Help Flaky Charging Port

[breadnatty08]

Well, I think the charging port on my Gnex (Verizon) is starting to fail.
It goes in and out of charging and sometimes I have to wiggle it a little bit (which I'm sure isn't helping the situation).
Anyone else having this problem?
Our OG Droids went two years without any issues. I'm hoping this doesn't get worse as I'm pretty strapped for cash on a new phone.

 

[Caveman419]

Would finding a charging dock or a stand along battery charger be an option? I have two of the charging docks that I use. I found them on Swappa. I got lucky and had people break them out of their packages and sell them seperatly for about $45-$50.

 

[jhawkkw]

Mine is showing it's age. It's no longer a tight connection and does wiggle around quite a bit, but I haven't seen it stop charging yet.

 

[breadnatty08]

Granted, I could be blaming it on an ancient charging cable that's from our Droids. It's the one causing the most problems. Newer ones I have aren't so bad.

 

[Caveman419]

Granted, I could be blaming it on an ancient charging cable that's from our Droids. It's the one causing the most problems. Newer ones I have aren't so bad.

Might be time to update that cable....from the OG Droid!?!?!?

 

[breadnatty08]

Might be time to update that cable....from the OG Droid!?!?!?

Haha! Yep.
Just the one I use at work. I have the one that came with my Gnex here at home and it works just fine.

 

[Caveman419]

Haha! Yep.
Just the one I use at work. I have the one that came with my Gnex here at home and it works just fine.

Whew....starting to scare me there....

 

[breadnatty08]

Whew....starting to scare me there....

The charging block on it doesn't even work anymore. I need to plug it into my computer to charge.
Okay, maybe time for a new cable.

 

[Caveman419]

The charging block on it doesn't even work anymore. I need to plug it into my computer to charge.
Okay, maybe time for a new cable.

That might be a sign. I ordered one a long time ago to keep one at work and one at home, now they both power my docks. I think you can find them pretty cheap on amazon.

 

[ganj_420]

Yeah definitely go for a new cable. My port started going wonky on me recently also, and it is starting to get loose like yours. I just cleaned it really good with some sharp needle-nose tweezers and blew out all the gunk that has collected over the past year from going in and out and in and out of pockets and what not. Works much better now, I bet that would help you out a bit

 

[breadnatty08]

Yeah, I'll look look into a new cable. Hoping the next phone has wireless charging, just a little paranoid here.

 

[Tim K]

Yeah, I've found mine often shows "USB Charging" when its plugged in. I've come to check it when I plug it in to make sure. If its USB I unplug and re-plug to make it come up "AC Charging". Its the original GN cable and block. I don't know if its the cable or the port.

 

[breadnatty08]

Is it the original or another?

 

[AnotherFatalEpic]

Yeah, I've found mine often shows "USB Charging" when its plugged in. I've come to check it when I plug it in to make sure. If its USB I unplug and re-plug to make it come up "AC Charging". Its the original GN cable and block. I don't know if its the cable or the port.

Where do you see if it is USB or AC Charging? On the Lockscreen it just says charging...

EDIT: NM found it when I went into the settings for battery, it has (USB) next to charging, I could have sworn this was not here before.

 

[Englimnex]

If one of the USB data lines isn't making a good connection then the phone will report it is USB charging even when plugged into a AC charger. I suspect that we are wearing out the USB ports because we have to plug in the GNEX so frequently to keep it charged.
I recently had the problem of the Gnex charging/USB port going bad. It wasn't the cable. It was the port itself. I tried cleaning it but that didn't help. Bending the port casing got it back to at least working intermittently. I ended up replacing the port. Instructions are on iFixit.com. I bought the new part on Ebay from "gadgetfix". The description for CDMA version is:"OEM Samsung Galaxy Nexus CDMA i515 Dock Flex Charger Port Charging USB Connector". Make sure you get the right part since the CDMA version is different from the GSM version. The GSM PC board has is noticeably longer. Total cost ~$10. Changing it out was a little scary. Itty bitty parts and you have to be real careful to get everything back exactly right. I did this myself because the local phone fixit shops have horrible reputations. It works fine now.