Charging port broke

[l land]

It was only charging when I wiggled the USB connector in a certain way. I stuck in the tip of a knife to try to clean things off or something. Bad move. Now it is completely broken. I guess I can still charge it on the wireless charger, but that doesn't work in my vehicle. Luckily I have a second N7 that I bought a few months ago on that half price sale they had, and I was also planning to buy a new larger tablet when the new models of Samsung etc. come out, probably in a few weeks. These USB charging ports are a weak point. I've had one break on a laptop too. Apple's are much better, aren't they? - or are they? - and you don't have to fumble around on them trying to fit them in rightside up, which always seems to take 4 or 5 tries.

 

[B. Diddy]

you don't have to fumble around on them trying to fit them in rightside up.

Welcome to Android Central! This is why wireless charging is such a nice feature to have.

 

[l land]

Welcome to Android Central! This is why wireless charging is such a nice feature to have.

Thanks, BD. But I use my tablet in my vehicle a lot and I don't know how I could use the wireless charger in the vehicle unless I hooked up the DC-AC converter. And, nice as they are - and it was all the rage just a year or two ago - it seems that all the new tablets are no longer coming with wireless charging capability and I don't know why!

 

[B. Diddy]

Oh yes, I agree with that. I was just referring to the wear and tear on the USB port, as well as the whole fumbling to plug it in.

People usually report the cost of a USB port repair to be relatively cheap, like under $50, so you might consider bringing it to a repair shop for an estimate.

 

[l land]

I'll ask the repair guys tomorrow but I'm afraid it will cost almost as much as I paid for the second one I got on sale for a little over 100. What I should have done is sprayed electronic cleaning spray in there first and then dried it with a hair dryer and see if that worked (I just read that), but I don't think it would have anyway. I think the inside of the port was broken. Here's a very good video I found on taking apart the 2013 in case anyone would want to tackle it.

[it won't let me post the link]

But under comments someone said that the replacement part alone costs 60-70 on EBay.

 

[l land]

I called two repair places, first the one that did a good job on my laptop last year. He said that the repair would cost about $200. Then I called another place. He said that they would charge $109 for the labor alone. So that would come to about 200 too. Well that answers that question.

USB charging ports, prone to breaking as they are, should be made easily replaceable, attached with a few tiny screws from the outside, or pressure fit so you can just pop them out, or at least improved. I read somewhere that USB4 will fit in either way like Apple's. When is USB4 coming out, if ever? Fumbling with them trying to get them in can't be helping their longevity any.

 

[B. Diddy]

Yikes! Sorry, I guess the figure I got was for a different device--pricing might have to do with how easy the repair is as well.

 

[l land]

It's still perfectly usable though, at home anyway, thanks to the wireless charging. The newer tablets without wireless charging would be totally kaput.

 

[aterriba]

It is an easy repair you can do yourself. Look it up on ifixit for the instructions and the repair kit. I had to do it for my 2012 nexus 7.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[itic]

If its one thing that pisses me off about my N7 is that upside down USB port. Especially when the USB port on my moto x is right side up

 

[Pollster]

It is an easy repair you can do yourself. Look it up on ifixit for the instructions and the repair kit. I had to do it for my 2012 nexus 7.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

The repair kit for the 2012 Nexus 7 is way cheaper and way easier to install than the 2013 version.
If you're good with soldering micro components, you can get a new port for less than 10, though.

 

[aterriba]

You would have to replace the board and not just the port now, unlike the older version, but the part is at parts4repair.com for $76.90. I have no idea how hard the replacement would be though. I found a nice video last time on ifixit that walked me through it but I couldn't find one for the 2013 model.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[pjoseph]

Loose charge port is my favorite happened to both my nexus 7 and S4
I would recommend one of those charging pads even if your port still works just to reduce the amount of times u have to plug and unplug it.

 

[l land]

You would have to replace the board and not just the port now, unlike the older version, but the part is at parts4repair.com for $76.90. I have no idea how hard the replacement would be though. I found a nice video last time on ifixit that walked me through it but I couldn't find one for the 2013 model.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

I only paid a little more than 100 for a brand new N7 2013 a few months ago, and they'll probably be that cheap again when all the new tablet models come out in a few weeks.

There is a very nice video showing the takedown and repair of the 2013 which is different from the 2012, but this place still won't let me post the link. Just google "charging port repair n2013". But I only paid a little over 100 for a brand new N7 2013 a few months ago, and they will probably be that cheap again shortly when all the new tablet models start coming out, so it's not worth the trouble and expense of trying to fix it myself - with the considerably possibility that I'll blow it up in the process.

And yes, Itic, the usb connector on the N7 is upside down from the way they are ordinarily installed. One thing that has helped me insert USB connectors right side up is simply drawing a mark on one side of the connector with a white or silver marker so I can see at a glance which was is up, but with the N7 I have to remember to do that in reverse.

Questions:

Why have they stopped making tablets with wireless charging?

Is a better charging port (I think) a good enough reason to look at Ipads? I've never owned one and don't even know how to work it.

 

[George Stevens]

2013 Nexus 7 Tablet Teardown. Charging port fix and screen repair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG6A_RBX-v0