charging but not charging?
 

Hi all,

I've noticed that I put my phone on charge (N900) and it will say charging, the led will blink like normal but it is not charging the battery.
i even left it overnight and tried while it was off.

moreover when i touch the cable it disconnects and connects. conclusion that the usb port is broken or loose is that right?
or could it be software?

Many thanks.

*The weird thing is that i installed bnf, which says its discharging but when i go in the status bar it says charging.+ the led comes on for like 2 minutes then switches off. I think it is software related. The usb is not loose at all.

Seems like a broken USB port socket? check USB socket is not loose, try a different USB charger, or test your charger on another device. it isworth also checking your battery is not bad.

Re: charging but not charging?
 

Its not loose, its exactly like my broken N900's socket. Have tried other chargers and batteries. The phone did charge the 2 days ago perfectly. It will charge a little bit then stop, i think it is software, maybe i need to rebuild the charging commands or something?

I'm not even touching the charger and it is disconnecting and randomly connecting.

Re: charging but not charging?
 

That definitely sounds like a contact problem.

A few ideas:
1. Dirt in the socket. Try cleaning it with a pin or something.
2. Faulty connector on the USB cable. I've had a few like that, especially the cheap ones. They work for a while but then the springs get tired or something and the connection becomes unreliable.
3. Your USB socket is becoming dislodged. Get it fixed ASAP.

Re: charging but not charging?
 

But is it not strange that in the status bar it shows charging?

Re: charging but not charging?
 

@Ast007,

Because it is difficult to read.
>Why?
>>Please stop top-posting.

and...

Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
> Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
>> Top-posting.
>>> What is the most annoying thing in electronic communication?

and...

Maybe because some people are too annoyed by top-posting.
> Why do I not get an answer to my question(s)?

Regarding your question...

The USB socket has four contacts. The two edge contacts are power and the two middle ones are data. In case of dumb chargers the two data contacts are shortened by the charger, indicating to the USB device that this is a charger.

If your phone detects a short circuit on the data pins, it goes, "aha, I am on the charger, hurray, nom nom nom!" - and the software displays the charging icon in the status bar. BUT, if one of the power pins is broken, it does not actually get any power so your battery is not being charged.

Simple as that.

Re: charging but not charging?
 

Ok, nothing seems broken. I'll find a repair shop to replace the current one and see what happens. Will be a week without my N900 :(

Re: charging but not charging?
 

pichlo explained everything + more, so I'll only add that...

...if BNF says "discharging", then discharging it is (I'm glad you've found it useful, BTW :) ). As for why status-bar is stop telling lies after ~2 minutes - it have some (unknown) timer built in BME, that allows contradictory data to be presented only for a short period of time. They did it, because it is possible to have situation, where your device draws more power than it gets from charger (resulting is charger still being detected via shorted data pins, but negative net current gain) - usually it last only for a short while, so they didn't wanted to spam user with banners saying "disconnect your charger to save power blabla" and "charging" every few seconds, during super-heavy usage.

Hoever, if negative current gain continue for a prolonged period of time, it decide that it got enought of such situation, is mad as hell and won't take it anymore (aka - inform users "hey, you're not charging me, after all", by stopping to display charging indications).
---

Side note - by installing replacement FOSS bme, you can get more detailed info about what's happening from dmesg/syslog (when exactly device detects what). Hoever, if it's not damaged cable/dirt/loose port as others suggested (it can be just lost contact on current pins, it doesn't need to be necessary "loose" visibly, yet), then some element in your charging circuit (chip, most likely) is damaged, which is even worse, as it's practically unrepairable without proper equipment/parts. In your place, I would hope for loose port a worst.

/Estel

Re: charging but not charging?
 

I assume you already rebooted your n900?

I have seen mine do this a couple of times, a reboot mostly fixed this... Doesn't happen a lot but when it does, it persists.

At first I though the USB port was broken but it's not. Go figure.

Re: charging but not charging?
 

Got my phone back today, cost £15 to replace the usb port
Many thanks pichlo and I'm glad Estel responded as i use "bnf" and thought he would.

Feels good to get my phone back =D

Re: charging but not charging?
 

:mad:

Today, the phone at times kept coming on discharging (bnf). I think maybe the charging cable i have is loose? Not sure, but its worrying...

Started doing the connected / disconnected popups again,

The keyboard via H-e-n was working yesterday and now that isn't.

Will test another charger later on.

Re: charging but not charging?
 

Ok, so using my original charger it is charging, but I have noticed after random time intervals it will start discharging. Can it be something other than the usb port?

Re: charging but not charging?
 

I can't think something else...
I had the same exact problem and I opened mine and the usb was almost ready to get out! I tried to fix that but I destroyed almost every pin of the usb port so it is unfixable for me... Luckily I have found a way to just charge my n900 but I can't flash it or use the usb.

(I hope that by summer I will have some money to buy me a jolla, maybe :D)

Re: charging but not charging?
 

Seconded. Sorry Ast007, but your description sounds like your USB port has not been properly fixed. If I were you I would open the blighter and check the port. The Fix your USB port thread has a lot of "before" and "after" pictures to show what a fixed port should look like.

Re: charging but not charging?
 

I don't find soldering easy, have tried several times on LED lights and I fail at it.

I will try and open it later tonight and post some pictures, hopefully you can see if it was a bad job by the repair shop.

P.S. I have been using an aftermarket PISEN battery, but I doubt that is issue.


See attached. + Not charging at all now.

Re: charging but not charging?
 

Sorry Ast007, I missed your post update. Your pictures look like your USB port has not been touched at all. As I said, the Fix your USB port thread has a lot of "before" and "after" pictures to show what a fixed port should look like. There are a lot of links right there in the first post.

For example, this one before...

http://talk.maemo.org/attachment.php...1&d=1267209950

...and after:

http://talk.maemo.org/attachment.php...1&d=1267209961

As you can see, a fixed USB port has a blob of extra solder around it to make it stronger.

If it's no longer charging at all, my suspicion is that the port has come off the PCB. It may still be hanging by the data pads but the shell has probably come off the ground pads. Trying to plug in a cable will very likely detach it altogether so please avoid doing that until you get it fixed properly.

There may still be a chance. Holding the port down tight while soldering it may do the trick. The chances of course depend on your specific circumstances. If are not comfortable with your soldering skills, I strongly recommend having it done by someone who is.

Re: charging but not charging?
 

@pichlo
It is so random. It worked when connected to wall charger, now it just worked on pc connection and then charger didn't work. Now pc its charging only but not connecting to pc as mass storage.

I also notice that a red light comes on when on wall charger and at times a very dim flashing orange which then turns off.

It seems to be so random, I guess taking it off and redoing it will fix it? :|

Q - If does the usb just slot into the PCB? I think if that is the case, i might try and solder it down.

22/3/14 - Gave phone in for repair again. They said they solder the bottom of it. Once I get it back, I will try solder the top to keep it down.

Re: charging but not charging?
 

Called the repair shop today and they said they replaced the usb and its still not charging :(
What could be the problem?

Re: charging but not charging?
 

Maybe they screwed soldering pads the first time, creating some short, and finally, fuse got blown? Tell them to check the fuse, thread linked by pichlo have locations of that element mentioned "somewhere", too.

If it's not fuse *and* port is soldered properly, I'm out of ideas.

/Estel

// Edit

pichlo, I may got your post wrong, but aren't you mixing up "fixing" usb port after it failed and reinforcing it? The photos you attached show reinforced USB port, where repair shop, for sure, would only "fix" unsoldered pads. I don't think they're clever enough to scrap solder mask and reinforce it by soldering port's case to motherboard.

/Estel

Re: charging but not charging?
 

You are right, a "fixed" port does not necessarily equal a "fortified" port. I made the cardinal mistake of assuming that everyone's mental process is the same as mine (:)) and skipped one mental step: fixing the port with extra solder visible is much easier than without. I did not even consider the option of a repair shop resoldering an SMD component in place for just $15.

I have nothing else to add. Estel got it spot-on.

Re: charging but not charging?
 

Update - They got it to charge again. I've now charged to twice not tried data connection yet. I will go very gentle until i am ready to solder it down.
Thanks all that viewed and wrote posts to support me .

:)

Re: charging but not charging?
 

The fault is your mobile's charging port. You always put the charger pin in this port its charge will started but it loose the charger pin and not charging strength 100%. so please check your mobile's charging port.