[Q] inconsistent battery charging - any help?

Hi guys,

Been having issues with charging for the past couple of days. When I plug my phone into the charger it states that it's charging, but nothing really happens. The troubleshooting so far:

1. Have tested it on multiple different chargers, all having same problem. However, my Nexus7 tablet will charge normally on these chargers, so we can rule out it's charger related.
2. Tested for differences with the phone switched on or off. When phone is switched off it will charge, but not with the speed it normally does.
3. Running CM11 Snapshot M9. Did a clean install. Battery does not charge normally (read 1% gain per 20 min) on most stripped down version (without gapps + personal apps)

Looks like it's battery related. But I find it difficult to rule out what's causing my phone to act funny. The weird thing is that sometimes my phone will go for a decent charge, but this happens so randomly that it's hard to find any form of sense in this process. Also, when the phone is on and charging, the battery light will sometimes turn off. But when I activate my phone again, the battery light will bleep on as if nothing happened and everything is functioning normally (which is clearly doesn't).

Does anybody have an idea how I can fix this? Any helpful tips that can point me into the right direction to figure out what's causing this? Many thanks in advance!

did some more testing - can anyone help me out?

After some additional testing I'm fairly sure that it's either battery or chip related:

1. USB debugging does not work at all (storage is set to MTP). When I open Android File Transfer my Mac will recognise the Nexus 7 tablet, but not the Nexus 5. Debugging is switched on in Developer options.
2. When I try to use adb or fasboot, my device is not listed either, nor are any commands (directed towards phone) executed through bootloader.
3. In the about Phone section I went to check the Battery info. It will state correctly that the phone is being charged through AC or USB (depending on wether the device is connected to laptop or charger).

Does anyone have an idea how I can figure out if it's chip or battery related? I desperately want to find this out, because I bought my phone in The States and live in Europe... So in the worst case scenario the phone needs to go back to the US due to bureaucratic policies. Already had to go through this horrible proces half a year ago with a bad NAND chip, really want to avoid the hassle and lose my phone for at least a month. So if it's a battery thing I rather order a new one and replace it myself

Really really hope someone can shed light on this issue, running out of luck and options. Please guys, please :angel:

simms22 said:

sounds like the usb connection, physical, is going. if it doesnt charge but randomly will, fastboot nor adb see it, i think its an usb connection issue. i had the same with my nexus one a long time ago, if i wiggled the the connection when it was connected, sometimes i could get it to charge some. fortunately, it isnt an expensive repair, and yours should still be under warranty.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Thanks for the reply, really appreciate it How much you reckon it will cost? Also, can I do this at any decent phone recovery shop? As stated previously, really want to avoid sending the phone back to the US. Once again thanks!

@simms22: ordered a USB portal online and replaced it by myself. Phone works again. Thanks for the tip!