This guide will teach you what to do when your Samsung Galaxy S5 won’t charge or turn on. As a former Galaxy S5 owner, I too was faced with the ever annoying slow charge or sometimes my S5 just didn’t charge at all. Now, I will tell you about all the possible ways to deal with a slow charging Galaxy S5, a Galaxy S5 that won’t charge or a Galaxy S5 that won’t turn on and everything else in between. Before you move on, if it is that you are experiencing fast draining battery life then this article is more suited towards your needs. If your device just won’t charge, then continue reading.
Things you should know about charging the Galaxy S5
Don’t charge your S5 near water or in excessively hot or humid conditions. Also, do not overcharge your S5; charging overnight when your battery only needs two or three hours is a bad idea, and leads to a battery exploding or damaging your S5. Your device has a cut-off switch for your battery, but sometimes this doesn’t work. Always make sure that you charge your phone for no more than the amount of time required. If you’re replacing your Galaxy S5 charger or cable, be careful: there are many cheap third-party chargers that went bang in the middle of the night or turned smartphones into toast. As with any electrical equipment, make sure that anything you buy complies with all the relevant safety standards. A super cheap eBay offering from an obscure Chinese supplier doesn’t necessarily sound like a good deal regardless of the price.
Possible solutions to fix a Samsung Galaxy S5 that won’t charge:
Use Correct S5 charger
Make sure that you are using the Samsung charger and cable that came with the S5. Other chargers may have different voltage ratings and they won’t always work with the S5. Leave the device plugged in for about 30 minutes before you try to turn it on. Sometimes your battery can be so depleted that it may take a while to start charging. Believe it or not, you need to leave the device plugged in for a while in order to ensure that it is really not charging. If after the thirty minutes, it still won’t charge up then move on to the next steps.
Also, if your charger doesn’t seem to be delivering the right charge frequency, check that it’s the right one. A charger from another device might not deliver the right amount of power— for example, a charger for a Bluetooth headset won’t put out as much power as one designed specifically for smartphones. In the case of recent high-end phones, you might have a phone that supports fast charging but a charger that doesn’t deliver it.
Use a new wall socket
Change the wall socket and use the cable and charger on a different device to make sure there are no faults with the charging apparatus. Try a different charger and cable with the same rating. This is one way to ensure that the problem is not actually your Samsung Galaxy S5.
Note: Charging from a wall socket will always charge faster than via PC or laptop, because computer’s’ USB ports don’t deliver very much power. A wall socket can deliver twice as much power than a USB port can, and in the case of fast chargers it can deliver as much as five times the power — which means much, much faster recharging.
Charge your Galaxy S5 via USB/PC
Try plugging the S5 into a USB port on your PC or laptop. Although, it will charge much more slowly using the USB port than from the charger plugged into the wall. If it does charge from the PC, then there is something wrong with your charger’s adapter or head. You may need to replace this. You can find one on all major online retail stores or in any electronics department.
Check the S5 Charging port
Inspect the Galaxy S5 charging port, the charging port ends up choked with many things after being chucked in a handbag or pocket. A can of compressed air can blow out the offending irritants and get your USB connection back to normal. If you don’t have access to canned air, then you can try blowing (not spitting) into the charging port. A quick clean can help remove dust and other particles from the Galaxy S5 charging port. Use a toothpick and maneuver through the creaks and cracks carefully to remove any unwanted build up.
Galaxy S5 DIY USB port fix
One of the quickest, easiest, and often most successful solution, is to do a little DIY repair on the hardware of you Galaxy S5. The problem is often that the metallic surfaces inside the USB port and the microUSB charger are not making proper contact, either through a manufacturing defect or because of the continual plugging and unplugging of the charging cable caused the connection to be severed. You need to do is shut down your device,
- Remove the battery (if possible) and use something small, like a toothpick, to ‘lever up’ the little tab inside the USB port on your Galaxy S5.
- Do so very carefully and gently, then reinsert your battery (if you had to remove) and plug it in again. Nine times out of 10 this is all that is required.
Update or rollback the OS on your S5
Software updates and new Android versions can play havoc with your battery life, especially when upgrading an old device to current software. Newer devices are often optimized to take advantage of the latest software, packing bigger batteries and pre-optimized hardware, whereas your two-year-old device can struggle when it makes the jump from behind the pack. If this happens to you, consider rolling the device back to an earlier Android version, though be warned that this carries security risks. (The latest software versions are always recommended to keep your device protected, and while the risk of keeping your smartphone on an older version is often negligible, it’s worth noting.) Similarly, sometimes device battery life can be significantly improved thanks to an update, as seen with the Moto 360 smartwatch, so if you think you might be way behind on your Android software version, head to the ‘about device’ page in your settings and check for an update.
Switch off your S5
Using battery intensive apps/features while you are charging your device will affect how fast it gains battery life. If you are charging while Skyping somebody at full screen brightness, the device will naturally take longer to charge than if it is locked with Wi-Fi and 4G turned off. Switch the device into airplane mode, or off completely, when you are charging if you want to see the fastest energy boost. If it still isn’t working, then you may have a dead battery or a broken charging port. Contact your retailer, carrier, or Samsung and find out what your options are. If you’re out of warranty then you can try buying a replacement battery, or even replace the charging port yourself.
(If you don’t know what you are doing, then it is probably best to take the device to a professional and have them perform the repairs for you). The battery isn’t removable by normal means so it is wise to take it to a tech shop. Thanks for reading this how to fix a Samsung Galaxy S5 that won’t charge tutorial. If you found the information useful then please share it with your friends so that they too can optimize their Samsung Galaxy S5 battery life and charging problems.
A tally my phone if turned on while harming or plugged in to the charger will drain power from my device rather than charge
A tally my phone if turned on while harming or plugged in to the charger will drain power from my device rather than charge
Clean charging unit with dry tooth brush that worked for me…
Great. When your Galaxy S5 won’t charge, clean it out with a toothbrush! Be sure that the toothbrush is dry to avoid causing any water damage to your Galaxy S5.
Clean charging unit with dry tooth brush that worked for me…
Great. When your Galaxy S5 won’t charge, clean it out with a toothbrush! Be sure that the toothbrush is dry to avoid causing any water damage to your Galaxy S5.
You sir, are a steely eyed missile man!
“Remove the battery (if possible) and use something small, like a toothpick, to ‘lever up’ the little tab inside the USB port on your Galaxy S5.
Do so very carefully and gently, then reinsert your battery (if you had to remove) and plug it in again. Nine times out of 10 this is all that is required.”
…it worked, and I am back on the road. Many thanks!
You sir, are a steely eyed missile man!
“Remove the battery (if possible) and use something small, like a toothpick, to ‘lever up’ the little tab inside the USB port on your Galaxy S5.
Do so very carefully and gently, then reinsert your battery (if you had to remove) and plug it in again. Nine times out of 10 this is all that is required.”
…it worked, and I am back on the road. Many thanks!
Well I tried everything to troubleshoot and it’s still doing the same thing. I can’t do an update bc my phone was with Verizon and I switched carriers. When my phone isn’t even charging it tells me that the charger isn’t compatible and to use the original and when I am trying to charge it there’s a red x on the battery pic in the corner. Please help bc I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want to reset it to factory default and I can’t afford to replace it with another one. It’s also not under warranty anymore since I’ve had it since 2013.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 red ‘x’ charging indicator usually signifies that you are not using an official charger. Have you tried charging it from a laptop? Have you cleared/cleaned the charging port? I suppose you have :(
In this case of strange battery behavior on your Galaxy S5, it may indicate a problem with the charging port, power circuits, or the battery itself.
Do you have access to someone else’s Galaxy S5? Try their battery in your S5 and see if that resolves the issue. Also, try to charge your battery in their phone.
Does your Galaxy S5 battery charge while in their phone? Then, the problem most likely is your charging port or circuit board.
Does their S5 battery charge while inside your phone? Then, the problem lies in your battery.
However, if in both instances, your battery charges and their battery charges then this is indeed a strange case.
Thanks for your comment Janet. I do hope that you resolve your Galaxy S5 charging issues. Also, feel free to check out our how to improve your Samsung Galaxy S5 battery life tutorial.
Well I tried everything to troubleshoot and it’s still doing the same thing. I can’t do an update bc my phone was with Verizon and I switched carriers. When my phone isn’t even charging it tells me that the charger isn’t compatible and to use the original and when I am trying to charge it there’s a red x on the battery pic in the corner. Please help bc I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want to reset it to factory default and I can’t afford to replace it with another one. It’s also not under warranty anymore since I’ve had it since 2013.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 red ‘x’ charging indicator usually signifies that you are not using an official charger. Have you tried charging it from a laptop? Have you cleared/cleaned the charging port? I suppose you have :(
In this case of strange battery behavior on your Galaxy S5, it may indicate a problem with the charging port, power circuits, or the battery itself.
Do you have access to someone else’s Galaxy S5? Try their battery in your S5 and see if that resolves the issue. Also, try to charge your battery in their phone.
Does your Galaxy S5 battery charge while in their phone? Then, the problem most likely is your charging port or circuit board.
Does their S5 battery charge while inside your phone? Then, the problem lies in your battery.
However, if in both instances, your battery charges and their battery charges then this is indeed a strange case.
Thanks for your comment Janet. I do hope that you resolve your Galaxy S5 charging issues. Also, feel free to check out our how to improve your Samsung Galaxy S5 battery life tutorial.
If your galaxy s5 still does not charge check your charging port and make sure that your prongs are not bent back because mine would not charge and I checked it and that was my problem and then it started charging
If your galaxy s5 still does not charge check your charging port and make sure that your prongs are not bent back because mine would not charge and I checked it and that was my problem and then it started charging
Tee USB port fix suggestion saved me. I needed my phone today and you got me up and running. I used a paperclip to pry up the tab in the port….. back in busines. Thanks
Tee USB port fix suggestion saved me. I needed my phone today and you got me up and running. I used a paperclip to pry up the tab in the port….. back in busines. Thanks
What if when plugging in the charge you get a yellow hazard sign on the the battery icon and the phone won’t charged, but it will come on then cut right back off while plug to the charger
What if when plugging in the charge you get a yellow hazard sign on the the battery icon and the phone won’t charged, but it will come on then cut right back off while plug to the charger
Checked the port, all clean. It just stopped charging. I swapped batteries, and gave me the same thing when powered off: Grey battery icon with white lightning bolt.
Any ideas?
Checked the port, all clean. It just stopped charging. I swapped batteries, and gave me the same thing when powered off: Grey battery icon with white lightning bolt.
Any ideas?
had no issues charging my phone with a samsung charger and a 3rd party one. plugged in this morning and it wouldnt charge with the samsung. checked to make sure everything was plugged in. blew into the charger port just in case. then it would plug in but i would get “not compatible” with my samsung charger.
I got my second 3rd party one that works just fine and has(i use it in the car). So now this one does the same but occasionally flicks to charging for about a second. Now the charger port is constantlyflipping between charging(for a second), not compatible and not charging. All while its sitting in one spot, not moving.
First time i tried restarting it, in case that was an iddue, it went into boot mode and sat there with the “downloading… do not turn off target device”. thinking oh crap, im gonna accidently wipe this thing while sitting on 1% power, i had the 3rd party cable plugged into it. Could not get off that screen so i took the battery out 5 minutes later. When i put it back in it was at 8% power. So it charged some while sitting on that screen. Then after booting it up trying to get it to charge again it when back down to 1%. i plugged it in again and then it kept rebooting about 5 times. assuming because power on the cable kept flickering. I dont know.
blew in it as much as i could and then tried cleaning the contacts with some alcohol to get any crap out. Its constantly flicking between not charging, not compatible and occasionally charging.
galaxy s5 and was fine yesterday before i plugged it in this morning. I dont know if the samsung charger cord got wet at all and that was an ssue when i first plugged it in, but i dont know what going on.
i have 2 spare batteries but thise are dead so i dont know what good thats going to do.
had no issues charging my phone with a samsung charger and a 3rd party one. plugged in this morning and it wouldnt charge with the samsung. checked to make sure everything was plugged in. blew into the charger port just in case. then it would plug in but i would get “not compatible” with my samsung charger.
I got my second 3rd party one that works just fine and has(i use it in the car). So now this one does the same but occasionally flicks to charging for about a second. Now the charger port is constantlyflipping between charging(for a second), not compatible and not charging. All while its sitting in one spot, not moving.
First time i tried restarting it, in case that was an iddue, it went into boot mode and sat there with the “downloading… do not turn off target device”. thinking oh crap, im gonna accidently wipe this thing while sitting on 1% power, i had the 3rd party cable plugged into it. Could not get off that screen so i took the battery out 5 minutes later. When i put it back in it was at 8% power. So it charged some while sitting on that screen. Then after booting it up trying to get it to charge again it when back down to 1%. i plugged it in again and then it kept rebooting about 5 times. assuming because power on the cable kept flickering. I dont know.
blew in it as much as i could and then tried cleaning the contacts with some alcohol to get any crap out. Its constantly flicking between not charging, not compatible and occasionally charging.
galaxy s5 and was fine yesterday before i plugged it in this morning. I dont know if the samsung charger cord got wet at all and that was an ssue when i first plugged it in, but i dont know what going on.
i have 2 spare batteries but thise are dead so i dont know what good thats going to do.
Thank you very much for your help.my phone was not charging,tried your method and it worked.I can’t thank you enough.
Thank you very much for your help.my phone was not charging,tried your method and it worked.I can’t thank you enough.