How to Fix an Android Phone That Only Charges When OFF but Doesn't Charge When ON

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A friend brought this issue to my desk yesterday, complaining that his phone only charges when it's off, after lots of troubleshooting, I finally figured out a fix to the issue. However, yours might be a different cause but I'll provide all the troubleshooting guides in this article.

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Every Android phone has its own problem but there's always a solution.

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There are several reasons why an Android phone will refuse to charge while turned on, but rather charge when it's turned off, some of this reasons are outdated firmware, faulty USB cord (pin) which is probably bent to another position causing delays in charging & reducing charging speed, faulty USB port, incompatible firmware such as custom ROM; this one of the main cause of delayed charging.

When you flash a different firmware to your Android phone, it comes with various bugs apart from charging issue, your phone may overheat, camera may not function and to top it all "LAGGING", your phone could become so laggy because the firmware you flashed wasn't designed for your phones hardware, it was designed for another hardware different from yours which may cause instability leading to incessant reboots.

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Below are some troubleshooting guides to help you solve any issues relating to charging.

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1st Troubleshooting guide

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1. Turn off your phone, wait for 20 seconds before you commence with the troubleshooting steps.

2. Check the USB cord to see where the pin is bent.

3. Try to straighten the pin with a needle, do it carefully to avoid damages.

4. Once you've succeeded in straightening the pin, try charging the phone when it's turned on to see the difference.

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2nd Troubleshooting guide

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[1] Remove and reinsert your phone's battery:

If your smartphone's battery is removable, remove it for some hours and wait for it to cool down for a while, or change it to another one cos charging issues are often caused by incompatible battery or faulty battery.

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[2] Replace your USB cord or charger:

Some USB cord charges phones at a very slow rate, most especially when it wasn't the cord that came with your phone when you newly bought it. This also relates to the charger, try changing your charger to a different one and see the difference.

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[3] Re-flash Stock ROM (firmware):

If you flashed a Custom ROM, flash back your phone's original Stock ROM and see the difference.

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[4] Ensure that your phone's software is up to date:

System drivers malfunctions when its software's are outdated, always set your phone to download and install software updates automatically or manually navigate to your settings and search for an update.

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[5] Perform a factory reset:

This may help in rearranging your phone's software, it'll restore your phone back to the state when you bought it newly. This will likewise refresh your phone.

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[6] USB Charging Port replacement:

If you've tried all the aforementioned guides, and the problem still persists, simply take your phone to a Cal-care or experienced phone repairer for further investigation or USB charging port replacement.

I hope you find these guides useful.

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_{Image source: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 7 - 8 - 9}

Thanks to @camzy for the photo animation.