Galaxy S3 Mini not charging

[Anonymous]

I have recently acquired a new Galaxy S3 Mini. Our car chargers (we tried 2) and Power Monkey charger both fail to be recognised by the phone, so I am only able to charge it using the mains cable (or via the USB connector to the computer). Not being able to re charge a phone that needs to be charged daily, on the move, is obviously very inconvenient. O2 customer help on the website said I ought to check with another car charger but the charger and Power Monkey both charge my husband's new Galaxy S3. Why would the Mini be different? Their only other advice was to take it to a store to be checked. Has anyone else with an S3 Mini had this problem?

[jonsie]

The fact that it charges via the USB to PC points to the problem being with incompatible charges. Do you have a USB mains plug you can try? Many devices such as Kindle, bluetooth, cameras etc supply them when purchased. Perhaps you could try one of those.

Alternatively incar chargers are available for little money on Amazon.

[Anonymous]

What worries me is, I've tried 2 in car chargers - how would I know which one to buy that might work? And why would the in car chargers we have be compatible with an S3, but not an S3 mini? They use the same mains charger. I'm also very annoyed that my Power Monkey is apparently incompatible, it's supposed to charge anything, that's why I bought it.

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

Genuine Samsung chargers have a specific configuration for the charge socket so the phone can recognise if it is connected to a charger or to a computer. However, there is no reason why the phone shouldn't go into charge mode when connected to any suitable power supply unless the phone was faulty or there was some debris/fluff in the charge socket.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, that's what we thought, but we wondered whether anyone else had the same problem or had found some solution. It's illogical that these chargers work with one new Samsung phone but not the other. I am going to have to take it to the O2 shop and get them to look at it. What a nuisance.

[MI5]

It's not a problem that I've heard of specifically to the S3 Mini. In some instances of non charging, removing and replacing the battery can help (poor battery contact), maybe worth a try but seems unlikely in your case.

[Anonymous]

Latest on this - the phone went completely flat and switched itself off whilst plugged in to the Power Monkey (my husband had suggested just leaving it plugged in for a while, because his phone failed to indicate straight away that it was charging off the mains, but when he left it and went back to it, it was indicating a charge). Once the phone was OFF, it started to charge. So the Power Monkey will not charge the phone when it is on, but it will charge if it is turned off. I will now try the same thing with the car charger!!

[Anonymous]

I have also had this problem with my Samsung S3 mini. It charges fine using the power adaptor that came with it and also using a USB lead to the computer. However, it does not recognise the in-car charger that I have that I used to use with my Samsung Galaxy Ace. Not sure what to do about it other than try to find a specific Samsung in-car charger ...

[MI5]

It's most likey the output from the car charger is insufficient to charge the phone when turned on. You will need to seek out a charger capable of delivering at least a REGULATED 1 amp.

[jonsie]

That sounds logical to me. There are a lot of incar chargers that only have an output of 0.3-0.5 amps.