How to fix Galaxy J7 Prime that won’t charge properly, or battery level is erratic
Hello Android community! Today, we bring you another post that addresses common issues for one of Samsung’s most popular phones, the Galaxy J7 (#GalaxyJ7). We hope you’ll find this post helpful.
Problem #1: How to fix Galaxy J7 Prime that won’t charge properly, or battery level is erratic
My Samsung Galaxy J7 prime does this weird thing that has been happening for a couple weeks. It doesn’t show that it is charging but the battery percentage increases, but very slowly. For the past couple of days it hasn’t been charging at all. When it dies completely it doesn’t turn on. Magically somehow it says when i put it on the charger that it charges, but still wont let me turn it on. sometimes doesn’t even say its charging. When i’m finally able to turn it on it either has charged around 50% or didn’t charge at all and is at 2%. I’m most likely going to but a replacement battery but i don’t know if that will fix my problem because the battery charges just only sometimes.
Solution: The problem is most probably caused by bad battery. Before you replace it, we suggest that you try to recalibrate Android and the battery to see if the issue is due to a software bug only.
Battery calibration
Calibration of Android and battery is usually effective in fixing power issues if the operating system has simply lost track of the battery levels. This usually happens if the device has been working for a long time. To recalibrate the OS and battery, follow the steps below:
- Drain the battery completely. This means using your device until it powers down by its own and the battery level reads 0%.
- 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.
- After the elapsed time, unplug your device.
- Restart the device.
- Use your phone until it completely runs out of power again.
- Repeat steps 1-5.
Factory reset
In this situation, it’s also highly recommended that you try a factory reset before getting a new battery to see if there’s any software issue behind the random charging or not booting issue. Make sure to back your files up before you factory reset to prevent losing data.
To factory reset your J7:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
- Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
- Press Power button to select.
- Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
- Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
- When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.
- Let the phone run for 24 hours without adding any apps.
Problem #2: Galaxy J7 stopped turning on after it got wet
So, my son spilled some perfume on my wife’s Galaxy J7 about 2-3 months ago. We did the whole drying out things for days; removed the battery, SIM card, Micro SD card and essentially left it bare bones for about 3-4 days. At this point , we tried to hook it back and charge it but nothing. No blinking lights, flashing screen, no error message….. it just does not turn on. We’ve already purchased a new phone but, I was just wondering if this phone were salvageable at all. Any insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Solution: If the phone was working normally before it got wet, then the phone must have encountered a hardware error, or its hardware was permanently damaged. Try using another known working J7 battery and see if the phone turns back on. If it doesn’t, the liquid must have damaged the motherboard. Let a professional check the hardware to see if it can be fixed or not.
Problem #3: Galaxy J7 stops turning on after installing Android Oreo update
I have a J7 updated to Oreo over one month ago without issues. It has been used intensively for 2.5 years. Today while browsing on Samsung internet it locked up and became unresponsive, various artists to reboot failed and eventually I managed to wipe the cached and factory reset, but there were error messages on the boot menu. Since factory reset it has gone completely dead, no response to any button combination and no light when charging, but wireless charger shows that the phone is taking a charge and I’ve had it plugged in to it’s original charger for an hour. My suspicion is that it has suffered a hardware failure, is there anything else I could try?
Solution: Unfortunately, there’s very little that you can do in this situation. Obviously, you can’t perform software troubleshooting when the phone is off so you’re limited to doing basic things like using another set of charging accessories (in case the issue is caused by bad charging cable or adapter), checking the charging port, and using or replacing the battery. If you’ve already tried all of them before contacting us, then yes, there must be an issue with the hardware. To fix it, you must let a technician check the device so they can advise you if it can be repaired or not.
Problem #4: What to do if Galaxy J7 is overheating and won’t turn on
(I’ve tried posting this on your comment boards, but I get a message about “being behind a proxy” – I know the word, but that’s about it – as far as I know, I don’t use such a thing). When plugged in to power, my J7 gets extremely hot but never charges – or at least it won’t turn on. It was supposed to be “brand new” (and it appears to be) but was opened to “update software.” Everything worked fine for the first 2 or 3 weeks “out of the box”. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth putting money into it.
Solution: A brand new J7 should not experience charging problems 2 or 3 weeks out of the box. It’s most likely a defective pre-owned device so it’s probably a good idea to get rid of the phone in the long run.
A smartphone that won’t charge does not always mean that it’s because it has bad hardware. Sometimes, software bug can also lead to the same problem so if you’ve already tried using another set of charging cable and adapter and check the charging port, we suggest that you try a factory reset. This of course depends whether or not you are able to boot the device to Recovery Mode. If you can, follow the steps above on how to factory reset your J7.
If factory reset won’t change anything, you can also try to replace the battery. If that won’t fix the issue either, then assume that your phone’s hardware is defective.