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