What are the symptoms of a dirty or broken charging port on your phone?

Is your charging port on your phone showing some signs of wear and tear? Would you like some guidance on how to diagnose your charge port? You’ve come to the right place.

The charging ports of our phones do SO much more than just charge our phones. They transfer data from device to device, such as uploading pictures to your computer or transferring a backup to a new phone. If your charging port to your phone is dirty or busted though, it will have trouble doing those functions. However, sometimes the signs are not so obvious. It can be broken down into 2 different types of problems and 2 different types of solutions.

The Problems.

If you suspect the charge port on your phone is having issues, why don’t you take a look at the most common problems of a dirty or broken charge port and compare your experiences to those below. This should give you a better idea on if it really is your charge port or if it could possibly be something different wrong with your phone. Some of the most common issues that stem from a broken or dirty charging port is:

• Slow charging or no charging at all
• Your phone cannot connect to a computer or transfer files
• When plugging in your phone, it feels physically off or difficult

If you are experiencing these issues it is VERY likely that your charging port is either dirty or broken. This brings me to my next point and this is very important. Now that you’ve identified the problems of your phone, the symptoms you could say, now you need to figure out what’s causing these issues. These issues can be categorised as slightly working or not working at all. What I mean here is sometimes with a dirty or busted charging port some of these symptoms may not be completely apparent. For example you can have a charging port that is only slightly working, meaning, that it will charge the phone just fine but it wont properly connect to a computer to transfer data, or vice-versa. These are the 2 different types of problems; partial failure or complete failure.

Resolving the issues.

Now that you’ve identified your symptoms the next step is going to be to attempt to resolve them as best you can. The first thing I ALWAYS recommend in any situation where the charging port is having any kind of issues (whether it be partial OR complete failure) is to CLEAN YOUR CHARGE PORT. I have already written an article on how to clean your charging port for your phone in depth, this is meant to be a preface to that to help you identify if that is the resolution you should take. I will go ahead and link that here. How to clean your phone’s charging port effectively.

Once you have cleaned your charging port to your phone a time or two and you find that you’re still having issues don’t fret quite yet. The next step that you should take in attempting to resolve this should be to try a new cord. Oftentimes people are quick to blame their phones for the issues when simply a new charging cord solves the issue. Sometimes the cables can look great but the damage is internally. If they are bent the wrong way or one of the cables inside breaks it can prevent either charging or data transfer. So try a new cable!

By extension along with trying a new cable I would try a new adapter if that didn’t work. Sometimes the adapters that plug into the walls can short out or not be completely functional, ESPECIALLY if they are cheaply built or aftermarket. Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t use a cheap or aftermarket adapter, I’m simply saying that they have the tendency to break a little easier. Furthermore, if you aren’t using a wall adapter, like if you’re trying to connect your phone to your computer, I would possibly try a new USB port on your computer, or, if you have the ability, I would possibly even try a different computer if you can. You want to rule out all of the possibilities that it isn’t your charge port that’s broken, but rather something else.

Once you’ve exhausted all of the resolutions above, you may find yourself to have a truly broken charging port. Commonly, this isn’t the case but charging ports can definitely break, they are not perfect. There are quite a few options once you’ve decided that your charging port is completely broken and needs a replacement.

Replacing your charge port on your phone.

The cheapest option by far is to NOT replace the charging port on your phone. The majority of phones nowadays are able to support wireless charging. So if you don’t mind that you can’t connect your phone to a computer, and don’t feel like replacing the charging port on your phone, you can simply invest in a wireless charging pad for your phone. They can be bought on Amazon for pretty cheap and I would highly recommend this option if you are looking to save money or just don’t mind a broken charging port.

The next thing I would check to see if your phone is under warranty. The majority of phones bought have a 1 year warranty starting on the date of purchase in the USA. If you’re in other countries that can vary, but typically it means a LONGER warranty period. If your phone is still under warranty, contact the manufacturer and find out where you can get the charging port replaced for free. This is VERY helpful for Apple iPhones, Samsungs, and even Google phones. What’s better than a free charging port replacement, that you don’t even have to do yourself? The only setback to this route is that it can sometimes be frustrating getting the company to resolve your issue. Sometimes you can be given the runaround attempting to get your charge port replaced. With persistence though, you should be able to get it replaced under warranty, or maybe even get a whole new phone.

Another option is taking it to a phone repair shop and have them replace it for you paying out of pocket for the repair. These repairs can range anywhere from $40-$240. It really is up to you and your budget to decide if this is the route you should go down. If you find that it would be less expensive to just buy a wireless charging pad or invest in a new phone, sometimes that is a solid option. I would always call around and find multiple quotes from multiple different shops if you can, and I would try to stick to reputable ones too. Sometimes you need to pay a few dollars extra to get a quality repair.

If you want to replace your charging port on your phone yourself, that is also a very viable option. Make sure you are prepared though as some models of phone can be difficult to do so (I’m looking at you Apple). Make sure you have the proper tools and guidance before you begin and you’ll have no problems. Samsung phones are actually pretty easy to replace the charge ports on and I think that most people should be able to do it themselves, iPhones on the other hand can be quite difficult, even for an experienced phone repair tech like myself.

Summary.

If you believe that your charging port on your phone isn’t working quite up to standard or not working at all you should diagnose the problem and assess how bad it is. Then go through the resolutions on how you can either get it fixed or replaced. I cannot recommend cleaning out your charge port enough as it is what causes the majority of problems. However if you find that cleaning it doesn’t fix it or help, there are definitely plenty of different solutions to get your charge port either fixed or replaced that you can follow along in this guide. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me here. I’m always happy to help.

Back to my Repairs!
-Noah Wilson

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