Samsung Galaxy S4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

[syxxt9]

I got my galaxy s4 about 3 weeks ago. One week past the warranty date from radio shack (for some reason they only offer 2 week warranty...). No help from Radio Shack at all. Anyways I am having issues charging my phone. The phone no longer detects the charger when I plug it in. I've tried a couple different cords, I've tried charging it on my computer and wall outlet, i've pulled the battery out (no visible damage), I've done 3 hard resets of the phone, updated the software, and still no luck. I can get the phone to charge, however it must be OFF. When I plug it into the wall while it is OFF, the battery charging icon will pop up for a few seconds and vibrate, then the screen goes black. It repeats this process every 5 seconds or so. I have noticed that it does actually charge the battery and I left it plugged in like this overnight and in the morning my battery was fully charged. However obviously this is annoying as I have to turn my phone off to charge it and I can't hook it up to my computer or anything else. I've read one other thread on here with a similar issue though they were not able to get the battery to fully charge and also reported the phone getting very hot, mine is not doing this. Anyone have any solutions, I've ordered a new battery online which should be here in a couple days just to see if it is that as I need a spare anyways. If not I guess I will try to send my phone in for repair, I live in a remote area and don't have anywhere close that I can just bring it to.

 

[greggowaffles]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

Im having the same issue: only charges when off and the charge pulsates as you described. Has your new battery given you any luck?

 

[syxxt9]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

Haven't got new battery yet. But I did try a battery from a friends phone and no luck. Spoke with ATT and they are sending me a like-new phone and I have to send them this one back, so at least I won't be stuck without a phone.

 

[Klever421]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

Okay guys so today I woke up and looked at my phone to find that it was a 9 percent. I was confused at first because I had put it on the charger the night before.
So now I've been trying to charge it and the only way to charge it is how stxxxt9 describes... OFF. And it vibrates randomly and that is just annoying.
One cause of this phone error may have been how I was clumsy and dropped my phone in a puddle behind my house...

I think that this error is caused by water damage of some sort and the way your Samsung Galaxy s4 can be repaired is by replacing it through ATT.

 

[Shainal Chetty]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

Hey
I had the same issue, sometimes it would charge really slowly, and a few times I left the charger plugged in over night and the battery actually decreased Eventually I just sent it in to my service provider and they fixed it for me. I tried everything also, I suggest you just send it back to who ever you got it from, you rather go 2 weeks without a phone than have a faulty one.
Hope it gets sorted out

 

[usb pin bent]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

Hi all! I've had the exact same issue for about a week. Took the phone back to the store I bought it from and just as the guy was doing the paperwork to send the device for repair, he noticed the USB connector pin on the phone itself was slightly bent. After consulting with his coworker, he *gently* bent it back into place with a mini flathead screwdriver. Problem solved. Hope this helps.

 

[CWNY]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

I had this same issue. I had the phone for three weeks and it started one morning. The charging icon I got was a grey battery icon with a still "timer" circle that would appear for five seconds, go off and then the phone would pulse. When the phone was on, the USB connection was not recognized by any other devices at all. I treated this phone well. I didn't drop it or get it wet and I know how to connect the connector to the USB port. Sprint was no help. They told me to either get the insurance or they would look at it for $57. Instead, I went to the Samsung website and talked to a tech over chat. He had me go through reset, hard reset, changing batteries, chargers, etc. He suggested I send it back to Samsung and emailed me a UPS label. One week later, they fixed the problem, and I should have the phone back within a day or two. They said it was an issue with the charging port and it was fixed under warranty. I was also told that he spoke to several people had this problem by a tech person at another Sprint store after I mailed it in. Other than this small problem, this has been an excellent phone.

 

[abuxe]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

Hello, I have had the same problem for a while now. After reading the post about the bent pin, I tried to fix it the same way and it worked. I really appreciate for the help.

 

[sadler.john]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

PROBLEM SOLVED...

I hope this helps you. ..there are 2 flavors of wall chargers that I am aware of.
A 850 milli amp and a 2 amp type..
I had been using a old charger that came with another phone..it turned out to be a 850 amp type...it made the s4 sick...the s4 ships with a 2amp charger...just because it fits the phone port does not mean it is the right type....I switched to the wall charger tha the came with the s4 and the charging problem was solved. ..it is a 2 amp charger...the s4 has a bigger battery and therefore needs a charger that pushes more juice......I hope this helps you as well..
I had been using a chager

 

[silverbird5K]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

I have the EXACT same problem with my S4. I purchased the phone 6 weeks ago (June 13th) at Best Buy and started noticing the problem about a week ago. I've tried the original charger that came with the phone, an old charger for my previous Droid Bionic, the car charger they up-sold me when I made the original purchase - everything. Like everyone else, the only time my phone charges is when it's off. Once the battery dies or I turn the phone off, I plug it in, a grey battery icon appears and there's a repetitive vibrating pulse every 15 seconds (exactly as described above by CWNY). It's incredibly annoying: a $600 device as well-made and/or well-hyped as the S4 shouldn't have problems like this less than 2 months after it's purchased. I haven't dropped, spilled, or in any way damaged the device. It just stopped charging. Really frustrating.
It sounds like the best place to get help is directly from Samsung, although I'm not thrilled by the week+ waiting period.

Does anyone if Best Buy offers some kind of basic warranty that would cover this sort of problem 6 weeks after the purchase date? I'd much rather just drive over and have them fix (or replace) it same-day. But if I have to wait, I'll wait.

Sounds like this is a somewhat common problem- especially among people who purchased their phones in the past 2 months. That's somewhat comforting, at least. And hopefully the manufacturer and/or retailer(s) will take responsibility and do the right thing.

 

[gazi1979]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

i hed the same problem wont charge only wen is of works today i wen i Lewisham and i change charging pot and is working fine i pay 35 pond but i m hapy is whorking know

 

[Kokzin8]

got my phone 5 months and had no problem with it until saturday where it refused to charge, im stressed. i dont know what happend to it. i left it on the charger over night but its still the same. do i have to take it to repairs or what. that phone is my life and i still dont understand why it couldnt read the charger and why now.

 

[biva]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

suggest me to solve the same issues.plzz...i am unable to charge my mobile .

 

[transistors]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

try this:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/312596-samsung-galaxy-charging-issue.html

 

[DesElms]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

try this:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/312596-samsung-galaxy-charging-issue.html

I'm sorry, but that thread's first two posts -- by that thread's starter (aka, its "original poster" or "OP") -- are just ridiculously wrong and misleading.

I have, however, added a third post to that thread which sets straight the record; and provides any Samsung Galaxy famly phone user -- particularly a Note II user -- with pretty much everything s/he needs to know about this subject.

 

[Josh43nity]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

Hello, I have had the same problem for a while now. After reading the post about the bent pin, I tried to fix it the same way and it worked. I really appreciate for the help.

 

[Abouker Aicha]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

so ur galaxy is working well right now ?

 

[LOSK]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s4 charging issues - can only charge when phone is off.

Thank you USB Pin etc... because i have the same problem with my Galaxy Nexus & S3, however i moved the charging pin and they both started working.

Instructions:
WARNING I DO NOT TAKE RESPONSABILITY OF ANY FAILURE/DAMAGE OF YOUR DEVICE!

1- Get a "Mini flat tip screwdriver"
2- Bend carefully the charging pin upwards (MAKE SURE YOU DONT BEND IT THAT MUCH)!
3- Plug it in your charger, if it doesnt charge repeat step "2-" untill it works:-\
4- On some devices sometimes it will charge once, but on the second try it won?t work, so maybe you will have to move the pin all the times you plan to charge your phone (longstory short, you might have to move the pin every time you will charge your phone)

 

[t4studiosBlkDmd]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s3 charging issues - can only charge when on car charger in car.

My Samsung S3, which is only 2 months old, worked ok (well, I had a host of other types of issues), until three days ago. I noticed it was plugged in all night and went dead. Turns out, it no longer charges with the charger it came with, or my son's Samsung USB cord and charger (same model) from any outlet in the house, or my office, or from my laptop - - but only charges in the car, using a no-name brand car charger from Walgreens. This only started happening in the past couple of days. Prior to that it was fine, except that it was going dead very rapidly. I was constantly running from one plug to another. I sort of learned how to turn apps off through the Application Manager frequently - to save battery power. That helped, but it was a pain to have to do all the time (you'd think they could figure out a way to make games etc. turn off after you're done playing without having to go to settings and do that every time). I figured maybe I turned off a necessary battery function app that corrupted it, except that I did a hard factory reset and the charging issue remains. Curiouser and curiouser!

 

[Khalid Seven]

Re: Samsung Galaxy s3 charging issues - can only charge when on car charger in car.

The only solution is to change the USB port to resolve this probleme definitivly, ( the same probleme in some samsung product's as S1 , S2, S3, Tab, and notes), all the operation that can cost in Morocco 15$-25$ (including parts). in about 30 minutes.
Samsung S4 Not Charging, Not Syncing, Repair - Fix - YouTube