Yesterday, I went to a car audio shop primarily to get an alarm installed and they said they would install a hardwire micro USB cable (that I purchased online and brought with me) for free while they were at it. It was to go to my N1 car dock. The install took all the way until closing time so the owner of the shop went over it with me and then everyone went home. It was late on a Friday and I didn't think to test the hardwire install. Probably wouldn't have mattered much then anyway.
This morning, I docked my phone and nothing happened. I originally thought it was a software error so I reflashed everything, still no luck. Then I swapped cables to the lighter socket and the phone docked/charged correctly - I should note that the dock worked fine before using the lighter socket cable. I plugged my phone into the hardwire USB and it started charging. I put the hardwire cable back into the dock and tried docking again multiple times. Nothing happened until right when I was about to go inside, I docked and saw the charging light come on and Car Home popped up.
I drove around for a bit and didn't lose docking once. This was all well until I had to come home to unload groceries and then go back out. After shutting off and restarting my car, I docked and nothing happened.
What I wanted to convey in this lengthy story is what is known right now. The dock paired with the lighter socket cable works fine. The hardwire cable charges my phone fine. The dock paired with the hardwire cable doesn't work 99% of the time.
To all the EE and circuit-savvy people, do you have any ideas as to what could be wrong? I called the shop owner's personal line today and he thinks it might be a loose connection somewhere. This was before I drove around, and after the normal bumps and things of driving and not losing dock, I don't think that's it. I tried jiggling the cable and making sure the USB connector fit properly; no dock. I don't think it's a faulty cable either because any time I plug it into my phone, it charges. Then again, I'm no expert on anything electrical-related so I could be missing something.
The shop offers a lifetime guarantee on install work so I'll be back Monday to have them check it out. The only bad thing is that since it's a hardwire install, the installer will have to pull dash panels to check things out and then I'll be stuck at the shop for however long it takes, which I'd like to avoid, so any troubleshooting brainstorm ideas I can pass along that might help will definitely be appreciated.
The cable I have is part # MFX5V-B-MICRO from mountguys (I can't post links yet) and if you need any more info from me to troubleshoot, I'll be happy to provide it.
I would actually venture to think its a voltage/ampage problem, which could be due to a loose connection, but is probably just because a line has been spliced too many times. Ie enough juice to charge a phone but not enough to power a dock.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Thanks for the input. Hopefully things will sort themselves out tomorrow.
I'll come back with an update after everything is solved in case anyone here is also curious as to what went wrong.
Wasn't a EE problem at all. One of the two protruding prongs on the male end was loose. Got a new cable for free and now all is well.
Related
I have had a quick look around and am unable to find anything on this so i am assuming that my phone is not right.
Basically when i plug the micro usb into the bottom of my desire it seems very loose ie i can wobble it side to side and it still has about half a mm of metal visible. Any for of weight (even just the weight of the cable itself) it falls out. Other than this it works fine it charges and transfers data ok. Is this just a bad design or should i get my phone repaired.
Also does anyone know how long it takes for a repair with htc?
I have been through no end of cables/adapters ... try replacing the cable before sending the phone off
Priz
I had the same issue. I have since replaced the cable with a 'generic
one and all seems fine.
As above - try a new cable, first.
Thankyou for the advise. Its good to know its not just me thats had this and a simple fix cold be the answer. I should be able to sly another cable from around work and give it a try.
My cable is loose also. It happened when I by mistake kicked the cable while the phone was charging. It ended up on the floor and after that the cable is loose. I will probably buy a new one.
My charger doesnt fit well and i just came to terms with this but it has got worse the last two weeks. It plugs in and the led lights up but it doesnt charge sometimes, it says it is charging but an hour later and the battery goes down 5% ish. Also it only connects when the phone sits face up and the cord hangs down as in it must sit on the edge of the table for it to charge. I tried my friends Droid cord and it was a snug fit. do i have an insurance claim on my hands?
You can try getting the cable swapped, but honestly I think the amount of hassle you would go through would just not be worth it. If the problem was with your phone then I would 100% definitely get the phone replaced, but if the problem is only with the cable, I'd take the path of least resistance and just buy a new cable out of pocket. They really aren't expensive if you know the right place to get them.
I use this cable here with my Aria and it works great: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10303&cs_id=1030307&p_id=5458&seq=1&format=2
It is only $3.13 shipped (to my address), and it's 2 feet longer than the original cable which I like because I thought the original one was too short. Never had a problem with it charging my Aria. I know it seems too good to be true, but the quality really is just as good as a $20+ cable you'd find at a local store.
I ran into the same problem with an Aria I bought off of Craigslist. It would kind of charge at first, then it gave up altogether. I found that the end that plugged into the phone had been slightly squished by the previous owner. I just went to Staples and bought a Staples branded MicroUSB cable, it's six feet long and works fine. Granted, it wasn't ebay-cheap but I got the problem handled same day, no screwing around. The nice thing about this cable is it's just as flexible as the original, unlike the MicroUSB charge/sync cables that come with Blackberry phones and the extra length makes it a little more versatile.
Don't mean to resurrect an old thread, but I didn't want to start a new one.
My connection is getting worse every day. It is very aggravating. I'll plug in at night time and wake up to find my phone didn't charge at all. I have to put the cable in at a slight angle to get it to connect.
Using adb and just any file transfer on the computer is almost impossible.
I use the original cable, and sometimes my brother's Captivate cable--both are just as bad.
And the AT&T car charger is a joke. So I think it is the phone, not the cables.
i find that the motorola(backflip) usb doesnt fit snug(still charges & transfers fine, a little slower)
May be just a bit too rough with this little phone
Finally had enough of the cable problem, so I decided to figure out whats wrong. Turns out, I ended up pulling out about a cubic centimeter of dust and lint from in the port (way down in there, a quick glance and it didn't look as bad as it really was.)
Works like a charm, now!
Brivette, glad to see you fixed your issue!
For future reference,
The MicroUSB cable that has become the new standard contains 2 prongs on the end of it. This prong is responsible for ensuring it stays locked into the connector.
The newer MicroB connector is rated at a higher use cycle than the old MiniB type, which is why current devices are moving to it as a standard. It is also designed so that the cheaper cable will bear the wear and damage, rather than the device. The usual culprit is the two latch pins at the top of the male connector which tend to wear and bend eventually causing the cord to become "flaky" or fickle (for a lack of a better term). This is usually the cause of most people's woes. However often times the connections from inside the cable may wear and short out, causing the cord to become dysfunctional. Before sending your phone in for a replacement, I highly recommend trying a second cable.
If changing the cord doesn't work, the problem most likely lies with the phone. While it is possible that the PCB mount has come disconnected from the board, it is more often than not likely that the port has become clogged with debris. So before sending your phone in for service, check the port and ensure that the port is clear and clean of obstruction.
This also goes for charging or data transfer. Sometimes issues with data transfer can arise out of a bad cable. This often happens when people wrap their cord too tightly or kink it, which causes signal interference. It also occurs with frequent use and wear and tear, which is normal.
Take good care of your cord, and it'll be there to last you a long time.
Hi guys,
My phone keeps going into car mode at completely random times. I have switched ROMs and wiped everything but this has happened on 3 different ROMs now.
Anything you can suggest??
Cheers
i think its something on my SD card. I just deleted everything apart from the necessary stuff and its no longer doing it.
Any thoughts why this should happen?
do you have the phone in a case with a magnet in by any chance?
i had this problem, i search A LOT and i found that it is caused by a short in the phone plug or your usb cable.
do you have this problem anytime or just when it is plugged in the cable?
tha phone knows that you plug into a car dock by this intentional short that is made, sometimes the usb cable may be doing it and sometimes the short is inside phone plug.
in my case the problem was in phone plug and i fixed it by cleaning the the plug with a very tiny pin and isopropyl alcohol (really don't know if that's the name in english =oP)...
hope it can help you
It's funny actually coz it doesn't go into car mode at all when plugged in. But it seems to have stopped now. I reinstalled clockworkmod and the problem seems to have gone completely. Don't know of this is the problem but whatever ive done over last couple of days has sorted it. I hope!!!
I just discovered something strange about my Inspire: I have an adapter to step the size down from mini-USB to micro-USB. When I use one particular charger, the phone switches to the Car Panel as soon as I plug it in. I've got no idea. Phone is completely stock, not rooted. I originally sideloaded a Swype keyboard but deleted it and installed the Slide-It after I realized the Swype would quit working every time the publisher issued a new beta.
Anyway, it's something in that particular power supply that triggers the Car Panel to activate.
My Evo recently started to answers the phone with the speaker phone enabled. Its super irritating as I have to click on the speaker phone for it to go back to normal. I googled online and some people say removing the battery works. However, i tried it but it still answers with the speaker phone on.
What rom setup are you using, I had the same problem using deck's 1.0 GB rom with sz 2.1.0 kernel. I did a full wipe and fresh install and the problem went away... its worth a try.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Im running Fresh v3.5.0.1 and netarchy-toastmod-4.3.2-cfs-nosbc-havs-less-universal-signed kernel.
Im in the process of backing up all my data to do a factory wipe and moving to MikFroYo v4.62. Hope its a software glitch and not hardware.
Just did a factory wipe (2x's), then cleared cache/davik (2x's) to be safe. Then installed MikFroYo v4.62. On first boot it goes directly to Car Dock. Im beginning to think its a hardware problem as I read online car dock runs when there is a short on the usb pins.
Unrooted and rolled back to the stock Sprint RUU. Everything is stock and it still has this speaker/car dock problem. I found this video on google and they talk about a DIY car dock usb cable. Apparently, car dock activates when pins 4 & 5 on the usb cable is shorted. Normally, Pin 4 is not used and Pin 5 is ground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsshBuX-DfQ
In a normal USB cable, the wires are connected to the pins in a specific order.
For example:
Pin Name Cable color Description
1 VCC Red +5 VDC
2 D- White USB Data -
3 D+ Green USB Data +
4
5 GND Black Ground
So, with a micro usb cabled plugged into the phone I wiggle the usb connector and sure enough car dock fires up. Definetly a hardware issue. I hope Sprint will fix this one under the HTC 1yr warranty.
I believe it to be a hardware issue as well. My Evo started having this issue last week. Annoying as all hell but after trying different kernels and Roms and having no luck i started looking online for answers.
I tried cleaning the port and no luck.
I have a aftermarket plain Jane normal USB cord then i have an adapter that goes from normal USB (like BB Pearl) to mini USB for the Evo and its the only thing that will snap it out of the car mode. But only while its plugged in it will snap out of it.
If i unplug it or try using stock USB cord then it goes back into the car mode/ speaker phone frenzy/ cant use volume controls for playing music on ear phones.
This is a launch day Evo so its seen its fair share of bumps/ drops/ wear n tear but as of yesterday its after that 1 year mark. Not sure if they would warranty it now.
But alas, if they dont then i suppose i can use the insurance.
Ill keep this thread updated if i find anything solid that works.
Thanks,
wrong thread sorry.
Sprint replaced my phone under the hardware warranty ($35). I think it had to do with my phone looking like brand new with no scratches and stuff. Either way the shop said they never experienced the speaker phone problem but they usually get the bad usb port from users who cant charge.
Hey Sonjiin - Since you have also have a launch day phone. Today makes 1yr. Take it in and see if they will replace it. Good Luck!
I tried cleaning the port with Electronics contact cleaner and a cotton swab and like an idiot i used a bit to much and it got under the screen. The thing still works like a champ but it still didnt fix my issue. I ended up claiming Insurance on it. Ill be getting my replacement phone sometime today.
blkcamarozr28 said:
Unrooted and rolled back to the stock Sprint RUU. Everything is stock and it still has this speaker/car dock problem. I found this video on google and they talk about a DIY car dock usb cable. Apparently, car dock activates when pins 4 & 5 on the usb cable is shorted. Normally, Pin 4 is not used and Pin 5 is ground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsshBuX-DfQ
In a normal USB cable, the wires are connected to the pins in a specific order.
For example:
Pin Name Cable color Description
1 VCC Red +5 VDC
2 D- White USB Data -
3 D+ Green USB Data +
4
5 GND Black Ground
So, with a micro usb cabled plugged into the phone I wiggle the usb connector and sure enough car dock fires up. Definetly a hardware issue. I hope Sprint will fix this one under the HTC 1yr warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good find on that man. I work in a Sprint service center and I tried replacing the charging port with a new one and it did the trick! Never would have guessed it to be a charging port issue. I would say it is either that, or if the solder on the ports bridges the connection between the 4th and 5th pin, shorting them out. Either way, that definitely fixed the problem. Great find. Thanks button has been clicked.
This is a very old thread, but there are TONS of them across the web with zero solutions... so if someone else should search for this like I did, I want to save them the trouble.
I was also having the problem that my phone would jump into dock mode constantly, and forcefully removing the dock app did little to help. While the speakerphone issue is annoying, the WORST part was that it kept turning on my screen randomly, and it leaves the screen on.
Anyway, the fix is to use an app called NoDock by NOTHIZE. You need to be rooted, but if you're not rooted, what the hell are you doing here?!?! It completely removed the issue for me, which is incredible. They do have a trial version that you can test for 7 days before you buy it, but they kind of have you over the barrel on this one: I tried a few other Play Store apps with no success.
And if you see this exact post a few places on the internet, it's because I'm just active enough to try to help others (I'm pretty excited right now that this is fixed) but I'm too lazy to do any major editing of my comments.
Easy Fix
I think I just figured it out. Free some space on your darn phone. Lol. Delete some of your text messages (Especially if you have conversations saved with 200+ messages). Move your big apps to you SD card (ex: Angry birds at 29+ Meg). Then pull the battery. Put the battery back in. Fixed my Evo.
I hope I'm as lucky as you.
Easy Fix
I think I just figured it out. Free some space on your darn phone. Lol. Delete some of your text messages (Especially if you have conversations saved with 200+ messages). Move your big apps to you SD card (ex: Angry birds at 29+ Meg). Then pull the battery. Put the battery back in. Fixed my Evo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bah.... checked and my internal memory still has 250MB free... (reverted ext-3 to 2). Jiggling it doesn't do anything to mine. SIGGGGGh
I've had my G4 since almost launch day and within weeks the supplied USB cable stopped charging the phone. I thought it was a cable problem, but it worked fine with other devices.
I tried other cables with the G4 and these still charged it so I thought nothing more of it until charging degraded with every USB cable I own to where the phone would only charge 20-30% during an overnight charge and the phone would frequently not recognise it was plugged in at all. I contacted LG who did a repair under warranty and all was fine.
I've now had the repaired phone back for about 3 weeks and the same problems are starting up again and it's only a matter of time until I am forced to return again for a repair.
Is anyone else having similar problems? I thought I may have just had an unlucky manufacturing problem, and the LG reps confirmed that to repair my phone they basically replace all the internal circuit boards and components rather than just replacing the individual component that is faulty (in this case the USB/charging port)
Basic debugging includes asking stupid questions, so please forgive but still answer any of those
Are you using a different charger? If so, check if that one is within specifications and if you do send in for repair again, use a different charger.
Are you propping up the device at an odd/weird angle or in a dock of some sort with the cable attached?
(As they replaced the entire print, it's probably not this, just the USB-micro port bent or broken.)
You could double check the wall outlets being used, there might be some kind of electrical problem there.
Either using all kinds of fancy electical testing gadgets, or stick a USB light into the hub or charger, does it flicker?
When sending it back for repairs, did they check the stock charger as well?
Hopefully these questions help you find any logical or plausible cause.
FreezyExp said:
Basic debugging includes asking stupid questions, so please forgive but still answer any of those
Are you using a different charger? If so, check if that one is within specifications and if you do send in for repair again, use a different charger.
Are you propping up the device at an odd/weird angle or in a dock of some sort with the cable attached?
(As they replaced the entire print, it's probably not this, just the USB-micro port bent or broken.)
You could double check the wall outlets being used, there might be some kind of electrical problem there.
Either using all kinds of fancy electical testing gadgets, or stick a USB light into the hub or charger, does it flicker?
When sending it back for repairs, did they check the stock charger as well?
Hopefully these questions help you find any logical or plausible cause.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi FreezyExp,
1. I am using the standard charger that came with the phone, but this has not been repaired/replaced. I have tried other chargers too, but all the same issue.
2. No weird propping up or anything like that. If I hold my phone while it is plugged in it is constantly vibrating as the charger connects and disconnects, and if I place it on the desk to charge I have to ensure that I have at least 3-4" of cabe "on the desk" to give it enough support to make the connection.
3. Wall connection is fine and I have tried it with a range of outlets around the home, both with extension sockets used and plugged directly into the wall and there is no different. No flickering light when using a USB light either.
4. When I sent it back all they asked me to return was the main section of the handset - so no battery or rear cover, no cables or chargers etc
It does seem to be the same issue as last time, a USB connection becoming loose from the main motherboard, but it seems weird that I have had the same issue twice in the space of 4-5 months.
I've been having some sort of problem with my G4 usb port. If I plug it in to a computer, it will lose connection and get a connection again if I barely touch the end of the cord at the phone end. I've tried many different cords and different usb ports on my computer, but it still has problems.
I can't fast charge, either. When I plug it in to fast charge, it actually starts discharging even faster. I've had some extreme battery life problems, too. It drained from 100-36 the other night with everything disabled, and it's been doing that kind of thing a lot lately. I'm guessing that the charging port is what's messing up my battery life because it won't charge correctly.
Never dropped it or anything.
I got my G4 on January 24 and my USB port has also failed. I am getting a replacement from Verizon, but am concerned that a six month old phone has this issue.
I also own a G4 H815. A while ago the phone started not receiving any charge from the cable and I would have to prop it up from right under the cable's micro usb end. Thought it was because it was bent inside the port and not making connection with the cable so I had the port replaced. Now I'm experiencing the same problem and I think it might be the cable that's already gone kaput and is effing up the port itself. I took the phone to the same place to get the port replaced again and bought new cables (I lost both the original adapter and the cable, which were charging slow anyway. Now using a 2A Asus adapter which works great) and when I asked the guy at the repair shop, he says it's a chronic issue with G4 devices. I don't really understand how it would happen twice in just a few months even with a new charger port. What should I make of this? Did they replace my port with an already faulty one, cahrged me full price and now trying to sell this bogus or am I really doomed with this phone?