When you charge your phone, it is supposed to increase the battery percentage. If you find it is reducing instead, then you could be asking: why is my phone battery decreasing when charging? This is a very frustrating problem to experience in a phone, and some people find themselves tempted to smash the phone.
There are several possible reasons why this could be happening. Usually, it means that your phone is detecting a cable plugged in but no power is being sent to the phone battery. Or, perhaps the phone battery is rejecting the battery charge. The reasons could range anywhere from a charger problem, to a charging port problem or even a bad phone.
Sub board / Charging port damage
The most serious reason why your battery runs down while charging could be that the sub-board is bad. The charging port is connected to the sub-board, so charging issues like overcharging, overheating, voltage fluctuation can cause damage to the sub-board.
A bad subboard (charging port) can also sometimes result from liquid damage especially when the liquid gets under the LCD screen. If this is the reason your phone battery is decreasing while charging, the right thing to do is take it to a mobile phone technician for repair.
Depending on the cause of the damage, it might be repaired or completely replaced. The sub-board can be expensive to replace if the phone is no longer covered by warranty or any insurance product, but it is important that you are replacing it with a genuine product.
Phone is overheating
If your phone is already overheating, you may find the battery decreasing while you are charging it. An overheated device cannot accept much battery charge, and the phone could end up not charging at all or the battery will be reduced instead.
Turn off the phone first, and let it cool down before you start charging it. This should solve it, if it is an overheating problem.
It can be caused by bad charger / cable
Sometimes, using the wrong charger and cable can be responsible for your phone battery decreasing while you are charging it. Usually, this should stop once you revert to the recommended cable and charger. You can check to confirm if you are using the recommended charger from the manufacturer.
Maybe you went on a trip and had to use a random charger to power your device. If you do this regularly, it can cause the phone battery to be decreasing when you are charging it. If the charger is producing more energy than the battery needs, it is bad for your phone.
As a preventive measure, ensure that you only use recommended chargers for your Android phone. If you have to use any other charger, ensure that they have the same capacity. There is a reason why the manufacturer recommends a particular charger for every device. A charger/adapter with a higher voltage can damage it, and so can a charger with lower voltage.
Wall outlet is bad
This option is not a very common reason why the phone battery is decreasing while charging. But, it should be the first thing that comes to mind. It is quite easy to test for this. All you need do is to plug the charger into a different wall socket and see if the battery starts increasing. If it works, you are good to go. But if not, you can check other options to find out what is wrong.
Using a computer USB port
Computer USB ports usually do not produce enough charge to match the needs of the phone battery. If you are charging from a USB port and also operating some battery draining applications like games and Google sync, then you may experience your battery decreasing while you are charging.
To fix this, charge the phone from a normal socket or outlet. Also, try to turn off all applications while it is charging and see if the battery percentage starts increasing. If this does not resolve it, then some other reasons could be responsible.
An application is draining your battery
Sometimes, you could be operating your phone and some services will turn off due to low power. Usually, these applications and services turn themselves on once the phone is connected to power. When this happens, it can cause your battery to decrease while charging it. Also things like sync or software download and updates which were paused due to low battery, can start running once there is power.
If this is the cause, your battery should start increasing as soon as these applications are turned off, or as soon as they finish updating. Try to turn off the GPS and 4G services as well. If these do not work, turn off the phone completely and see if the battery starts increasing.
What to do to fix phone battery decreasing when charging?
Aside from trying different charger cables, adapters and sockets, there are hardly any DIY steps you can take to fix this problem by yourself at home. Since you are not a phone repair expert, it is advisable to take the phone to a professional phone repair shop.
Carlcare is the official after-sales service provider for Tecno, Infinix, Itel and Syinix phones. You can visit a Carlcare centre near you if you use any of these phone models. Carlcare has hundreds of service centers in different countries, and there is likely going to be one very close to you.
Conclusion
There are steps to maximize your phone battery life. Try to implement such steps occasionally to boost your phone battery life. Once in a month, you can let your phone run down completely, then switch it off and charge it up fully. Adopt other best practices when charging your phone. Keep your phone away from overheating and try to keep the battery above 50% as much as possible.
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