Samsung Galaxy S3 charging problem

Jimblywee

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Hi all,

Hope this is posted in the right forum: I have an unlocked, network-independent Samsung Galaxy SIII, and I couldn't find a forum that was specific to this situation so I hope this will do.

A couple of months ago (after not having changed any configurations or apps) I noticed that the battery does not charge fully when the phone is on. If it is off, it charges as normal. If it is on without WiFi it charges at about 1% an hour. If it is plugged in with WiFi on, it discharges at about 1% per 30 minutes.

I have switched between three different cables, I have switched between three different chargers AND the PC with three different USB sockets, I have bought a brand-new official Samsung battery. I have cleared the system cache in recovery mode. I have cleaned the USB port on the phone with alcohol and a q-tip. I have cleaned the contacts on the battery and the inside of the phone in the same way. Nothing works.

At the moment I'm switching between batteries and using an external charger, and they charge just fine, but the situation is a huge pain in the posterior.

I have googled this issue and have found hundreds of people reporting the same problem, all in the last couple of months. I'm a bit bemused because I haven't upgraded (and I don't get auto-upgrades since the phone is rooted), so it seems a bit weird that this is suddenly happening to many people.

Most threads on this subject suggest that there is a problem with the cable/battery/charger. Well I think I've been thorough in checking all variables. What have I overlooked? Does anyone have any more suggestions other than the ones I have tried (gleaned from the many threads I've found about it)?

Thanks!
 

srkmagnus

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I should mention, though it's rooted it has not been flashed: it has official Samsung 4.1.2.
Welcome to the forums! Being rooted should not matter in this case.

For clarification, are you noticing the slow charge only when its connected to a usb port, such as PC? Or does it also occur when plugged into the wall outlet?

Generally, devices will charge slowly or possibly even discharge while connected to usb power sources because there isn't enough power output to keep the device charged.
 

srkmagnus

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Thanks!Both. I know the wall outlet provides a higher charge, but it used to charge fine with the PC too. Now it has the same problem with both.
That's odd. Other than trying other wall outlets, which I'm sure you already have done, I have no other suggestions. Have you considered taking the device back to the carrier and see if they can help troubleshoot. It could be a hardware issue, but that's just a wild guess.
 

Fakhr E Alam

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@Jimblywee
I am facing the exact same problem since like a week or so and I don't know what to do, I have pretty much tried everything even downgraded my OS but nothing worked, do tell me when you find a solution because I feel like giving up :(
 

Jimblywee

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Yeah, I've tried probably a dozen different outlets and three or four chargers.

Like I say, there is no carrier. It was bought outright and is network-independent. I don't really want to take it to Samsung as it'll be gone for weeks...

This is not an isolated problem however. If you Google "s3 charging problem" you will find hundreds of people with the same issue, most of them reporting it in the past few months. In fact I see there's another one on the front page of this forum right now.

Since it charges fine when it's off, and all the accessories are working fine, I am strongly of the opinion that it's softwar related. I had hoped that the issue might have been addressed and diagnosed on this forum at some point... Oh well. Thanks anyway!
 

Jimblywee

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@Jimblywee
I am facing the exact same problem since like a week or so and I don't know what to do, I have pretty much tried everything even downgraded my OS but nothing worked, do tell me when you find a solution because I feel like giving up :(
Sorry to hear that you're having exactly the same problem. Until someone even diagnoses the problem all I can suggest is to buy an extra battery and charger and keep rotating them, like I have to do.
 

GSDer

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Jimblywee,
I'll agree with your assertion that there's been a rash of similar reports lately.

And that in common is the observation that if the phone is completely off then charging takes place at a normal rate (which suggests to me that there's nothing wrong with the micro-USB port or the actual charging circuit).

The only conclusion that I can draw is that the OS is somehow mis-managing charging, but I don't know diddly about how that is implemented or what the fix could be.

If you were of a mind to, you could be a guinea pig and do some experiments:
- use Kies or Odin to reload the stock firmware
- if that doesn't pan out, backup the /efs structure, then wipe the phone completely and reload it
It obviously won't do me any good to try these things since my phone isn't having the problem (yet).

P.S. For all I know the charging circuit is different between phone completely off and phone on - if I had money to throw at the problem I'd suggest buying a wireless charging solution just to see what happens.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM 10.2 using Tapatalk 4
 

executiveg

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I have a Note 2. With the same problem. It start about 2 weeks ago. I think after a update.
My phone only will charge up to 56% at night. It wont go over that percent. Also the charging is very slow. I have 5 batterys that I tryed chargin on my phone and the same thing.
Then I have a external battery charger and the batterys charged to 100% fine.

Seems maybe the port/phone is not pulling enough power to chargr it to 100%.
Does anyone know how to reset the battery log? I remember doing something like this acouple yrs ago on my old phone.

this is pissing me off alot.
Hope to find the problem

Sent from my Verizon Note 2.SCH-I605 using Android Central Forums .
 

Fakhr E Alam

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@jimblywee
But that's not the solution , my friend has also started getting this problem since a few days ago, it is driving me crazy, even the service center guys cant help me out.
@GSDer I downgraded my OS and am still having the same problem :(
 

GSDer

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Heh heh - and of course I left out the obvious: contact your carrier and/or Samsung - I'm sure they'll be very helpful. :rolleyes:

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM 10.2 using Tapatalk 4
 

Jimblywee

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Jimblywee,
I'll agree with your assertion that there's been a rash of similar reports lately.
Thank you! At the moment most of the responses suggest hardware issues, but I do think it's something else. At least your concurrance reassures me that I'm not going mad. ;)
If you were of a mind to, you could be a guinea pig and do some experiments:
- use Kies or Odin to reload the stock firmware
- if that doesn't pan out, backup the /efs structure, then wipe the phone completely and reload it
Well I was thinking of trying the leaked 4.2.2 but that might make things a lot worse. I have no idea how to do the second!
It obviously won't do me any good to try these things since my phone isn't having the problem (yet).
Long may it not!
P.S. For all I know the charging circuit is different between phone completely off and phone on - if I had money to throw at the problem I'd suggest buying a wireless charging solution just to see what happens.
Don't the wireless solutions have a gizmo that enters the same circuit though?
 

Fakhr E Alam

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It's not a solution but at least it ensures you'll have a fully charged battery to use each morning.
What I do is I have installed an app known as Galaxy Charging Current *lite* and it shows me the charging speed of my charger and it varies with time to time or when I unplug and plug back the charger so I plug and unplug the charger till the MAX value in it becomes 700 or 800 so then the charging time reduces somewhat, still not a solution but it is working for me till now.
 

GSDer

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Yes, I'm sure that the wireless charging solutions connect to the same charging circuit at some point, but they eliminate part of the path (involving the micro-USB port) so I figured it would be worth a shot (as I noted, if I had money to throw at the problem).

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM 10.2 using Tapatalk 4