[Q] Anther x10i Charging Problem !!!!!! - XPERIA X10 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I know this isn't a new topic and I've read lot's of posts about similar problems, with various causes and fixes, but my x10i isn't charging at all. Neither through the wall charger or through the usb. When I look into the charging port I can see that one of the little metal pins is bent right up, so I've decided to try and replace the charging block.
I got a charging block off ebay, but I'm no expert when it comes to soldering & electronics, but since the phone is dead anyway I have nothing to loose.
As far as I can tell when I look at the original one, there doesn't seem to be any signs of soldering in the first place, although the connections are all so tiny that it's hard to tell.
So am I right in thinking that the charging block doesn't need to be soldered at all, and could I get away with just gluing it to the board, and if so what would be a suitable glue for this kind of purpose.
Thanks ...John...

j0hn0n1 said:
I know this isn't a new topic and I've read lot's of posts about similar problems, with various causes and fixes, but my x10i isn't charging at all. Neither through the wall charger or through the usb. When I look into the charging port I can see that one of the little metal pins is bent right up, so I've decided to try and replace the charging block.
I got a charging block off ebay, but I'm no expert when it comes to soldering & electronics, but since the phone is dead anyway I have nothing to loose.
As far as I can tell when I look at the original one, there doesn't seem to be any signs of soldering in the first place, although the connections are all so tiny that it's hard to tell.
So am I right in thinking that the charging block doesn't need to be soldered at all, and could I get away with just gluing it to the board, and if so what would be a suitable glue for this kind of purpose.
Thanks ...John...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have the same problem with my x10 but i have warranty but whilst i was waiting for them to collect it, i cut my usb lead up and stripped the black and red cables back obviously positive and negative and took the battery out and wedged each cable on the phone connector with the battery my battery had a plus and negative signs on it so was easy 2 work out, it charges the battery but it doesnt come up as charging on the phone it will still blind red lights but doesnt turn off, you have to keep and eye on the charging levels on the phone status do not let it go over 99% as this method dont tell the battery to stop charging, also this is not full proof and could break your x10 if not dont correctly,but as for your question the usb port does need to be soldered good luck

j0hn0n1 said:
I know this isn't a new topic and I've read lot's of posts about similar problems, with various causes and fixes, but my x10i isn't charging at all. Neither through the wall charger or through the usb. When I look into the charging port I can see that one of the little metal pins is bent right up, so I've decided to try and replace the charging block.
I got a charging block off ebay, but I'm no expert when it comes to soldering & electronics, but since the phone is dead anyway I have nothing to loose.
As far as I can tell when I look at the original one, there doesn't seem to be any signs of soldering in the first place, although the connections are all so tiny that it's hard to tell.
So am I right in thinking that the charging block doesn't need to be soldered at all, and could I get away with just gluing it to the board, and if so what would be a suitable glue for this kind of purpose.
Thanks ...John...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi John,
I fixed my friends USB port, you will need:
"helping hands" (a tool for holding small things with a magnifying glass)
0.5mm or 1mm Soldering iron
Hot glue
Under the magnifying glass, there you will see the 5 pins the usb port was solderded onto. You will need to put a little bit of solder onto each pin and onto the board.
Hold everything together with the helping hands, and just tick the soldering blobs with your iron. This will connect all the points. Do not solder for to long, or you will bridge pins or remove the solder.
Continue until all 5 is connected. Solder the 2 points on the side (holds the USB port, you could do this first if you don't have the helping hands)
plug in cable, use multimeter to see if there is current by you battery pins.
Voila.
If no power then you have to follow one of those fixes online where you have to bridge the doide and the V+ port.

Thanks for the info, like I said the phone is dead anyway, so I can't really make it any worse (That's what I keep telling myself anyway).
It the parts were a lot bigger, I probably wouldn't be bothered as much, but if I do get it wrong, I'm hoping I can take it off, remove the solder and just start again. (hopefully)
I think I have a good idea now of what I'm supposed to be doing, but I'll probably have to wait till I get a new soldering iron, as mine is a little bit too big.
Thanks ...John...

Related

[Q] Need help on how to dismantle Archos G9 80 16GB

I have G9 80 16GB Turbo. The plastic part of the inner micro USB feeder is broken and sticked out to the USB charger pin. My USB charger cable now blocked by that thing and cannot be use anymore. Now in the USB feeder of Archos just remain 4 tiny metals without plastic support (only 4 USB metal pins connector) and not able to take charge by anyway, it is bricked because of no battery power.
It is just 2 months old and no warranty since I bought it in airport transit. 3 times emailed [email protected] with no response as the world has suspected.
1. I've checked my Archos and did not find any screw other than single screw in the USB 3G compartment. I really thankful if anyone can write step-by step dismantle procedure.
2. Can anyone share the shape of USB type soldered to the PCB to enable me order the part and soldering it alone.
3. I've search this on thread : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1557506, but the information provided on how to dismantle is not very clear.
4. Thankyou in advance.
cangguek said:
I have G9 80 16GB Turbo. The plastic part of the inner micro USB feeder is broken and sticked out to the USB charger pin. My USB charger cable now blocked by that thing and cannot be use anymore. Now in the USB feeder of Archos just remain 4 tiny metals without plastic support (only 4 USB metal pins connector) and not able to take charge by anyway, it is bricked because of no battery power.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uuups this is bad...
cangguek said:
It is just 2 months old and no warranty since I bought it in airport transit. 3 times emailed [email protected] with no response as the world has suspected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's sad that they did not reply, but do you think it is covered by warranty if your borked the USB connector?
cangguek said:
1. I've checked my Archos and did not find any screw other than single screw in the USB 3G compartment. I really thankful if anyone can write step-by step dismantle procedure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's only a single screw at the back.
The housing is hold together by some plastic clamps and it is a pain to open the case (at least compared to a A101IT Gen8).
You really need some force and be very careful not to damage anything...
I'll post a few pics this week in a different thread, because i opened the device last week and it was little bit catchy
cangguek said:
2. Can anyone share the shape of USB type soldered to the PCB to enable me order the part and soldering it alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Usually this is not an easy task... at least for the unexperienced ones.
Be careful with the thin lines on that PCB.
To unsolder the connector you'll need a lot of heat because it is connected to the gorund plane of the mainboard.
Anyway i don't know the manufacturer, but i guess these MicroUSB connectors are all pretty similar.
So try to catch one, wherever it is sold.
cangguek said:
3. I've search this on thread : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1557506, but the information provided on how to dismantle is not very clear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should start on the opposite side of the connectors and use some plectrums (used by guitar players) to lift off the plastic clamps.
As i said i'll prepare some pics...
EDIT: Here's an overview on how i opened the case.
As already stated it was a pain, and though i had been very careful, some tiny plastics got damaged.
The red circles mark the plastic clamps and the holes they were stucked in respectively.
The green arrows mark the direction i slided my guitar plectrum.
In between you'll have to use something like a screwdriver or putty knife to lift the clamps from their counterparts (this was the evil part).
In the end lift the top of the housing in the yellow direction.
Please take care of the flat cables of the TFT display, don't rip it off!!!
cangguek said:
4. Thankyou in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome!
scholbert
scholbert,
I don't know how should I thanks for your detailed information and photo on your reply.
Below my comment:
1. There is no abuse on the USB port (even no single scratch or dent to prove the abuse, from new I feel it is really tight when I connect the cable into the port, finally the plastic part comes out "cleanly" along with the USB cable connector when I unplug. That's way I try to bet the warranty honor...ray.
2. I've checked eBay and I find many type of micro USB port selling.
3. Based on the generous help you've written I will try to dismantle my Archos when I have spare time within this week.
4. If I may ask, for what purpose you dismantle your Archos. And did you find any problem something like not properly tight when you remantle it again?.
5. From the picture, are all the clamps just on the display side, or mix up and down between the base and display?. Appreciate if you can post the zoom picture of the clamp and the hole to know it's anatomy to make easier when pushing during dismantle process. I also seeing 4 screw-like holes on 4 corner, are they also something like alignment clamps without actual screw?.
6. Big thankyou again for your response.
cangguek said:
4. If I may ask, for what purpose you dismantle your Archos. And did you find any problem something like not properly tight when you remantle it again?.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if i got a second edition device, but i realized this screen issue as well (pressure on the back causes effects on the display).
So i thought i may open it and try to solve this issue.
Anyway i always like to investigate on the construction of these devices...
cangguek said:
5. From the picture, are all the clamps just on the display side, or mix up and down between the base and display?. Appreciate if you can post the zoom picture of the clamp and the hole to know it's anatomy to make easier when pushing during dismantle process. I also seeing 4 screw-like holes on 4 corner, are they also something like alignment clamps without actual screw?.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be exact, the clamps are located all on the base unit.
The display side got the holes for the clamps. I'll see if i could make a more detailed picture, to point you in the right direction.
Though i'm not sure if it helps.
The srew like holes you pointed at are for alignment only.
I also found some glue in the holes, but this is no problem.
Some words on seperation...
It worked out like this on the long side of the housing (upper and lower):
- I tried to seperate the display part and the base with the plectrum step by step
- tried to locate each clamp step by step
- then used a screwdriver
- tried to press gently against the clamp, direction outside to inside
(be very careful and the long side at the bottom, because of the display flex cable)
- then try to lift the parts more and more (it's terrible, but it works)
- keep an eye on the torsion of the display side
(seperate the parts too much, might crack the screen)
I guess i'll prepare some more pics...
Stay tuned!
scholbert
You are really a man god sent to me, thankyou so much. I'm really itching to do the job. First thing I will do once dismantle completed, is to wire two lines for temporary charging until the part I order arrive. If by any chance impossible to replace micro USB port, then I will make hole on the base for common round type DC charging port + and - only.
Hey cangguek,
as promised, here are some detailed views of the clamps (base unit) and holders (display side).
The are four holders in total with two holes each.
The holders are seperate parts and are mounted with three screws in the display part of the housing. Each holder fits into two clamps of the base unit.
Unfortunately they can only get disassembled after you managed to open the housing.
The edge of the clamps point to the border of the base unit housing.
So you may try to push them gently to the inside to release the mating part at the display side.
Anyway i hope things are clear enough now...
Some words on your idea of soldering a DC charging port:
Electrically this would work i guess, but there might be some driver issue which could prevent the unit from charging.
It depends on how the charger is identified by the software driver, which activates the charging process.
On some devices it is required to shorten the data lines of the usb connector, others use the id pin on the micro usb to detect wether a host pc or a wall charger is connected. I don't know how things are done on the Archos 80 G9.
I just wanted to point that out before you start soldering...
Good luck!!!
scholbert
scholbert said:
Some words on your idea of soldering a DC charging port:
Electrically this would work i guess, but there might be some driver issue which could prevent the unit from charging.
It depends on how the charger is identified by the software driver, which activates the charging process.
On some devices it is required to shorten the data lines of the usb connector, others use the id pin on the micro usb to detect wether a host pc or a wall charger is connected. I don't know how things are done on the Archos 80 G9.
I just wanted to point that out before you start soldering...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-Data lines are not shorted, charging cable is a fully functional usb cable
-There must be something done to 4th (unused) pin in micro sd plug so device can detect Archos/"normal" cables (my guess- check data lines->if usb host not present check 4th pin->original=fast charge/3rd party=slow charge)
gen_scheisskopf said:
-Data lines are not shorted, charging cable is a fully functional usb cable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i know that the data lines in the cable are not shorted.
AFAIK, they get shorted when connected to the wall charger.
I own a Milestone phone (which definitely requires the lines shorted for charging) and i successfully used the Archos wall charger to charge this device.
At least i wanted to point in this direction...
Thanks for your comment.
Regards,
scholbert
scholbert said:
Yeah i know that the data lines in the cable are not shorted.
AFAIK, they get shorted when connected to the wall charger.
I own a Milestone phone (which definitely requires the lines shorted for charging) and i successfully used the Archos wall charger to charge this device.
At least i wanted to point in this direction...
Thanks for your comment.
Regards,
scholbert
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok
-data lines are shorted together in charger (not to gnd/vcc)
-that's strange but 4th pin seems not to be connected anywhere
sorry, left empty.
Dear scholbert,
All the process as you said really a devil. I am stuck here (at red arrow) and can not proceed unless I tear it with force. Seems there different clamps ?.
Now I am stopping the the job waiting your further help.
Thankyou for helping me:
cangguek said:
Dear scholbert,
All the process as you said really a devil. I am stuck here (at red arrow) and can not proceed unless I tear it with force. Seems there different clamps ?.
Now I am stopping the the job waiting your further help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i know it hurts... but AFAIK all the clamps are identical.
Nevertheless i realized the same during disassembly.
Some of the clamps did release quite well, at some point i also was afraid i'll break the device into pieces. I'm sorry but i guess you'll have to use gentle force to get it seperated.
BTW, i don't want to be responsible if you damage something
Another warning at this point:
I even did break some small plastics during opening (in the mainboard area), but it doesn't matter in the end, because there are many clamps to hold the parts in place
Good luck!
scholbert
Just to confirm the only screw I removed only the one under the stand stick, I hope I am not missing here. I am still not continuing dismantle process, but at least 40% of the casing has been opened.
cangguek said:
Just to confirm the only screw I removed only the one under the stand stick, I hope I am not missing here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, only one screw...
Regards,
scholbert
Man..., wtf, bottom pin of micro-usb (for desoldering purpose) covered with external card slot...grrrrr,....
Please look at the usb pin inside the housing, only metal pins only remain, the plastic part were come-off sticked-out along with usb charger cable. Anyone would come with idea on how to trick my situation?. Removing external card-slot then removing micro USB port seems a big job to me. The solder were very-very tiny...
I have completely separated and disconnect the wires of my Archos, so I have two part now: the base and the display part.
Anyone asking specific picture parts of my Archos, I am ready to shoot.
cangguek said:
Man..., wtf, bottom pin of micro-usb (for desoldering purpose) covered with external card slot...grrrrr,....
Please look at the usb pin inside the housing, only metal pins only remain, the plastic part were come-off sticked-out along with usb charger cable. Anyone would come with idea on how to trick my situation?. Removing external card-slot then removing micro USB port seems a big job to me. The solder were very-very tiny...
I have completely separated and disconnect the wires of my Archos, so I have two part now: the base and the display part.
Anyone asking specific picture parts of my Archos, I am ready to shoot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
someone needs to get out the old dustbuster
cangguek said:
Man..., wtf, bottom pin of micro-usb (for desoldering purpose) covered with external card slot...grrrrr,....
Please look at the usb pin inside the housing, only metal pins only remain, the plastic part were come-off sticked-out along with usb charger cable. Anyone would come with idea on how to trick my situation?. Removing external card-slot then removing micro USB port seems a big job to me. The solder were very-very tiny...
I have completely separated and disconnect the wires of my Archos, so I have two part now: the base and the display part.
Anyone asking specific picture parts of my Archos, I am ready to shoot.
View attachment 1057101 View attachment 1057102View attachment 1057103
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am happy to see these pictures as they confirm my suspicion. The usb charge port is only soldered on, no screws to hold it in place. That is not a proper mechanical construction and it is no winder it becomes disconnected with only a little use. I have sent 2 units back already which will no longer charge as the mount point has come loose. Number 3 broke too now and as they want me to pay for shipment again ( €50) I am thinking of fixing it myself in stead, but properly..
I have the same problem
Did you eventually repair this problem. If so were did you get the spare part. i have got the same problem. I think i might try returning to my supplier first.
Brilliant tips
scholbert said:
Uuups this is bad...
It's sad that they did not reply, but do you think it is covered by warranty if your borked the USB connector?
There's only a single screw at the back.
The housing is hold together by some plastic clamps and it is a pain to open the case (at least compared to a A101IT Gen8).
You really need some force and be very careful not to damage anything...
I'll post a few pics this week in a different thread, because i opened the device last week and it was little bit catchy
Usually this is not an easy task... at least for the unexperienced ones.
Be careful with the thin lines on that PCB.
To unsolder the connector you'll need a lot of heat because it is connected to the gorund plane of the mainboard.
Anyway i don't know the manufacturer, but i guess these MicroUSB connectors are all pretty similar.
So try to catch one, wherever it is sold.
You should start on the opposite side of the connectors and use some plectrums (used by guitar players) to lift off the plastic clamps.
As i said i'll prepare some pics...
EDIT: Here's an overview on how i opened the case.
As already stated it was a pain, and though i had been very careful, some tiny plastics got damaged.
The red circles mark the plastic clamps and the holes they were stucked in respectively.
The green arrows mark the direction i slided my guitar plectrum.
In between you'll have to use something like a screwdriver or putty knife to lift the clamps from their counterparts (this was the evil part).
In the end lift the top of the housing in the yellow direction.
Please take care of the flat cables of the TFT display, don't rip it off!!!
You're welcome!
scholbert
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great tips & will add my own step by step as replacing my screen on G9 after it parachuted from 2 foot onto a rubber floor!!:good:
topsterdog said:
Great tips & will add my own step by step as replacing my screen on G9 after it parachuted from 2 foot onto a rubber floor!!:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd be very interested in this and to learn where you bought the replacement screen...
I have an 80G9 with cracked screen and LCD and busted digitiser.
Sent from my ARCHOS 101G9

[Q] Charging Port bugs

I have a issue where when i plug my charger in it doesnt do anything.. but if I bend the charger down it works fine. Do i need to bend the pin in the phone up with tweezers?
I read around where If you have this issue with the charging port then its gone. But my phone still charges fine. I dont want to go poking and bending and break something and it doesnt charge at all.
Just a little advice.
I have the rogers galaxy note I727r
Try a different cable first. They wear out and loosen quicker than the port. Do not go poking and bending or you will be replacing the usb component on the phone for sure.
Agoattamer said:
Try a different cable first. They wear out and loosen quicker than the port. Do not go poking and bending or you will be replacing the usb component on the phone for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i tried 5 different cables and one of which is the official samsung cable... no dice.
It sounds as if you need a charge port repair .....but
Before the device goes out .....try this ....
With a very small and flat object .....you can slightly bend the outer edge of the charge port on the side that does not contain the joining seam, or break in the port ...
The slight bend will tighten the cable tip, as it slides into the port, and create a better contact patch...
But be careful !!!......as you can damage the port if you get too aggressive ....
The bend occurs on the long flat side of the device port ...opposite the port seam ....g
P.S.....Proceed at your own risk ....but it worked perfect for me ...g
Just remember, your phone is under warranty. Might just be better to let them take care of it. But if you get brave here is the part:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Chargin...998?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d4f7ccbe
Not that difficult to get to either. There are a few videos on youtube for disassembly instructions.
Agoattamer said:
Just remember, your phone is under warranty. Might just be better to let them take care of it. But if you get brave here is the part:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Chargin...998?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d4f7ccbe
Not that difficult to get to either. There are a few videos on youtube for disassembly instructions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i boughtit as a used phone.. is there a picture that you can show the outer edge?
If you contact Samsung instead of ATT your warranty should be honored still. But it would be cheaper to buy the board and fix it yourself then to pay for shipping to a samsung repair center unless you have one nearby. I have no better pictures of the usb port.
Nor do I .....
If you hold the phone while looking into the charge port ...( screen up )....
The part you slightly bend is the bottom of the charge port ...
Don't pry against the case ....just slightly bend the bottom portion up .....with a small tipped object ..
A dull knife tip works well .....g
Yeah.. two mornings ago, I woke up to a phone in it's dying throes of battery life.. having been on the charger all night.
It's been a little touchy with certain cords for the past month or so but now, it doesn't matter which of the many available charger cords I have, from brand new to the original - none of them make the phone thing to charge or connect it via USB to a computer.
It's dead Jim.

[Q] USB Connection problem

I suspect I may be having a hardware problem with the microUSB jack in my phone.
I've tried a half-dozen cables, and the phone hasn't been charging -- or even recognizing that it's connected.
Sometimes, I can make a connection by wiggling the plug, but it doesn't always stay connected (I have a battery bar across the top of the screen, so can see instantly when a connection is made).
Is this a common problem?
Any actions that are recommended -- or recommended against? Could the little "tongue" sticking out of my jack be bent? Too close or too far from the edge?
Turn the phone off.
With the phone off and battery out, dip a q-tip in some rubbing alcohol and clean the port, careful not to be to vigorous, or you might bend something or leave more of the q-tip than you're cleaning.
Let that dry overnight.
Put battery back in and see what happens.
While I can't condone making physical changes to the port ...
I had issues with my charging port from day 1...
I had to slightly bend the housing of the port to make it tighter for the cable end.
It's been 9 months and the charge port repair is still working well.
The housing is good grade stainless steel, and resists bending without considerable force, so in the event you decide to make any "adjustments" to the opening of the port, take great care as not to break the port off of the PC board that holds it.
They are very resilient however, and are designed to handle roughly 10,000 cycles before they are technically "worn out".
As studacris mentioned, a good cleaning is in order first. Then on to the next level if no improvement is made.
But be careful either way ....g

Using magnetic cable properly

I was thinking about getting a magnetic cable because I want to spare usb seal from wearing out. I noticed that some of the people are having problems with it and they managed to brick their phones by plugging the cable in wrong direction. I checked few of cables available in stores and I noticed that they are not marked in any way and there's no information about "how to plug it in". I'm wondering if there's some kind of rule how to plug them in. Is anyone using them instead of Sony dock?
shadovraven said:
I was thinking about getting a magnetic cable because I want to spare usb seal from wearing out. I noticed that some of the people are having problems with it and they managed to brick their phones by plugging the cable in wrong direction. I checked few of cables available in stores and I noticed that they are not marked in any way and there's no information about "how to plug it in". I'm wondering if there's some kind of rule how to plug them in. Is anyone using them instead of Sony dock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using it for some months now, and I can say that if you're using the original Sony cable, you're pretty safe.
If you look at your mobile carefully you'll see that the magnetic frame for the connector has two pins with different geometric forms. Those pins fit exactly on the holes on the cable, in only one direction. You'd have apply a big force to make a mistake.
Besides this, the cable "head" is not symmetrical: one side has a wire, another doesn't. So if you plug the connector with the wire aligned with the "foot" of your mobile three or four times, I think you'll find it too strange to plug it with the wire aligned to the "top" of your mobile.
The experience with the Sony cable is great, and I don't have enough good words to recommend it.
I haven't noticed that connector pins are not symmetrical, thanks for pointing that out. This will definitely help. I'm wondering how people managed to brick their phones by plugging it in wrong direction, if you need to apply some of the force to plug it that way.
I'm thinking about cable because dock costs a lot, considering that I'd use it only for charging anyway. What's the code for magnetic cable from Sony? I might try go grab these here.
I plugged it upside down once. It rebooted the phone. That was it. Nothing bad happened.

USB C Port Not Charging, Recommendation for Replacement?

Hi All,
I have a Nokia 7.1 that stopped charging. I cleaned out the charge port and tried different cables and adapters but nothing worked. I've since come to find out that it's a common enough problem that lots of people post about it on Nokia's support forum with no other option other than taking it to a service center. I'm in the USA and there's not a single service center in my state so I decided to try and replace the daughter board myself. I've done this kind of thing before on other phones, my Nexus 4 was a frankenstein's monster by the time I was done with it.
My problem is I can't find a reliable source for a quality part. There's tons of replacements on amazon, ebay, aliexpress and other random sites but all the ones I've read had issues for connectivity of cell service or wifi. Does anyone know where I can source a new daughter board for this phone?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!
I went through the same issue.
Bought another type c charging port on Amazon, it still works.
Awesome! Thanks for the reply. Did you go with one of the ~$10 ones or one of the ~$20 ones?
My 7.1 developed the same problem. What is the root cause? Is it mechanical problem of the connector pins worn out/oxidized? It does seem to be a mechanical problem since I can still wiggle the cable to make it charge for a while. What puzzles me is that the USB-C has inherent redundancy with 4 power and 4 ground pins that it should not easily fail. I have a phone with the old micro-USB and the charging still works flawlessly.
lejaune said:
My 7.1 developed the same problem. What is the root cause? Is it mechanical problem of the connector pins worn out/oxidized? It does seem to be a mechanical problem since I can still wiggle the cable to make it charge for a while. What puzzles me is that the USB-C has inherent redundancy with 4 power and 4 ground pins that it should not easily fail. I have a phone with the old micro-USB and the charging still works flawlessly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure. It does seem to be a mechanical problem, but I've seen some repair videos where they open it up and just run a soldering iron over the connector pins on the board and it starts working again. I've ordered a daughter board and a replacement back glass panel in case I break it trying to get it off. I'll update after I get the parts and open it up to see if it works.
The board I ordered was this one from Amazon Smile:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08166DLDC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It seems like the ~$10 boards are missing some chips that the ~$20 ones have, at least according to the pictures that were uploaded with the listing.
@bpowdhar, Thanks for the quick reply. I did order a connector board on Ebay, and it looks to be of the ~$10 variety. I'll see how it works when it gets here. I will also try the "melting the solder" trick without removing the connector first. If that works, I'll leave the old board in place just to minimize the risk.
So I received the USB-C charging board and replaced the bad one. Now, it seems to be charging normally. It took some work to open the back cover by heating to soften the glue/tape around the edge. I then used an a xacto knife to pry the corner open followed by dragging an old credit card to slowly separate the cover. Once it's open, everything went smoothly. Just watch one of several Youtube video clips to know what to expect. You do need a small Philips screwdriver and a #5 Torx driver. You need to lift a ribbon cable and a micro coax cable from the board. Just don't forget to put them back on to the new board. I didn't bother to fix the old board by re-solder the connector pins because they are way too small for my solder iron.
I rely on the existing glue/tape to glue the cover back, but I'm sure it's not as water/dust proof as before, so I may redo that part to clean the old tape out and use the new tape or glue when I have more time.
I do noticed a couple of parts missing on my $9 board. I don't know if they have anything to do with regulating the high voltage fast charging. I usually charge the phone with a 5V adapter, and I will stick to 5V, at least for now.
Thanks for the update! I'm still waiting for my board to arrive from Amazon. It was delayed with the new shipping date anywhere from Nov 5 - Nov 10 and it still hasn't arrived. It sucks because tracking info shows that it arrived at my area's sorting facility on Oct 29 and left it on Nov 4. So it should have only taken a day or two to get to my local post office and to my house. I'll update when it finally gets here.
I know it's been a couple of months, but I finally got the part and swapped it out yesterday. The battery was completely dead so I plugged it in to charge and left for the day. I came back to it this morning and it's at 100% battery! I'm so happy now! I've attached a couple of pictures showing the old board (with the red dot) and the new one. So far no connectivity issues, but I'll give it a couple of weeks to see if anything changes.
A couple other notes:
It was surprisingly easy to get the back glass off. I used a heat gun on low and ran it around the perimeter for a couple of minutes and a utility knife to cut the adhesive. This part was what I was most apprehensive about tackling.
The fingerprint sensor comes off the same way, apply heat and press / pry away from the glass to reuse.
If I had to do it again, I'd buy the tube of sealant. The replacement glass came with a set of narrow adhesive strips and those were a pain to deal with.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the thread. Hopefully this helps someone else.

Categories

Resources