buy dudes can be of some help but honestly I'm running out of hope right now. You've been so nice with your suggestions and I can't thank you enough but my one request is to keep giving advice when you think of something new. I'll try to keep all of you guys updated on what's happening. I've been phoneless for a week and a half, and (possible because I'm a teen girl) I'm struggling to adapt to not having a phone on me 24/7.

joice33 · Dec 13, 2014

You have tried your best but still no recovery. You should get help from technician into your local area. He/she might be solved your problem I think.

vd1998 · Dec 13, 2014

@joice33 yeah I'm going to Best Buy tomorrow to that Samsung Experience section or whatever it's called. If they can't even identify the problem, I'll try to find a cell phone repair place. If a cell phone repair place can't fix my phone...I'm screwed LOL! I just hope that doesn't happen so fingers crossed everything works out

joice33 · Dec 14, 2014

@vd1998 you should go there. I think they might solve your issue. Wish for the best!!!

jj14x · Dec 14, 2014

vd1998 said:
@jj14x I've tried multiple chargers and charging cables...they all do the same thing. None of them work. I have one of those battery packs (I think that's what it's called...it's like a narrow silver rod that charges your phone wirelessly) and that also does not do anything different. I called Samsung and they were probably more useless than Verizon. They said they didn't know what is wrong and to take it to Best Buy to see if the Samsung workers there can fix it...hopefully the Best Buy dudes can be of some help but honestly I'm running out of hope right now. You've been so nice with your suggestions and I can't thank you enough but my one request is to keep giving advice when you think of something new. I'll try to keep all of you guys updated on what's happening. I've been phoneless for a week and a half, and (possible because I'm a teen girl) I'm struggling to adapt to not having a phone on me 24/7.

I really hope the techs at the Best Buy store can figure this out. It can't be that hard for them to rule out the possible issues - just hope that they are willing to spend some time to figure this out.

To summarize, since you changed the battery, it doesn't seem to be an issue with the battery. You also tried multiple chargers/cables, and the battery is not charging with any of them. The only thing left is the charging port on the phone. The only way to test that would require opening it up a little (or if they have a wireless charging kit that they are willing to test with, it should take just a few minutes to confirm that).

One follow up question - when you say it isn't charging, does the phone at least show that it is charging? Or is the phone absolutely dead where it doesn't even let you boot into the Android OS? If it does boot up, can you go to settings/battery and see if it is showing charging? And if so, does it indicate USB charging or AC charging?

Battery Life Draining When Charging

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