Can we talk about the burn marks I keep seeing on micro USB ports?

I've been doing phone repairs out of my garage in Phoenix for about 8 months now, and I swear every other week I get a phone with a burnt up micro USB port. The plastic around the pins gets all melted and black, and the port itself is loose. I think people are using cheap chargers that push too much current or maybe aftermarket cables with bad connectors. I got a Galaxy S9 last Tuesday where the port was so cooked I had to replace the whole charging flex assembly. Has anyone else noticed this getting worse lately? What do you tell customers when they ask why it happened?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannah_perry12d ago

Hold on, I gotta push back a little here. I've been doing repairs too and most of the burnt ports I see are from people using those gas station cables that are super thin and frayed. The charger itself is probably fine, it's the cable that's the problem because it creates resistance and heat. I had a customer swear their Samsung charger was the issue, but I showed them the bare wires poking out of their cheap cable and they got quiet real fast. And a loose port is usually from people yanking the cord out by the wire instead of the plug, that's just basic wear and tear.

the_richard11d ago

Mila_murphy21 called it. I had this buddy who kept blaming his phone for slow charging, but he was using this cable he found in the bottom of his glovebox, it was all twisted up and the coating was peeling off. I finally just swapped it with my spare and his phone charged up fine in half the time. People really don't realize how much damage those cheap gas station cables do, it's like sending a garden hose through a fire hose and wondering why it bursts.

mila_murphy2112d ago

fr fr cheap cables are alwayyys the real culprit not the brick itself