Help Phone charging intermittently

[jane2600]

My S5 recently has had issues with charging. I took it into the store thinking it was the charger that needed to be replaced. No. No visible damage or debris in the charging port or charger. No water or other damage - it has been kept in an Otterbox since the moment I bought it.

When I plug it in, sometimes it does nothing. No matter how long I let it sit or how full the battery is charged, it does not charge. I've tried different outlets, plugging the USB into the computer, charging with phone turned off, and pretty much all of the troubleshooting tips I could think of or find online. Other times it begins to charge only to stop and resume charging multiple times, as if being unplugged repeatedly. It does this so rapidly sometimes that it has killed my battery faster than not charging it at all.

I am really paranoid about sending it in to AT&T or Samsung although it is still under warranty. I'm paranoid because they both make it sound like it has to be a "defect" - not clear on the full definition there - in order to be covered. Well, the phone didn't come out of box that way. But I haven't mishandled my phone so I'm not sure. The salesperson said my phone looked immaculate and it should be covered. But AT&T would not fix any non-defect damages PLUS charge me $580 for the replacement phone which could not be returned. Samsung would charge me an unspecified amount and I'd rather shop around if I'm paying for repairs.

I have scoured the internet in search of similar issues and have only found things that required the charging port to be replaced which I've seen as ~$200. Are there any other troubleshooting tips? Is $200 accurate? I know I should get local quotes but just looking for a ballpark figure.

I am debating just getting a spare battery and charger and doing that since it would cost less than 1/4 of the repair. Ideally, though, I'd like to fix this!!!

Summary: Phone won't charge reliably and sometimes at all. How else can I troubleshoot? Is it worth repairing as someone on a tight budget? Anyone been through this with tips?

 

[AZgl1500]

I'm an old retired electronics tech.

I try to isolate what is happening, "divide and conquer" we called it in our shop.

The 1st thing I would do myself is remove the battery, use a soft cotton swab, Q tip, and some isopranol alchohol.

Rub the contacts on the battery and the phone and remove all of the dark colored oxidation.

2nd, assuming that does not fix it, then I would purchase a Qi Wireless charger/pad and give that a try w/o the external case on the phone. If that fixes the issue, then you have isolated the charging port and associated circuitry.

So far, you can do all of this yourself.

If at this point, it still will not accept a charge properly, then you have to decide how much money you want to invest in fixing it. For me, I would get a spare battery and external charger and get on with life.

If you use MacroDroid to automate turning the WiFi and Data radios off/on you can get a full day of heavy use, two days of moderate use, and 3 to 5 days of idle time between phone calls and SMS messages. See my signature.

* MacroDroid Internet on/off as needed
____________________________________
Verizon Galaxy S5 4.4.4, using ART
MyPhoneExplorer, Qi wireless equipped
Nova Prime, Textra, Blue Mail
MacroDroid senses Scrn off, turns Wifi & Data OFF,
MD senses Scrn on, turns WiFi & Data ON

 

[Greg Zargeo]

I don't have a solution but had a very similar problem - TWICE. My phone would charge intermittently. I had a Moto G5 that does not have a replaceable battery. Brought the phone to a shop and they recommended that I send it to the manufacturer to have the plug in replaced as it is attached to the motherboard. I opted instead to replace the phone as I thought it would be more cost effective. I replaced it with an LG that has a replaceable charging port and a replaceable battery. After about a month of use with no problems, I started experiencing the same exact problem with the LG that I had with the Motorola. Describing the problem: I first noticed that while I had the phone connected to my car's portable charger, it would start out charging and then noticed that it was no longer charging after a short period of time. Initially, I thought it was just a bad connection and then use a different cable. Same result: Charged initially and then stop charging. Curiously, even after connecting to a house receptacle, same problem - initially charging and then no longer charging. Even more curious, there were some charging transformers ( I have many) when I did not have this problem. I initially thought that I had a bad cable or bad source of power - but eliminated both as causes. What I am suspicious about is a portable battery pack that I have used in both scenarios. I purchased these portable battery packs some time ago and carry them with me and use when I do not have a standard power source to recharge the phones. I have realized that on each of my phones, the issues with recharging occurred after I started using these portable power packs. Coincidence? I don't know but I am wondering if anyone else has had similar issues.