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I'm a hardware engineer/software developer, it should not be this hard. Have Droid X with Android 2.2.1, after rooting using SuperOneClick with PDANet for Android, it would no longer charge, even on AC adapter, battery discharged during phone call. I did a lot of research online, have done as detailed below, but still not charging, and am awaiting delivery (a week away!) of a an external Droid X battery wall charger. I AM ABLE TO USE MY PHONE ONLY FOR NOW USING THE HACK INVOLVING OVERLAYING THE BATTERY WITH CUT OPEN POSITIVE/NEGATIVE LEADS OF A USB CABLE AND INSERTING INTO PHONE!!!
After establishing the USB/battery hack, I did the following (none resulting in battery charge restored):
Removed root authority from apps intended to calibrate CPU and Battery, removed these apps entirely from phone.
Removed root authority from ALL rooted apps, removed all such apps from phone.
Unrooted phone
Downloaded RSDLite 4.8, 64 bit Motorola Drivers and VRZ_MB810_2.3.34_1FF_01.sbf (latest I could find) -- all onto Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit, no problem flashing the new SBF, which is replaced Android 2.2.1 with only some minor cosmetic difference from what I started with. Yet still will not charge, even on AC adapter.
Downloaded the Motorola PC/USB charging drivers referenced on several website. But they are NOT compatible with Windows 7 and will not even install. I don't really think these would fix my issue anyway since I cannot charge even with AC adapter.
(Please note that the battery was pulled on numerous occasions and I did remove the bare USB positve/negative leads from the battery before attempting to get it to charge either from PC or wall charger again.)
Can somebody please advise? I regret ever having rooted the phone, but in fact, only after I rooted it was the first time the battery completely discharged while in use. The battery also ran down way too fast after rooting. I have read some users experiencing this issue with a completely unhacked/unrooted phone. And since I am now experiencing this with a newly-flashed SBF and unrooted phone, I just have to wonder.
Is there really any point to reflashing the bootloader? (It is version 30.04 by the way.)
I really DON'T need the phone to be rooted, though having Samba would have been cool as would complete access to the Linux command shell. Am willing to try some more steps with flashing, drivers, et cetera, if anybody can suggest a proper solution.
Otherwise, what I really need to know is ... once I have flashed Android 2.2.1 back onto my phone, will Verizon be able to know that I hacked it ... if indeed it seems the only solution is to depend on warranty to get a new phone? Are there other steps I need take? (I would likely remove my 16 GB micro-SD card and replace with a 2 GB one anyway so no trace of apps/backups would be there.) The battery has had a lot of scotch tape stuck on/removed in past few days. I am thinking therefore that I want to avoid taking this phone directly into a Verizon store for service.
I also rather wonder if all this cut-open USB cable jumpstarting may be affecting the battery. For all I know, the battery was flawed anyway. I guess that, once I receive the external charger, I can verify whether the battery itself is capable of holding a charge.
The good thing here is that it really DOES seem difficult to actually brick the Droid X. Well, unless one crosses wires when laying a cut-open USB cable over the battery leads in order to jumpstart.
You sound more like a heart surgeon than a software engineer....wow!
Unless you have a wall charger you might as well stop what youre doing, so you dont risk killing the patient. If you were connected via USB to your PC then this is exactly where the problem lies. You prolly do not have enough juice in the battery to do anything. An easy test of this would be press the volume down, camera, and power buttons all at the same time. This should throw you into the bootloader, and if you do not have juice in the battery it should tell you that the battery is low and cannot program.
The ONLY way I have been able to get my DX to power up in this condition is to connect it to a wall charger and go from there. As a side note I invested $60 and bought an Energizer Energi 2000K power pack. It comes with a standalone battery, tips for every conceivable device, and wall/car charger. All in one small handy pack. A must have for all us geeks!
Steve
I thank you for the post. It is clear my battery is discharged. This is why I used the USB splice procedure I found on this and other websites to jumpstart and flash, which works just fine. I rather suspect that, once I have the charger, it will not solve the problem. Rather, I will just be stuck charging externally. Some have solved this issue by reflashing an SBF (which I did). Others by installing new PC-based Motorola USB charging drivers. These are not compatible with Windows 7 and anyway my problem persists even when charging from AC adapter.
I hope what you surmise is correct. However that would reveal an immense flaw in the phone. Cannot: cannot charge up when battery completely discharged. I have trouble believing this is the case.
For now, I am having to continue to use the USB cable splice just to make crucial phone calls, as this is my only phone. Otherwise, my poor Droid X remains off and in a safe place. I don't believe the spliced/hacked power interface hurts the phone at all ... but it probably is not very good for the battery. However, occasional phone calls are a necessity. I am in utter withdrawal not being able to text and do all the other non-voice things I am accustomed to.
Because I have read a number of posts where people found themselves in my situation even though they had not rooted their phone ... in some cases after upgrading to Android 2.2, in some cases not ... I am really wondering if it could be true the Droid just can't cope at all with a depleted battery. Unless one uses an external charger, the battery depends on having a running operating system to charge. The OS seems to require the battery to have some power itself in order to charge. Not exactly a classic "deadlock" situation but something like it.
O, woe is me. Wish I were a surgeon ... I could afford to just buy a new Droid X and forget about all this mess. Got this one from Verizon for just $70 -- they would charge me hundreds for a replacement.
SOLVED! (for me anyway)
This is so typically stupid. One can go to extremes and the problem is so OBVIOUS!!!!!
I was using the wrong AC/USB adapter. Like everybody else I have about a billion of these things now and they all look just alike. I almost didn't even bother to do this, but did go look through my drawer of chargers and located the Motorola one. As soon as plugged in, the thing started to charge right up. I removed all the temporary wires from the battery, put it back into the Droid X, put on the cover, and it is currently charging right back to where it was.
(I am glad however that I spent the $8.00 for the external wall charger, because a Verizon tech did verify for me that the battery has to have some minimal charge in it for the phone to charge at all. Thus, if the battery were every to totally discharge, an external charger might be a good idea.)
This kind of stupidity is so typical in the computer field. Once, when I was in college and programming FORTRAN for the biochem department, I wasted a whole weekend slaving over what turned out to be just two variable names joined into one, where there was not a comma at the end of one line ... blah blah blah.
If your battery isn't charging properly, don't immediately assume your phone charger or your battery is broken.
Based on personal experience, the problem and solution may be much simpler than you think.
If your phone or tablet isn't charging properly or at all, take a look at these 12 ways to fix a phone that won't charge.
Why a phone doesn't charge
The problem occurs in various degrees. Either your phone won't charge at all when it is plugged in, or it will only charge very slowly (sometimes barely faster than it is discharging). It’s a very common complaint, so here are a few solutions.
1. Do-It-Yourself USB port fix
The quickest, easiest, and often most successful solution, is to do a little DIY repair on your actual hardware. The problem is often that the metallic surfaces inside the USB port and the micro USB charger are not making good contact, either through a manufacturing defect or because of the continual plugging and unplugging of the charging cable.
All you need to do is shut down your device, remove the battery if possible and use something small, such as a toothpick, to 'lever up' the little tab inside the USB port on your Smartphone or tablet. Do so very carefully and gently, then reinsert your battery and plug it in again. Nine times out of 10 this is all that is required.
2. Remove lint, candy and dust
Do you keep your phone in the pocket of your jeans? If so, lint could be the culprit: we've lost track of the number of times the reason for unreliable USB charging turned out to be lint from the pocket of our Levis.
We've seen phones with charging ports choked with chocolate after they were chucked in a handbag alongside a packet of sweets. A can of compressed air can blow out the offending irritants and get your USB connection back to normal.
3. Switch cables
The flimsiest part of a charger is the cable, not the adapter that plugs into the wall socket. Apple users are particularly vulnerable here because Apple's proprietary (and expensive) Lightning cables appear to have a life expectancy of around 15 minutes. But all cables have a tough life, and endless flexing and curling can take its toll. Substituting a random USB cable for the one that came with your phone is another shortcut to an unenjoyable charging experience.
The easiest way to diagnose a faulty cable is to try a different one and see if that works properly with your device. If it does, you know the original cable was at fault. If it doesn't, that's another potential villain we've ruled out.
4. Diagnose a dodgy adapter
If the cable doesn't seem to be the problem, check the wall plug adapter – especially if it's one where the charging cable can be removed. We've encountered issues in multiple chargers where the USB port becomes a little loose after endlessly plugging in and unplugging the cable.
Also check whether the same charger/cable combination works on a different device because this will help you eliminate the possibility that it is your device at fault, rather than the cable or charger. You should also make sure there isn't a problem with your wall socket.
5. Remember – safety first
Don't charge your phone near water or in excessively hot or humid conditions. Also, if you're replacing a charger or cable, be wary: the internet is stuffed with reports of cheap third-party chargers that went bang in the middle of the night or turned smart phones into toast. As with any electrical equipment, make sure that anything you buy complies with all the relevant safety standards.
To give you an idea of how much energy is stored in your battery, check this video out (but don't try it at home).
A previous version of this article warned users of charging devices overnight, but I want to clarify that this is not because you can overcharge your device. Modern smartphones have measures in place to prevent damage when batteries continue to be charged at 100 percent capacity.
That said, charging a battery does generate heat and, if a smartphone is in a tight space – like under a pillow or inside a case – there is a chance it could become too hot. Essentially, if you're going to charge your phone overnight, just make sure it's out in a safe place.
6. Replace the battery
Batteries don't last forever, and after a couple of years they start to struggle to hold a charge. The more often you discharge and recharge them, the sooner they'll need replacing. If your battery's busted after just six months, it's probably faulty and you should make a warranty claim for a free replacement, but if the battery's older than two years, it's probably approaching the end of its lifespan.
Some defective batteries are easy to spot because they start to bulge or leak fluid. If nothing like that is obvious from the outside, remove your device's cover and inspect the battery (if you can; some devices have sealed battery compartments).
If the cover doesn't come off, you could try laying the device on its back and spinning it. A bulging battery will deform the case – you might not be able to see this bulge, but it might be enough to allow your phone to spin. If you suspect your battery might be swollen or leaking, get your phone to a repair shop and buy a reputable replacement.
7. Charge from the right source
Charging from a wall socket will always be faster than charging via PC or laptop, because computers' USB ports don't deliver very much power. A wall socket can deliver twice as much power as a USB port, and fast chargers it can deliver as much as five times the power – which means much, much faster charging. So if your phone is charging slowly and you're connected to a laptop: there's your problem.
If your wall charger doesn't appear to be delivering the goods, check that it's appropriate for your device. A charger from another phone might not deliver the right amount of juice — for example, a charger for a Bluetooth headset won't put out as much power as one designed specifically for smart phones. In the case of recent high-end phones, you might have a phone that supports fast charging but a charger that doesn't deliver it. Read the fine-print.
8. Update or roll back
Software updates and new Android versions can wreak havoc with your battery life, especially when upgrading an old device to current software. Newer devices are often optimized to take advantage of the latest software, whereas a two-year-old device can struggle when it gets updated.
If this happens to you and you can't troubleshoot the problem, consider rolling the device back to an earlier Android version; though be warned that this carries security risks. The latest software versions are always recommended to keep your device protected, and while the risk of keeping your smartphone on an older version is often negligible, it’s worth noting.
Similarly, sometimes device battery life can be significantly improved by an update, so if you think you might be way behind on your Android software version, head to Settings > About phone to check for an update.
9. Switch it off
Using battery-intensive apps/features while you are charging your device will affect how quickly it gains battery life. If you are charging while Skyping somebody at 100 percent brightness, the device will naturally take longer to charge than it would with its screen, Wi-Fi and 4G turned off.
Switch the device to airplane mode, or off completely, when you are charging if you want to see the fastest energy injection. Think of it making your device take a power nap.
10. Calibrate your battery
Sometimes the battery level your device 'thinks' it's at is wrong. The effect of this is that your phone may function differently, including limiting performance before it needs to or taking an hour to chew through the last two percent of battery.
We’ve already written an extensive guide on how to calibrate your Smartphone battery, so I won’t retype it all here, but this is a thing to try before completely ditching your defunct power pack.
11. Check your battery pack's voltage and amperage
This tip was pointed out in the comments below by Patrick and it can help you quickly identify a defective cable. Download the free Amperage app from the link below and open it. Now, connect your charger and the interface should go green and the text at the top should say "measuring". If you don't see this, or nothing happens, it means there is no current going to your device.
If it identifies a current, the app will now show the charging statistics for that charger, including the minimum and maximum load levels (in milliamps), voltage and maximum current. This is also a great way to find out which of your chargers is performing best.
Try connecting the different charge packs you own, including portable battery packs, to see which has the highest maximum charge value, or the highest average (the app makes it fairly easy to get an idea of this). It's not an exact measurement but it's an indication if nothing else and the app is completely free.
12. What about water damage?
A number of people in the comments asked about battery problems caused by water damage. If your phone fails to charge after falling in water you don't have many options: your best bet is to try and replace the battery – if that's even possible.
You should, however, try to prevent this from ever happening. Read our article explaining what to do when you drop your phone in water to find out the first steps you should take when trying to rescue it.
If all else fails, double-check that you have the power point switched on. That is the first thing they will ask you if you call your manufacturer for help, which might need to be your next step if none of these solutions has worked for you.
This guide is not specific for Honor 5X. This is for all mobiles.
I recently went on vacation this past Sunday. I had a good time, however, I didn't expect to come back with a 500$ paperweight.
The night before I was set to check out, I began experiencing problems with the charger I had brought with me. It was a brand new AUKEY 27W USB Charger, with a hella nice metal USB C cable from WGGE. Both of them had great product reviews, yet to my utter dismay, I began to experience issues with the charger only three days after I had bought it.
I went to plug in my charger and began to experience what I can only describe as a flickering power source. (the "battery low" notification kept on reappearing) I thought it was an issue with the ROM I was running (AICP 13.1 Official), so I shut off the phone to charge it without having the phone turned on. Little did I know, this would be the last time my phone would work.
The notification LED began to flash red over and over again when the charger was plugged in. I had experienced this before when I was using the stock charger and let my phone battery run completely dry, so I figured it was okay to leave it charging while I walked to a local 7-Eleven to buy a temporary USB-C cable to get my phone to 100% and then throw away. (i don't trust gas station chargers)
I get back to my hotel, and when I go to plug in my phone, I notice the red LED was gone. Strange, considering the phone was still plugged into the faulty charger mentioned earlier. I figured that the phone was charged and was on the lockscreen, however when I went to press the power button, nothing happened.
Uh oh.
My heart sank to the floor, as I realized what was occurring. I only began to use Android devices instead of iPhones back in 2016, and I had never had a phone simply refuse to power on no matter what I tried. I plugged it into the 7-Eleven charger, and I got no response. Worried, I brought the phone and the 7-Eleven charger down to the public computers the hotel was offering to guests. I searched for answers for 30 minutes, trying to see if there was anything I could do to get the phone to even get to the bootloader. I finally got the notification LED to flash red when I plugged the phone into the computer and held down the volume down and power buttons for 15 seconds. I had high hopes, yet those hopes were shattered when the LED stopped flashing only a few seconds later.
I tried every solution that was offered to me. I left it charging for 30 minutes on the 7-Eleven charger, I let the phone sit untouched for 2 hours, I even put the damn phone in the fridge for ten minutes as an act of desperation to get my poor baby to wake back up. My efforts were in vain, as my phone has yet to even power on, and I doubt it will ever turn on again.
Nevertheless, I ask you: what can I do to fix this thing? I'm not the richest person in the world, so I'd rather not purchase a new phone right now, and I love my Essential Phone. Its probably my favorite phone I've had. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated, as I am at a loss as to what to do. Thanks!
I had a similar experience with my son's Moto z Droid. His cat chewed through the charging cable while the phone was connected. Same symptoms as your having, almost exactly. Drained the battery below it's safety threshold because it shorted across the usb-c turbo charger. Only way I was able to fix it was to replace the battery.
You may try leaving it hooked to a computer for a couple days. The USB port may trickle charge it enough to power up.
I've had this happen to a coupe of cheap phones and was able to get them back by removing the battery and charging it straight from battery terminals until the phone was able to boot then charged to 100% with usb.
Hey everyone, it's my first post here and I'm glad to meet you all.
Recently, I updated my SGS7 edge using OTA updates and it failed to turn on after(stuck on bootloop on samsung logo). While i managed to turn it on after wipe in recovery mode, battery percentage decided to drop to low percentage (not sure what exacly, but to the point I decided to charge it). It shows alert about wet USB port, and I'm sure it wasn't wet at all, but I decide to stop charging and let it dry for few hours. Battery lost its charge completly while it was drying. After few hours i pluged it again, and it was charging (at least i thought so). After 2 hours of charging it managed to charge 1% of battery and then it turn off. When I measure the current flow to the battery it shows 90mA when I plug charger, then it drops to 0 mA after few seconds. When I press buttons it shows that current is flowingh again, but never more than 90mA. Anyone knows what can be a reason for such behavior? Is it charger port broken, or firmware malfunction?
EDIT: I've trierd to charge it for a bit with power button pressed. Now it shows that current is equal to 170mA and it keeps flowing without button pressed.
EqRazzielson said:
Hey everyone, it's my first post here and I'm glad to meet you all.
Recently, I updated my SGS7 edge using OTA updates and it failed to turn on after(stuck on bootloop on samsung logo). While i managed to turn it on after wipe in recovery mode, battery percentage decided to drop to low percentage (not sure what exacly, but to the point I decided to charge it). It shows alert about wet USB port, and I'm sure it wasn't wet at all, but I decide to stop charging and let it dry for few hours. Battery lost its charge completly while it was drying. After few hours i pluged it again, and it was charging (at least i thought so). After 2 hours of charging it managed to charge 1% of battery and then it turn off. When I measure the current flow to the battery it shows 90mA when I plug charger, then it drops to 0 mA after few seconds. When I press buttons it shows that current is flowingh again, but never more than 90mA. Anyone knows what can be a reason for such behavior? Is it charger port broken, or firmware malfunction?
EDIT: I've trierd to charge it for a bit with power button pressed. Now it shows that current is equal to 170mA and it keeps flowing without button pressed.
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The way you've described it almost sounds like a short. It may also explain the difficulty with OTA (short). The S7 USB charging port may be suspect but also the battery may be at end of life. To eliminate the other usual suspects, have you tried a different USB cord and/or charger? Does your S7 show as connected when plugged into PC (either through adb commands or file explorer)? Have you tried charging using a wireless charger?
If needed, the good news is charging port isn't too difficult to replace, granted you have a heat gun and a few tools (google S7 teardown -- iFixit or youtube). If you're convinced the port is bad and decide to replace it, might as well replace battery too (OEM only). After the above mentioned process of elimination you're left thinking software, maybe download model specific required firmware (matching current binary) and familiarize yourself with ODIN flashing.
Aimless Rambler said:
The way you've described it almost sounds like a short. It may also explain the difficulty with OTA (short). The S7 USB charging port may be suspect but also the battery may be at end of life. To eliminate the other usual suspects, have you tried a different USB cord and/or charger? Does your S7 show as connected when plugged into PC (either through adb commands or file explorer)? Have you tried charging using a wireless charger?
If needed, the good news is charging port isn't too difficult to replace, granted you have a heat gun and a few tools (google S7 teardown -- iFixit or youtube). If you're convinced the port is bad and decide to replace it, might as well replace battery too (OEM only). After the above mentioned process of elimination you're left thinking software, maybe download model specific required firmware (matching current binary) and familiarize yourself with ODIN flashing.
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Click to collapse
I managed to charge the device, I left it plugged into charger with power button pressed and it started after ~2 hours. Now, I'm trying to charge it to 100% just to backup my data. Really appreciate your help tho.
I was trying 4 different USB cables, 2 chargers and powerbank. Device wasn't recognized by computer by any means. I have no access to wireless charger unfortunately. I'm not gonna replace any part of it becouse it is time to change it to newer model I guess.
EqRazzielson said:
I managed to charge the device, I left it plugged into charger with power button pressed and it started after ~2 hours. Now, I'm trying to charge it to 100% just to backup my data. Really appreciate your help tho.
I was trying 4 different USB cables, 2 chargers and powerbank. Device wasn't recognized by computer by any means. I have no access to wireless charger unfortunately. I'm not gonna replace any part of it becouse it is time to change it to newer model I guess.
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Click to collapse
Hopefully all is well then. I wouldn't rule out repairing the S7E, it's still a competitive device. Newer phones are fine if you can afford it but I prefer proven devices with development and software support. Granted, it is a personal preference. For the same price of a new flagship phone I can justify to the wife fiddling around with 5 or 6 old ones (ha):laugh:. Other than an LCD/digitizer most parts can be gotten pretty cheap and there's always [insert any online sales (ebay/swappa/amazon)] in order to acquire a salvage device for parts.
Long-time lurker, first-time poster. I've gotten a lot of good insight from reading posts and figured I would join to share what I've learned.
Its a long one and if you get all the way through it you will understand why.
Nexus 6 XT1103 with original battery running stock 7.1.1. Started showing issues in early 2020. Apps would be slow to respond. Camera would take forever to open and take a picture. Scrolling through news feed would be annoying because it would register my scroll as a tap into a news story. Weird static sound coming from speakers during scroll. Phone started to shut off on its own at around 20-30%. Installed Accubattery and it showed battery was at about half its original capacity. Progressively got worse throughout the year. Got to the point where it would shut off around 50% or even at 80-100% if opening something that would result in high CPU use spike. It was time to replace the battery.
Looked up battery recommendations. Ebay batteries seemed iffy. Initial install reviews would be fine but some reports of lasting for a year and then crapping out, or just no long term follow-up. Review of Akku Polarcell for a Nexus 5 seemed promising. Email to Wannasee was answered quickly. Batch of batteries they were offering was made in late 2019. They could have just made that up but I had no reason to doubt them. Looks like an actual brick and mortar operation. Ratings are pretty high. $10-15 for unknown battery off Ebay vs $35-40 for something made in 2019 from a reputable vendor. I decided to go with the Polarcell. Bought it after trying to open the phone up the first time to make sure I could. Could have bought the Polarcell from Wannasee’s store on Ebay. Waited for one of those mythical Ebay coupons to show up in my inbox but that never materialized, by which time the phone was really in bad shape. Compared the price for buying the Polarcell off of Wannasee’s Ebay store to buying directly from Wannasee’s site. Went with the direct buy since it was a buck or two cheaper with the exchange rate at that time and I didn’t have any Ebay coupons to use anyways. Paypal payment using credit card. Pay attention to currency conversion setting in Paypal. Was better for me to have my credit card do the conversion rather than let Paypal do it, but that’s because my card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. Came out to $36.68 when I bought it. Their email comm is pretty good. They let me know when it was going to ship, when it shipped, when it was expected to arrive and provided a tracking number.
By the time I was ready bite the bullet and buy the battery, the phone wouldn’t even recognize the charger. Went through multiple chargers and cords trying to figure that out. Seemed possible that it was cord or USB port related. Sometimes if the cord was held just so it would charge. Got to a point where it wouldn’t charge at all while on. Wouldn't even recognize the charger was plugged in. I did figure out that it would charge while off, but even that was hit or miss (more hit than miss though). Even while off it did seem like it wanted a higher output charger. I had been using a 1.5A HTC charger mainly. Eventually that didn't work. I tried 2A Samsung and that didn't work. A 4A Asus charger seemed to work the most reliably. So at this point I am debating whether its worth it to buy an almost $40 battery if something is seriously wrong with the phone. What made it worse was that my first attempt to open the phone ended up slicing through a flex cable part of the wireless charging coil. So I could have tried to figure out whether the charging issues were due to the USB port by trying a wireless charger, but not anymore! I was using plastic cards to separate the back from the frame; nothing metal. But the amount of force required to push through the glue was enough that when it broke through the card slipped and it was enough to slice through the thin plastic and copper of that ribbon. Irritating due to the loss of ability to troubleshoot the charging issue further, but I wasn't too burned up about it because I never use a wireless charger so I just took it out and left it out. Works fine without it, except of course no more wireless charging ability.
Looked up lots of videos on how to open up the phone. Most helpful ones were:
Most warn about the cable for the power and volume buttons; rightfully so. None mentioned the wireless charger flex on the opposite side. The power/volume ribbon did get a decent crease into it as well, but luckily no damage. Straightened it out and it works fine.
22 screws. They are tiny but they come out easily. Pretty much everything I read and watched said they were T4 screws, but at least with my screwdriver kit the T3 bit is the one to use. Besides getting the back off the rest of opening the phone to get the battery out was pretty simple. The videos say to separate the two halves of the power/volume ribbon where they intersect but I didn't have to do that. I just removed the end that plugs into the board. Seemed easier than messing with the tiny connector at the intersect and it was. Removing the battery connector didn't work how it should have. The plastic had become brittle with age and just broke apart when prying at it from the opening in the frame. Had to get under the frame and pry it off from the back side of the connector where the ribbon cable goes into it. By the way, by luck I had a decent charge on the old battery before removing it. More on why that was important later.
The Polarcell didn’t come with a curve in it like the OEM battery; it was just flat. But it wasn't hard to massage the edges down. Used the old battery as a guide to bend the new battery into shape. Other than that it went in just fine. Ribbon cable was already folded in the right direction so it just plugged right in. Frame went back into place without any interference. The phone turned on just fine. I dont remember if it charged while on that first time, or if I had charged it while it was off. Probably the latter. But it went to full charge. I did get a capacity reading from Accubattery so it was charging while on. It was in the low to mid 90s vs the rated capacity. That was worth it for me. The phone didn't shut off randomly anymore. The apps were quicker. The camera took pictures the way I remembered it used to. No more static noise. But the charging issue was still there.
The back came off a few more times after that as I tried troubleshooting as best I could to see whether there were any issues with the charge port. There were no visible issues. I did end up picking out some dust with a needle, but not any significant amount that would have explained why it wasn't recognizing being plugged in while on. I probed with a meter on the backside of the USB port while the phone was apart and plugged in to make sure voltage from the charger and cord was coming through. No issues there, but also not advisable to do. The contact points that need to be probed are very tiny and very close to other things. I was lucky I didn't short the 5V to anything important. Pretty sure I did short it at least once and it didn't do any damage, after which I stopped while I was ahead. Cleaned out the port with an old toothbrush dipped in isopropyl alcohol. That definitely seemed to help it charge more reliably while off, but it still wasn't charging while on.
I’ve read posts that suggested the charge port was bad and needed to be replaced, but the fact that the 5V was coming through the USB port meant it had to be something else. Before I had opened the phone up the first time and was troubleshooting this problem I had tried a full reset. Backed up the whole phone manually. It wasn't rooted at that time. At the same time I unlocked the bootloader to get ready to root it once I replaced the battery because I wanted to use a charge limiter with the new battery to extend its life (whether or not that actually works to extend the life I don’t care, its worth the tradeoff to me). The factory reset had made no difference to my charging issue. I had not reflashed the factory image at this point. I was just doing a factory reset with the image that was already on the phone.
After I replaced the battery and it was still having issues, I tried flashing the factory image. Even going in and wiping cache and data through stock recovery made no difference. In addition to charging issues while on there would also be connection issues. It would connect and disconnect if the USB cable was not held in the right way. Not the ideal condition to be flashing a ROM but I managed to keep it connected for long enough. This was not just once. I tried a couple different methods. The first probably was using the Nexus Root Toolkit. Then when that didn't work I went in and manually flashed each file with adb from the command line. At some point I had gotten it to a condition where I did not recognize what it was doing during boot and it was just sitting on the Google screen before the animation starts. Didn't realize then that it should not be on this screen for long. I let it sit like that overnight. I had it plugged in to a charger but I had no way of knowing whether it was charging… it was not. Drained the battery just sitting on that screen all night. Phone came apart again. Battery was down to 2.7V and the phone would not charge. Green light in the speaker came on once (I didn't even realize that light was there before this). It would charge a bit, screen would come on and then immediately die. Started looking up how to charge a Li-Po battery outside of the phone. Eventually my brain cells started working and I pulled out the new battery and put the old battery back in. It had a 4V charge in it still. Was able to get the phone to boot into the OS for the first time after the ROM flash. Turned phone off, pulled old battery out, put new battery in, plugged it in while it was off and it started charging. I kept the back off and had a fan blowing across it while it charged to make sure it didn't get hot. It charged to full. I pulled it out again to see that I hadn't done any permanent damage. It felt the same thickness as before. Nothing was swollen. Will eventually know for sure when I have some more charge/discharge cycles on it, but I think it will be fine since it wasn't discharged lower than 2.7V.
Phone back together. Still only charging while off. Last thing to try is what other posts were skeptical about working. Time to root in order to get access to the batterystats files. Tried to flash TWRP to recovery. It would take but it would not stick. Tried a few times and then gave up and moved on to installing Magisk without it. Turns out Magisk will work just fine with the stock recovery. Used Magisk to patch the boot image. Flashed the patched boot image with adb (still with a wonky USB connection that seemed like it needed to be held just right, but it was only 8meg so it flashed fast). Went with FX File Explorer to browse root. Navigated to data/system folder and moved the three batterystats files off the phone. Kept the files on my computer just in case something went south and I needed to put them back. Rebooted the phone. Booted up without any issues. Plugged in the charger. Recognized immediately and started to charge while on for the first time in a long time. But then it would do the same thing again where the next time I tried charging it would not. It would recognize its plugged into power but would not charge unless I turned the phone on. After a while I realized it would charge while on if I just rebooted it. I still haven’t figured out why this is happening, but its a minor inconvenience. Went through a few weeks worth of charge cycles and Accubattery is showing the Polarcell is at 95% health which seems good to me. I also installed Battery Charge Limit and set it to 80%. Whether or not that’s really going to extend the life of the battery I don’t know but its working fine for me. I get more than a full day out of it before I have to charge again, but I’m not really putting a heavy load on it.
This summarizes troubleshooting and fixing that spans at least three months, for an issue that has been going on for about a year. I’m sure a lot of the issues I had are interrelated. There were definitely a few red herrings along the way. There is no physical damage to the USB port or cables or chargers even though the behavior would have indicated there was. I’m sure the old battery caused issues with either corrupting the batterystats files or just loading it with bad data, and that somehow caused the charging issues I was having. That also seems like it was causing general connectivity issues via the USB port.
Normal people would not go through this much trouble for a 6 year old phone that was presenting so many problems. Safe to say I’m not normal. But I like fixing things and I don't like waste. Hopefully this experience, or at least portions of it, helps someone else keep their Nexus 6 going or maybe even other phones since none of the issue I encountered seem to be specific to the phone.
Quite an adventure!
I would think that your USB connector is physically damaged. You should not have to fiddle with the cable to flash a rom, and also, charging isn't just passing 5V to the phone, it checks the data lines as well to identify the kind of charger.
People say that it is possible to replace the USB connector, but I guess you need to be a real pro at soldering. Maybe a repair shop can do it.
Replacing the charging coil is probably easier - I've done that, though it took some tries before I got the connectors aligned.
It could be the connector or it could be something further downstream (inside the phone). The connector looks physically fine; nothing obvious. Either way, if that's the issue it will be time for a new phone. I've seen those videos and that is well beyond my capabilities. The coil seems simple enough to replace but I've never used wireless charging anyways so I am fine without it.
However, I tend to think its more software related than hardware related just because I can do nothing else besides turn the phone off and it will start charging just fine. I have stood absolutely still, not moving the phone or cable at all and just turned it off and it will start to charge. And when I turn it back on it will still be charging and recognize that it is charging vs before turning it off it would seem like it recognizes its plugged into a charger but it would not be charging (Battery Usage screen goes from telling me how much time it estimates is left with the charge the battery has on it when the cord is not plugged in to saying "Not Charging" when the cord is plugged in).
Any pointers on where to read about how the operating system controls charging? I'm running stock 7.1.1 (N8I11F) with bootloader unlocked and Magisk installed.
Also, what controls charging when the phone is off? I'm assuming that its not the OS.
Thanks
You can always try clearing the bootloader logs:
[Q] Dying at 17% battery
My Nexus 6 is dying at around 17% battery. I've tried using battery calibration apps to fix it but they haven't worked. I've also factory reset, and went from LMY47D to LMY47M, both of which would die at 17%. Any suggestions?
forum.xda-developers.com
That should reset the battery status. It doesn't delete any user data.
I had tried clearing the bootloader logs before, and have tried it again. I had seen a response on a post (that i can't find anymore) that suggested the logs were cleared during a power cycle anyways. Not sure if there's any truth in that, but that's why i thought charging while powered off was working. However, i think i'm agreeing with you now that its the charge port. Last week it stopped working on the charger/cord combo (4A Asus charger and cord that came with some other device) that was reliable up to that point while powered off. Now it will only charge if i push in the cord real hard (won't work with the cord i was using, now i'm back on the OEM cord still with the 4A Asus charger). I think once this method stops working it will be time to move on to another phone.
Any battery recommend ?
I like the Polarcell. Accubattery says its at 94% health (3000mAh compared to the 3200mAh design rating). It hasn't changed since I first installed it two to three months ago. I don't use the phone for anything much more than phone/text/email/alerts so I don't have much screen-on time. I have other devices for that. With that lite use it will take two full days to drop about 50% charge before I put it back to charge. Phone is just as responsive as when I first got it. No random shutdowns or app crashes.
Vincent Adultman said:
I like the Polarcell. Accubattery says its at 94% health (3000mAh compared to the 3200mAh design rating). It hasn't changed since I first installed it two to three months ago. I don't use the phone for anything much more than phone/text/email/alerts so I don't have much screen-on time. I have other devices for that. With that lite use it will take two full days to drop about 50% charge before I put it back to charge. Phone is just as responsive as when I first got it. No random shutdowns or app crashes.
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Thanks for your post. Which ROM are you using?
Stock, 7.1.1, N8I11F