My mom and I both use Samsung phones with USB-C chargers. Her chargers repeatedly stop working after a few weeks, and whenever she starts using one of mine after hers fails, my charger soon stops working too. Her phone recently had a damaged screen replaced, but the battery was not replaced. There is no obvious physical damage to the chargers. Could something inside her phone, such as the charging port, a short circuit, or another electrical fault, be causing the chargers to fail?
3 Answers
Debris or damage in your mom’s USB-C port could be putting stress on the connector or preventing proper contact. Check for lint, dirt, bent contacts, or a port that feels unusually loose or tight. Don’t poke inside with anything metallic; if the port looks damaged or the issue continues, have the phone inspected.
A fault in the phone’s charging circuit could potentially damage a charger, especially if there’s a short or abnormal electrical behavior. The fact that multiple chargers fail after being used with the same phone makes her phone or its charging port worth investigating. Until it’s checked, avoid using expensive or important chargers with it and have a repair shop test the charging circuit.
The phone itself is possible, but I’d first check the outlet, power strip, or surge protector being used. Older surge protectors can fail internally and may no longer protect equipment properly. Since you use the same outlet, compare whether the problem follows the phone or stays with that particular outlet or power strip.
We do use the same outlet, so I’ll test the phones with a different outlet and charger setup.
I haven’t compared how the connector feels in her phone, but I’ll check the port and see whether it looks dirty or damaged.