Can you fix my broken Micro-USB charging port?

Same story - phone less than two months old on a new 24 month contract. Virgin store said $50 to send it to the repairers to look at it, if it is determined a user fault, which of course they did. Said it would cost $350 to fix. Told them stuff-it, I'll fix myself as they are obviously not going to honour the warranty any-how if anything else goes wrong with it. Pins bent in the charging port is one of the most common early failures with Samsung phones, and a really cheap part to buy. Less than $10. Do a google u-tube search for detailed demo on how to do it. It is very easy with no soldering required. Just remove 9 screws to remove the back cover, slide the part out after unclipping just one pin. Put new part in and replace pin and screws.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Genuine-Samsu...

I believe the charging cable has a bent pin before it is inserted into the phone which damages the charging port after a few insertions. Most customers would not examine this part as it is supposed to be a brand new original charging cable. Then they tell you your data will be erased and a refurbished phone will be sent to you for $350. A less than $20 part which takes 5 minutes to replace. It seems they might be swapping people's phones around and making a killing.

My Note 3 regularly lost connection while charging. I noticed the plug seemed loose, and found this thread, and another where users advocated tightening the screws, and bending the pins in the USB 3 socket. Well, neither of those suggestions worked, and it seems like a lot of work to replace the USB socket on the phone hoping that the connection will be tighter.

If you look straight at the micro USB connector at the end of the charging cable, it looks like a "D" lying on its flat side. Well, I bent the "D" with needle nose pliers so that the flat side curves slightly in the same direction as the arch. This secured the connection somewhat for me, I get fewer loss of connection errors now. The bonus is that it's free, and it doesn't modify the phone, just the cable.

update - August 1st

This didn't really work for me. It probably loses connection just as often as ever.

I just got some scissors and squished the micro usb charger together and plugged it into my phone and it seems to be charging perfectly now, I guess the tighter connection is all it needed.

Thanks

What I did, which has worked so far, is take a tiny patch of scotch tape cut down to the size of the metal part of the connector and lay it across the top over both angled sides and top. This seems to make the connection tighter, although I am worried about the tape coming off or gumming up over time, I plan on trying Nail Polish over the top, perhaps as many coats as needed to be snug. I have not tried the nail polish yet it just sounded like a good idea, but the tape is working for now.

Not an answer but I think people need to quit forcing the connector in so hard. I am even afraid I will break it putting it in softly. Also, they need to make better stronger connectors for the charging cables. I don't care if they have to go back to bigger size connectors. I rather be safe than sorry. I think they went wrong decision into smaller connectors in the smartphones. Also, with smartphones now being thinner even makes it worse. There is two major problems in smartphones today and that is , really small battery power for smartphones, even for flagship ones and crappy charging ports. If they fixed those two things, then the smartphones would be even better than ever.

Batteries even at the 3000 mAh is decent but they should have that size for the low end and at least 5000 mAh for flagship ones. Seriously, mine a ZTE Citrine is a 1650 mAh and it does not last as the claim of 9 hours talk time and 168 hours standby. I get maxed with as much settings changed to 2 and half days standby and few hours talk time. I mostly listen to my mp3 music but one time of 2 hours of listening takes 20% of the battery. It just makes no sense that they claim the battery life as much as they do and not get even close to it. Batteries suck still and many years of cellphones and still can't get it right.

Now they are coming out with non-removable batteries. That is the dumbest thing ever. I don't care if it is for water resistant. The galaxy S5 is probably their best because it was battery removable. The S7 is non removable. Until, they decide to do this right. I am going to complain about those two things.

I have replaced this charging connector part a couple of times since they all had an issue the worse being not able to get any connection and not being able to make calls or receive any...anyone had this issue after replacing this part??!

I had the same problem only the pins in the charging port snapped in half somehow. I didn't do anything to cause this so I am not sure what the issue is. But at any rate I cannot charge my phone with the cable. I bought an external battery charger that came with two spare batteries. However if you do this, pay a little more money and get a good one. I was lost in Montreal because the crappy batteries died quickly and the chargers take well over 8 hours to charge 1 battery.

I was looking for another problem I'm having, but I have to share what I did on my grand kids tablets. After a metric ton of research, if you have a loose connection when you plug up to charge, find something small and sharp (I used a steak knife). On your device (Not Cable!) use the tip of the knife, slowly and very carefully take the tip of the knife, it goes between the outside of the charge port, work it gently around the outer edges of the charger port. Look inside while you are there and make sure the little tang inside is not bent or damaged.

If your device is completely drain dead, plug it up to your computer first. Let it charge there for about an hour. Then you can move it over to your regular charger.

When the battery drains it lets you know when it's time for more juice,no problem. If it gets totally drain dead, it will only charge if your really lucky. The battery needs just a touch of power to kick itself into recharge mode.

Source of research: BatteryUniversity.com

An extra battery and auxiliary charger ?

I have a samsung galaxy 4 and went on vacation . phone was dying so i plugged phone up and noticed that i couldn't get charger into port. so i pushed and got it to charge then after a while i had to wiggle charger in the port and couldn't get a charge. my hubby finally got it to charge. now there's no port and my phone is dead. so what can i do without spending a lot of money. my phone is my right arm. can someone help.

Can anyone help me change the charge from the phone?

Using a different charger sometimes works. Wrappin the cord around, also sometimes works. If a removable battery, buy a wall charger with two long life batteries, should also come with a different back, to fit the thick battery. Only cost me like $12 I think on Amazon. Don't shop at a store, will cost 5× more. I managed that way for my Galaxy 3 for almost a yr. At first a bit annoying but became a daily habit fast. Only takes a few seconds once you get used to it. Takes longer with some phone cases lol. FYI, do it over your bed, if it slips out of your hands, the screen won't crack

mine wont work at all i have tried to fix it a lot

This isn't an answer, I just want to know what the inside of the port is supposed to look like in it's uncorrupted state, ie how many pins there are supposed to be and which direction they're supposed to be facing, etc. Or can someone show me a photo or diagram of one while explaining how to bend a pin gone awry back to it's original position. This would really help me in understanding the correct way to fix it. Thanks!