Jan "Jenkings" Škoda - blog

As I am doing my best to use all my phones in my collection at least once every three or four months to preserve the batteries, I always hope that every phone I take out of the drawer will work as well as it did when I put it there last.

However, I was really disappointed when I took out the Xiaomi 3S. After holding the power button, it started booting and, after around half a minute, it crashed and powered off. I was able to repeat this procedure an unlimited amount of times with the same result each time.

After putting it on charge, the phone vibrated and tried to turn itself on, but with the same result as when I turned it on manually.

As it reacted to the charger, I left it on for almost half a day and then tried to boot it again, but with the same result.

I disassembled the back cover to measure the battery. This was quite difficult as it is not supposed to be easily removable or replaceable, but the battery was discharged significantly even after a day on the charger.

I then decided to measure the current on the charging cable and found that it was zero. So, I found the problem: the phone detects the charger plug, but does not charge at all.

I then discovered the trick: I have to plug the micro USB cable into the phone and then gently pull it out by a millimetre. It's not about taking it out, but not letting it slide back in fully. In this position, the phone finally charges and everything works very well.

Now for the decision. Should I try to completely disassemble it, fix or replace the connector and hope I don't destroy anything, or put a sticker on the back of the phone with a description of this charging hack?