How to fix Galaxy Tab A that won’t charge | not charging

Are you having charging issues on your Galaxy tablet? This troubleshooting article will show you the possible solutions if your Galaxy Tab A won’t charge. We try to be as exhaustive as possible in order to cover as many factors causing this issue. We hope you’ll fix the problem easily with the help of this post.

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How to fix Galaxy Tab A that won’t charge | not charging

If your Galaxy Tab A won’t charge for some reason, you must consider a number of factors to fix it. Learn what steps you need to do to fix the problem.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #1: Charge the tablet

This suggestion may sound silly but really, just make sure to leave the tablet charging for some time. In many cases, Samsung Galaxy devices that appears to power on or not charge have simply run out of juice. If the battery on your Galaxy Tab A may have drained, this may be the reason why it won’t charge. It can sometimes take a few minutes to display the charging indicator screen if the battery has been emptied to a certain level. Leave your tablet charging for some 30 minutes and see what happens.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #2: Check the charging port

One of the possible reasons why your Galaxy Tab A may fail to charge can be a bad charging port. This doesn’t mean a defect is present in the port. There may only be dirt, lint, or foreign object preventing the charging cable from making good contact during charging. To check the port, try using a magnifier to see more clearly inside. If you notice dirt or debris inside, make sure to remove it by using a can of compressed air. Do not stick anything inside to avoid damaging the system.

We don’t want you to do anything more to the charging port other than to check it visually. If you suspect that the charging port may be damaged, or if you see an obvious indication that there’s physical malfunction in the port, make sure to send the phone in so it can be repaired.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #3: Verify if phone has frozen (by doing forced reboot)

All Samsung devices with power issues can benefit from a restart. Even in this extreme case, you don’t want to skip this simple solution. Here’s what you need to do: Press and hold the Volume Down button and the Power key at the same time for 10 seconds or until the device’s screen turns on.

Should that won’t change anything, you can then try these steps:

1. Press and hold the Volume Down button first and don’t release it.
2. While holding it down, press and hold the Power key.
3. Keep both keys held down for 10 seconds or more.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #4: Check the charger accessories

Making sure that the USB cable and adapter you’re using are working is an important first step in fixing this problem. Like the phone itself, charging accessories especially the USB cable can break relatively easily. The cable is composed of thin, tiny wires inside and if a lot of these wires are broken, charging may fail. There may not be enough power being transferred during charging resulting to slow or inefficient charging. If there’s a visible sign of physical damage to the cable or adapter, try to see if it’s working properly by using it to charge another Galaxy Tab A. If that’s not possible, try connecting your device to a computer using that same cable. If it still doesn’t charge, you can bet a bad cable is to blame.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #5: Check for updates

If Galaxy Tab A still won’t charge, be sure that its software and apps are running their latest version. Although Galaxy devices are set to automatically notify you of available software updates, things may be different for apps. Make sure to also check if there are any available updates for app in the Play Store. If both software and apps are already updated at this time, continue with the troubleshooting steps below.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #6: Disconnect SD card

Sometimes, removing an SD card from a Galaxy device helps in fixing this type of issue. Try to reseat the SD card and see what happens afterwards. Here’s how to remove the SD card:

1. From the home screen, tap Settings.
2. Scroll to and tap Storage.
3. Tap DETAIL.
4. Tap SD card.
5. Tap Unmount.
6. Remove the SD card.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #7: Charge via a PC

In some other cases, connecting a non-charging device to a PC can help. Make sure to use the original USB cable when doing this to eliminate the possibility of a bad cable problem. 

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #8: Reset app preferences

Sometimes, charging issues may be fixed by making sure that default apps are enabled. Android apps and services don’t operate on their own. Most needs other apps and default system apps to do their tasks. If one of the default apps are disabled for some reason, there can be a problem. To ensure that all default apps are enabled again, you can do these steps:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
4. Select Reset app preferences.
5. Restart your Galaxy Tab A and check for the problem.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #9: Charge on Safe Mode

If your Galaxy Tab A won’t charge after installing a new app, the next good thing to do is to delete that app, or restart to safe mode. In this mode, only apps that came with the operating system will be allowed to run. All the rest that you’ve added will be blocked so if one of them is causing your tablet to not work, you should know it. Basically, the idea is that since no third party apps are running on safe mode and the tablet turns on, the root cause must be one of them. To boot your device to safe mode:

1. With your Tab A off, press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
2. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
3. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
4. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
5. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
6. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

If your Galaxy Tab A charges normally to safe mode, that means that a third party app is preventing it from turning back on. To identify which of your apps is causing the problem, follow the steps below:

1. Boot to safe mode.
2. Check for the problem.
3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
5. If your Tab A still refuses to power back on, repeat steps 1-4.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #10: Wipe cache partition

If your Galaxy Tab A had a charging issue after installing a system update, the cause may be a bad system cache. To check if that’s the case, try clearing the cache partition. This will prompt the device to rebuild the system cache. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Power key.
3. When the Samsung Galaxy Tab A logo screen displays, release all of the keys.
4. The Android Recovery screen should then show you several options like Reboot system now, Reboot to bootloader, Apply update from ADB, wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache partition, etc. To navigate to any of the options, just use the Volume Up and Down buttons. 
5. Highlight wipe cache partition.
6. Press Power to clear the cache partition.
7. After wiping the cache partition, reboot the device.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #11: Recalibrate battery and OS

Sometimes, Android may lose track of the actual battery levels, which in turn can lead to charging problems. To recalibrate the operating system so that it gets accurate battery level readings, do the following:

1. Drain the battery completely. This means using your device until it powers down by its own and the battery level reads 0%.
2. Charge the phone until it reaches 100%. Be sure to use original charging equipment for your device and let it charge up completely. Do not unplug your device for at least two more hours and also don’t use it while charging.
3. After the elapsed time, unplug your device.
4. Restart the device.
5. Use your phone until it completely runs out of power again.
6. Repeat steps 1-5.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #12: Factory reset

If your Galaxy Tab A still won’t charge at this point, consider wiping its software with factory reset.  This wipes all software settings and return them to their factory state. Factory reset will delete all your apps and personal data so be sure to create a backup ahead of time.

For reference, here are the two ways to factory reset your device:

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Tab A via Settings Menu

This is the easiest way to wipe your Galaxy Tab A. All you have to do is to go under Settings menu and follow the steps below. We recommend this method if you have no trouble going under Settings.

1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.
2. Open Settings app.
3. Scroll to and tap General management.
4. Tap Reset.
5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.
6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.
7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy S10 using hardware buttons

If your case is that the phone is not booting up, or it boots but Settings menu is inaccessible, this method can be helpful. First, you need to boot the device to Recovery Mode. Once you successfully access Recovery, that’s the time that you begin proper master reset procedure. It may take some tries for you before you can access Recovery so be patient and simply try again.

1. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Power key.
3. When the Samsung Galaxy Tab A logo screen displays, release all of the keys.
4. The Android Recovery screen should then show you several options like Reboot system now, Reboot to bootloader, Apply update from ADB, wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache partition, etc. To navigate to any of the options, just use the Volume Up and Down buttons. 
5. Highlight wipe data/factory reset.
6. Press Power to begin factory reset.
7. Follow the rest of the instructions after a factory reset.

Galaxy Tab A won’t charge fix #13: Repair

There are some issues that an end user may not be able to fix. If your Galaxy Tab A still won’t charge after a factory reset, there may be a deeper, hardware issue behind it. Visit your local Samsung store or Service Center to have the device examined and fixed.

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