Database Users

Loose Connector on Phone - Need help

Hi,
The connector on my touch (mini usb port) has somehow gotten loose or something. Everytime I connect the phone to charge or sync......the slightest touch/movement throws it off. I know there may not be much I can do right now except maybe replace the motherboard or something. Just needed some info if tht is indeed the way to go....or is there some other solution or a fix that any of the geniuses here can help me out with
Thanks in advance

Hi... apparently this does happen quite often with this connectors but it doesn't necessarely mean that that connector is overall loose.
Try to check if this might be your case.... On some devices I've noticed that the metal strips within the connector (in the phone, top part of the connector usually) looses away from its original position, if its not broken you may be able to unbend it and restore it to the original position with a thin pin or something of that sort. This will make things work again.
To prevent this from keep happening just be carefull when you plug/unplug your cables into it. Be gentle when inserting the cable and make sure to put the pressure to insert it only when its in the exact position.
hope this helps... good luck

[email protected] said:
...The connector on my touch (mini usb port) has somehow gotten loose or something. ...
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I thought I had this problem, but it turned out to be a faulty USB cable - I think the wires were loose where they joined the connector. Since changing the cable I've had no problems.

HTC Hero USB / EXT port wear

Hi Folks...
I've been using a Hero full time for just over a year, and lately have had problems charging it. Seems like the USB / EXT port has weared down to the point where the cable doesn't contact as well as it should.
Anyone else had a similar problem? Wonder if this is fixable, or time for a new phone?

If you're talking about the cable just fitting loosely, you can always put a little bit of pressure inside edge the metal end on the cable to slightly bend it outward and it will help it fit a bit more snug.
If you're talking about it actually making contact loosely on the inside, you can always get a small piece of scotch tape and put it on the outside of the large side of the metal that fits into the phone, it will help push the contacts closer to the inside of the hero's usb.

Thanks for the suggestion, ill give that a go....

fosco_boffin said:
Hi Folks...
I've been using a Hero full time for just over a year, and lately have had problems charging it. Seems like the USB / EXT port has weared down to the point where the cable doesn't contact as well as it should.
Anyone else had a similar problem? Wonder if this is fixable, or time for a new phone?
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Same issue here, will be trying suggested solutions.
But I see no answer to your first question: Anyone else had a similar problem?
Grtz Henro

henro said:
Same issue here, will be trying suggested solutions.
But I see no answer to your first question: Anyone else had a similar problem?
Grtz Henro
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I had this issue with 3 of my usb cables that have pulled out while using the phone in disk mode and in the car charging. I used the method to slightly bend the connector outward on the cable itself and worked fine for me. One cable is a 12" that I use on my netbook, the other 2 are 3' -- one of which I use in my wife's car for charging and the other I use on my home desktop PC.
But there are other cables that I have not had issue with --the OEM cable I use in my car and I use a different cable at work. That said, in my case, it seems the issue is more with the cables then the actual port on the phone. Either way, by using one of techniques I suggested previously and what I've mentioned above, I have no issues now. I hope that clarifies the answer.

U seem to be right..... Different cables, diffferent results.....
Bought new ones and they work beautifully

I find this incredible, my hero's usb port is still really tight after over a year of use--to the point of being hard to plug in--especially the wall charger cable (uses the full ExtUSB?) which I use every single day. What do you guys do to the poor things?
My 3.5mm port has gotten a little loose though (shear force on the connector no doubt) but bending back the copper "spring" a little has fixed that for now.

Vibrant T959 Only Turns On With Charger Connected

I have a Samsung Vibrant T959 TMobile US with 2.1-update1, Baseband T959UVJI6.
The battery is fully charged, it registers in the phone as fully charged 100%, but when I hit the power button I get a progess wheel that gets stuck, then the phone just turns off. It never gets passed that wheel, it only displays for a second then dies.
However, when I plug in the USB and hit the power button, it comes right up like it should. Then I can unplug the usb and use the phone just fine. Its almost as if I need to jump-start the phone with a power source.
I have reset the phone, even re-flashed the stock firmware using Odin. Same results. I have even swapped batteries with a buddy just to see if that was the case, but I still got the same results.
Any advice or suggestions is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks Very Much In Advance!

Anybody? Any ideas?

Well, that is new to me...
I'll preface with, I have no clue how/why that is happening. But, this is what I would do:
1 - If really opposed to rooting, I'd call T-Mo / Samsung and get a replacement.
2 - If I liked my phone and wanted to make it better, I'd root it and flash a custom ROM. It likely would take care of the issue, as it clearly is not a hardware thing (well, I say clearly).
Worst case with #2, ODIN back to stock and then do option 1.

possible solution
also it says "USB connected" even when cable is unplugged? I had similar problem.. I tried everything, flashing, changing batteries.. none of that was useful. Then I find some post on some forum that says it might be corrosion, so i scratched my USB with thin wire and everything worked fine, but also scratching USB I was doing one more thing. In my opinion, I think that it's not corrosion. I think that USB is slightly bent (middle part of it), try to bent it in other direction, possible that it's too close to edge. That solved my problem. Tell me if this helpful for you, sorry about my english

we87 said:
Anybody? Any ideas?
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did you ever figure out? im in the same boat...
admirh said:
also it says "USB connected" even when cable is unplugged? I had similar problem.. I tried everything, flashing, changing batteries.. none of that was useful. Then I find some post on some forum that says it might be corrosion, so i scratched my USB with thin wire and everything worked fine, but also scratching USB I was doing one more thing. In my opinion, I think that it's not corrosion. I think that USB is slightly bent (middle part of it), try to bent it in other direction, possible that it's too close to edge. That solved my problem. Tell me if this helpful for you, sorry about my english
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i think i can get what you are saying, cleaning the usb port on the phone right??
BUT how does this affect turning the phone on?? if usb port is rusty, it will only affect charging, not turning the power on?

I experienced this identical issue last fall -- the USB would always say it was connected, wouldn't startup unless connected to actual USB, but otherwise worked fine.
Take your phone apart and look at the solder joints on your microUSB port... mine all had cracks in them or had broken free. I re-flowed the solder while holding the port down and it resolved my issues. (put on some flux, and run a hot soldering iron across the joints, clean up... it's not very difficult. just be sure you don't short out any of the pins.) I also added additional solder to the four points that just hold the mircoUSB to the circuit board. It's been rock solid since

Rahhstah said:
I experienced this identical issue last fall -- the USB would always say it was connected, wouldn't startup unless connected to actual USB, but otherwise worked fine.
Take your phone apart and look at the solder joints on your microUSB port... mine all had cracks in them or had broken free. I re-flowed the solder while holding the port down and it resolved my issues. (put on some flux, and run a hot soldering iron across the joints, clean up... it's not very difficult. just be sure you don't short out any of the pins.) I also added additional solder to the four points that just hold the mircoUSB to the circuit board. It's been rock solid since
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that sounds very difficult actually.. as I dont own any of the tools
anywhere cheap to recommend?

lazi punk said:
that sounds very difficult actually.. as I dont own any of the tools
anywhere cheap to recommend?
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See if there is a TV or electronic repair place still in business in your area. Or post an ad on CL asking someone with knowledge and skill to do it. Be careful they aren't an idiot just wanting 20 bucks and happen to own a soldering iron.

lazi punk said:
that sounds very difficult actually.. as I dont own any of the tools
anywhere cheap to recommend?
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you could see if Cell Phone Repair/ is near you and describe to them what you want to do.

I would go through these guys they are top notch helped me when i soft bricked my wife's phone. He even convinced me that i could fix it myself when i was ready to send it to them for a jtag.
They can replace the usb plug if thats the issue.
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-vibrant/

I would test to see if my battery is bad first before i went about resoldering, it could easily be a bad battery.

Xdogg said:
I would go through these guys they are top notch helped me when i soft bricked my wife's phone. He even convinced me that i could fix it myself when i was ready to send it to them for a jtag.
They can replace the usb plug if thats the issue.
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-vibrant/
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thank you for the response. I definitely think the usb port is an issue. what is a jtag? haha
ferhanmm said:
I would test to see if my battery is bad first before i went about resoldering, it could easily be a bad battery.
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No my stock battery is charging and i did buy a separate battery. same issue.

[Q] Not charging unless I put upward pressure on USB cable

Hello everyone,
Since a few days my phone doesn't charge unless I hold the cable up and in the left or right corner of the port.
If I just stick it in, it doesn't connect/charge at all. And sometimes it says it's charging, but it isn't at all (or it's losing more power than it's receiving because it doesn't have good contact with the port).
Is there any fix to this or does anyone else have this problem?
It is NOT a problem with my micro-USB cable, I tried many, they all act the same.

Bad news
You have to replace your USB port, there's no doubt about, unfortunately!:crying:
Edit: there's a little chance to solve this by cleaning up your USB port...

i had this and it turned out to be dirt ground into the bottom of the USB port. A thin piece of wire from a tie wrap sorted it.
(of course, usually it IS a faulty USB port)

samsamuel said:
i had this and it turned out to be dirt ground into the bottom of the USB port. A thin piece of wire from a tie wrap sorted it.
(of course, usually it IS a faulty USB port)
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I suppose this is a stand for what I said:highfive:?!

hehe,. yea, , only to begin with i was countering your 'theres no doubt' remark, , but then realised i hadn't read your whole post.

Well guys, I tried cleaning. A layer of dust came of so I got excited, but it didn't work.
There also is way too much play with the cable when it's in, so yeah.
How much is that port change going to cost me?

from what I've read its not so much the price as the difficulty, , there are loads of stories of repair shops screwing it up. If you're a dab hand with a soldering iron, give it a go, or if you go to a repair shop, get down in writing what they are gonna do if they screw it up.

Yet again a good advice!
I wouldn't suggest to do it your self unless you're a soldering master: as samuel suggested there are (so called) profesionals failing to do this, just because it's tricky enough to get the job done the right way.:fingers-crossed:

Sometimes it is possible to resolve by tightening up the connector in a fashion that promotes the contact of the female to male contacts.
Done one dismantled once as easy to work on connector, basically I pushed the shorter edge in just slightly & with CARE on the female socket in the area over the contact plate thus forcing the male plug to push tighter against the contacts, also tweaked the to plug retention lugs so plug clips tightly.
Worth trying as if lucky can be a cheap easy solution & has worked fine on one I did but as only done the 1 I have no idea if it going to work for majority of worn plugs :-S
Replacing board socket is tricky & not that cheap normally as a good tech knows it a not liked or easy repair ... good luck

Thanks for the great advice everyone, I really appreciate it.
Mister B said:
Sometimes it is possible to resolve by tightening up the connector in a fashion that promotes the contact of the female to male contacts.
Done one dismantled once as easy to work on connector, basically I pushed the shorter edge in just slightly & with CARE on the female socket in the area over the contact plate thus forcing the male plug to push tighter against the contacts, also tweaked the to plug retention lugs so plug clips tightly.
Worth trying as if lucky can be a cheap easy solution & has worked fine on one I did but as only done the 1 I have no idea if it going to work for majority of worn plugs :-S
Replacing board socket is tricky & not that cheap normally as a good tech knows it a not liked or easy repair ... good luck
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I'm going to try this first, if it doesn't work, I'll follow samsamuel's advice.
I love this community!

Unscrewed said:
Thanks for the great advice everyone, I really appreciate it.
I'm going to try this first, if it doesn't work, I'll follow samsamuel's advice.
I love this community!
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May take couple of adjustment to get it good & best do a little at a time.
Will only work if is contact issue between plugs, if issue is broken contact leg or poor connector leg solder joint to mainboard then no benefit.
Post back if get it working ...

Mister B said:
May take couple of adjustment to get it good & best do a little at a time.
Will only work if is contact issue between plugs, if issue is broken contact leg or poor connector leg solder joint to mainboard then no benefit.
Post back if get it working ...
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Sure thing! I have one question, though. How do I correctly open up the device without damaging it (too much)?

Torx screwdriver and a thin credit card, there break down videos on youtube.

As above really, do your homework on stripdown & take a lot of care, back cover is easy if done right, plectrum is useful plastic tool for prying things apart or get hold of decent plastic opening tools, credit card can be used but too thick really.

[NST] Loose USB socket

Charging today confirmed my worst fears. My original NST has an issue with the USB socket. I know there are tear-downs online, but I haven't seen anything addressing this issue. Maybe people just toss them?!
Anyway, I'm not afraid to open the thing but I am worried that it may be like other more recent devices I've tried to deal with where it was clear they were never designed to be touched by human hands.
Does anyone know if the solder connections are user-friendly? @Renate NST?

Replacing a USB socket is always the best fix.
I've still had good luck with blowing all the lint out of the socket and
carefully squashing the shell a bit to make the physical fit tighter.

Renate NST said:
Replacing a USB socket is always the best fix.
I've still had good luck with blowing all the lint out of the socket and
carefully squashing the shell a bit to make the physical fit tighter.
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Thanks. I'll give that a shot before disassembly but I'm not thinking that will solve the problem based on the way it behaves when the plug is jiggled. So far I can still charge if I am determined enough to find the sweet spot. I'm just hoping there's enough left of the solder tabs/points/? to allow a resolder if that's what's needed.

So finally I brought together all the tools needed and followed this guide to take the NST apart. Everything went smoothly and now I know I can easily replace the battery (although I'd be unlikely to do so since a new battery would probably cost more than another NST...). And....I got it all back together without misadventure (other than it turning on while trying to get the case back repositioned) and it all seems to work fine. That's the good news.
The bad news: as I feared, most of the contact points for the USB socket are so tiny that human hands could not possibly deal with them. At least not my human hands, and even if they could, I don't have a soldering tool tiny enough to even think about reheating a joint. It took a powerful magnifying glass to inspect what I could see of the joints and I did not find anything amiss. I even inserted the USB plug and gently jiggled it to see if anything betrayed a loose connection. NADA.
So, I'm out a few bucks for the tools but mostly I just now know that this situation is not going to get any better. I can charge by carefully inserting and tapping on the connector until I get a steady LED and the charging image comes up on the screen. I can do everything else via WiFi (but no USB Audio for this device any more).