Samsun Galaxy S Captivate won't charge (plug-port connection doesn't work)

[Shannon2000]

My Samsung Galaxy S Captivate SGH-I896 works fine and holds a charge, but the connection where I plug the USB cable into the phone no longer works. It's a tiny plug that looks like a little parallelogram with a 5-wire slot inside - not sure what it's called but from pictures on the net it looks like Micro-B. The connection seemed to have been gradually deteriorating for several months, & getting harder and harder to make a connection. Sometimes I'm able to get a connection by wiggling the plug around and if I'm lucky I'll catch it at just the right angle to see the 'charging' icon appear, but if I move it seemingly a micron in any direction or even breathe on it, the connection will drop again. If I do happen to get it at the right angle, I have to duct table the wire to the phone and/or prop the phone up at just the angle it likes, and then hope nobody bumps into the table while it's charging.

The 1-year warranty period has expired, naturally, and I'm not eligible for an upgrade on my Rogers plan until April 2014. I've just spent an hour on the phone with various Rogers reps and found that I can get a new phone now for approx. $200 (!). Seems unreasonable given that my present phone is perfectly fine except for the charging port (or the plug that goes into it). My concern is that Samsung is selling phones that aren't robust enough to stand up to daily use - and Rogers doesn't seem to care. It's been a real fight to get them to be interested in feedback. Presently on hold with the 5th person (so far) at Rogers to sort all this out. :-\

But I digress: has anyone else had a similar experience with the tiny connection port where their USB cable plugs into the phone? Is there a fix?

Many thanks,
Shannon
near Ottawa ON

 

[JasonBoom]

Hey Shannon,

My buddy just had the same problem with his Galaxy S Captivate. It was a loose/defective charging port like yours. Funnily enough, he is with Rogers as well and experienced similar frustrations when we were trying to get a new phone yesterday. Rogers has really eliminated any good prepaid replacement phones. Crappy flip phones for $100+ and other bad deals. They really just want you to renew a contract for a new phone and the Rogers guys pretend like they just don't understand the concept of a new phone to put your sim card in and away we go. Anyways, my friend just ended up buying out his Rogers contract and getting a new phone and plan with Koodo because it will save him money with a more efficient plan even with the buy out fee and a new phone.

I might take his old Captivate off his hands. If you're still looking for a solution. The easiest/cheapest fix would be to get some extra batteries with a separate wall charger to charge 'em. link You can also find a cell phone repair shop and get them to fix it with a new charging port. It talked to a shop and it's a fairly common problem. Or if you're really ambitious, buy a new charging port for $3 off ebay and fix it yourself. link

Anyways, just wanted to share a similar experience. Hope it helps.

Cheers,

Jason

 

[mark arquero]

hello may i know what seems to be the problem with my captivate. when i charge it. it charges for a couple secs and turns off automatically. basically it doesnt charge at all.