1. #1
    melted_focus
    melted_focus is offline
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    Earlier this week, my less than 90 day old Samsung Focus suffered an apparently self-induced meltdown (pics below).

    The problem started when the phone started repeatedly making the sound that you make when you plug it in to charge or sync it. The phone was not plugged in at the time.

    First I unlocked the phone and found that it seemed to be fully functional, but the repeated tone continued - almost as if there was some type of internal short which caused the phone to think it was being plugging and unplugged over and over. I rebooted the phone, thinking that might resolve the issue. After a few seconds up returning to the lock screen, the repeating tone started again.

    I unlocked the phone again and noticed that the battery indicator icon was sort of flickering each time the tone sounded. Hmmm, maybe plugging the phone into the Samsung wall charger will help. Plugging the phone in did stop the repeating tones, but after ~30 seconds I smelled a strong smell that smelled like burning electronics.

    I picked up the phone, realized that was where the smell was coming from, and quickly unplugged it. After doing so, I noticed that the USB/charge port in the phone was melted, as was the male end of the Samsung USB cable.

    I took the phone to my local AT&T corporate store - they had not seen or were aware of a related issue. Since I've had the phone more than 30 days, I was not eligible for an in-store exchange.

    The AT&T rep that I was working with gave me paperwork for the AT&T Device Service Center (DSC) in town, and told me that they'd likely be able to take care of my phone under warranty.

    I went to the AT&T DSC and relayed the above story to them. After speaking with a technician, supervisor, and manager I was told that they had no record or service bulletins related to the issue. As a result, they could not warranty my phone. The manager told me that my phone fell into the "damaged phone" category, which is not covered by the warranty.

    I argued that the damage which occurred to the phone was not due to my negligence (i.e., dropped it in a toilet, ran over it with my truck, etc) , but because I simply plugged it in. To no avail - my Focus was a "damaged phone which was not eligible for warrantly repair or replacement".

    The manager said that I had two options - contact the AT&T warranty department who could "assist" me with a replacement phone, but would charge my account the full, no-contract price or submit an insurance claim with AT&T, pay the deductible, and get a "like-new" replacement phone.

    I am currently awaiting a phone call from a supervisor with the AT&T warranty department, who is to contact me within 24-48 hours.

    This sucks...










    See More: My Samsung Focus phone USB/charge port & cable melted!




  2. #2
    anilelson
    anilelson is offline
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    Re: My Samsung Focus phone USB/charge port & cable melted!

    POTENTIAL SOLUTION: My 2 month old focus started having the same problem. lucky for me, the problem disappeared when I separated the contacts inside the USB charging area on the phone a little bit using a small screw driver. I think it must have been dust or something which caused a short.



  3. #3
    Ryppl
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    Re: My Samsung Focus phone USB/charge port & cable melted!

    I have the same audio symptoms, with the phone thinking it's repeatedly being plugged and unplugged and getting the charging indicator when it's unplugged. Also, the battery gets sucked dry very quickly. I haven't gotten the burned port or cable yet, but have noticed the battery/phone getting very hot sometimes when it's plugged in.

    Please let me/us know what resolution comes from this. Mine is intermittent but started sometime around December 2010. Plugging it in for a while and then removing it sometimes seems to make the problem go away for a while.

    Even with my glasses and a magnifying glass, I can't see wires on the connection. I suspect it is "lands" on a circuit board in the phone, not wires, but there could easily be a solder bridge between them due to bad flow solder quality control. I'm not going to jam a screwdriver in there. I need my phone to work and don't want to risk damaging it.
    Last edited by Ryppl; 06-24-2011 at 08:04 AM. Reason: More details



  4. #4
    Valdito
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    Re: My Samsung phone Focus USB / charge port & cable melted!

    Text automatically translated from: Spanish to: English
    Greetings from Puerto Rico, I just had the same problem with my focus for 3 months and between this forum and reading can detect and resolve the problem appears to be that when you plug the charger a bit rushed or turned the small part that remains into the slot the plug on the FOCUS stick to one edge and begins to make contact, remove the battery first, with a tiny screwdriver, it split a little part that you see attached to one edge and carefully ready, that was the problem, make sure that when you connect the cable to carry the piece enters the space you have the charging cable, Focus bone plug is male and is female cable plug, Thanks and I hope to help, and my Focus is loading and running very well, Good night.



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