How To Fix Samsung Galaxy S5 Charging Problems [Troubleshooting Guides]

We’ve received a lot of emails from our readers seeking help as their Galaxy S5 won’t charge or has issues charging. A charging problem is as bad as no power at all. What would you do if your phone’s battery is completely drained?

Sure, you can buy a new battery to power it up but do you want to buy a new one every day? The other option is to buy an external battery charger but then it’s also too much of a hassle to open that back cover and replace the battery every time it’s drained.

Majority of the problems we received related to charging issues were minor; some were caused by apps, others by a glitch in the firmware, and a few were purely hardware-related problems.

1. Galaxy S5 charges very slowly
2. Galaxy S5 charges slow and heats up
3. Galaxy S5 won’t charge at all
4. Galaxy S5 won’t charge in car
5. Galaxy S5 won’t charge after being submerged in water

How To Fix Samsung Galaxy S5 Charging Problems

Galaxy S5 charges very slowly

Problem: My Galaxy S5 is more than a year old already but it still gets the job done. Performance-wise, I really can’t complain about it. As of late, however, I noticed my phone is charging very slow. Like when I leave it plugged in overnight, the battery percentage is around 70% when I wake up in the morning. Before, the battery would be fully charged in the morning. I really don’t understand why it’s doing this now especially that I’ve taken care of it. I am not really into fixing electronic problems but if you can shed light to this problem and guide me how to fix it, that would be great. Thank you. — Kal
Troubleshooting: Hey Kal. It sounds like it’s actually just an app or a group of apps that’s causing this problem especially that you mentioned it started just recently. My question is, have you installed an app prior to this problem? If so, disabling it or uninstalling may fix the slow charging issue. However, if you didn’t install an app, then it’s difficult to know which one actually causes the trouble. So, I suggest, you boot the phone in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party apps.

1. Turn the device OFF
2. Press and hold the Power key.
3. When ‘Samsung Galaxy S5’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

With the Galaxy S5 running in barebones, try plugging it in and see if it charges normally this time. If so, then our suspicion that it’s a third-party app that’s causing the problem is confirmed. You just have to find the app and uninstall it. However, if the problem persists even when in safe mode, you have no other choice but to backup all your data and perform factory reset.

Galaxy S5 charges slow and heats up

Problem: Hello Harold. I have been reading some of your posts on troubleshooting and you explained well how some of the problems I encountered happened. One of the issues I experienced, however, I can’t find any information in your site. My Galaxy S5 is now charging very slowly and not only that, it heats up really bad to the point that I fear it might explode. I would greatly appreciate your effort if you help me fix the problem as it will give me peace of mind.

By the way, if I may add, some of my pictures disappeared almost the same time as when the slow charging and heating up occurred. It just perplexed my mind, you know. Thank you for taking time reading this email. Sincerely, Anne.

Troubleshooting: Hi Anne. Based on the description you provided, it seems to me that the cause of this problem is a corrupt or damaged microSD card.

There are different factors that may lead to the slow charging and the heating up of your phone but when you mentioned that some of your pictures disappeared by the time those two issues started, there’s nothing else I can think of.

When the microSD card becomes corrupted or damaged, naturally, the phone won’t be able to detect or read from it. But since it has been mounted, the device will try to read it over and over again until the service that handles the function will use too much resources including the battery. Consequently, the phone will heat up as the CPU is on hyper drive trying to access a storage device that doesn’t function the way it should.

The quick battery draining issue and the heating up of the phone will be fixed by simply removing the microSD card from the phone. However, the pictures that were lost may not be recovered depending on the condition of the card.

So, unmount the microSD card from your phone, use a card reader and let your laptop or computer read from it. If the computer immediately prompts you to reformat it, then there’s nothing you can do about the data inside. However, if the computer can read from the SD card, then backup everything in it while you still can.

Of course, buying a new microSD card is your best bet.

Galaxy S5 won’t charge at all

Problem: Hi team. I am hoping you guys can help me fix the problem with my Galaxy S5. Its battery got depleted so fast yesterday but when I tried plugging it in to charge, it didn’t charge at all. Being just a user, I really don’t know what to do next to fix this problem. In fact, I haven’t done anything with the phone yet. I tried to search online for solutions and I found your site and the email to contact you, so here I am awaiting your response. Can you guide me what to do to fix the problem? — Mariko

Troubleshooting: Hello Mariko! Since you haven’t done any troubleshooting procedure yet, there’s one thing I want you to do first–soft reset. Don’t worry, this procedure will not delete any of the data in your phone.

1. While the phone is on, open the back cover and pull the battery out.
2. Without its battery, press and hold the Power key for a minute.
3. Now place the battery back in and the back cover.
4. Try to charge the phone.

If the phone charges, then problem solved, otherwise, troubleshoot further. Now, let’s talk about other possibilities here:

1. Damaged charger or cable.
2. Busted battery.
3. Phone hardware problem.

If possible, try using a different charger and if the problem persists, then the issue is narrowed down to just the battery or the phone. It is up to you if you will buy or borrow a new battery but I tell you, there’s no guarantee it’s a battery issue. So, I suggest you let a technician take a look at your phone. It’s up to the tech to try a different battery or troubleshoot the hardware immediately.

Galaxy S5 won’t charge in car

Problem: Hi droid guy. The new Galaxy S5 I have doesn’t want to charge in my car but it charges fine using the original charger. I bought a new car charger thinking the older one is defective but the new charger won’t work either. It’s not really a big problem as I can charge my phone through the wall outlet but it would be helpful if I can charge my phone in my car. Help me, please. — James

Troubleshooting: Hey James. Basing on your description, I think the problem is with the cable. The phone doesn’t have any charging issues as it charges fine using the original charger and the new car charger you bought is, of course, not defective considering the fact it’s tested before being released from a retail store.

If you were using the same cable, then that’s where the problem lies. Otherwise, the issue is with the car or the port where you plug the car charger in.

Galaxy S5 won’t charge after being submerged in water

Problem: I accidentally dropped my Galaxy S5 in the sink filled with water one day but I immediately picked it up. It was turned off when I inspected it and I was suspecting water found its way into the device. I tried to dry it off for a few minutes, wiped it off with a dry cloth and then turned it on. It did turn on and it functioned the way it should. On that same day, the battery got drained so I plugged it in but it wouldn’t charge. Whatever I do, it won’t charge.

Another thing I noticed is that the battery actually drained so fast. When I turned it on after it fell in the water, the battery was 87% but it got drained completely after two hours with minimal use. So, I’m a bit worried now. How can a water-proof phone gets damaged by water? What can I do to fix this? — Sheng

Troubleshooting: Hello Sheng! The Galaxy S5 is “water-resistant,” not “waterproof.” Meaning, water can still find it’s way into the device especially if the rubber that seals the charging port is loose and the cover is not properly snapped.

So, based on your description, I, too, think water entered the device and somehow messed with the components and the circuit. That might be the reason why the battery drained faster than before.

The thing with water damage is that we really cannot assess properly the extent of the damage but there’s one component that can easily be damaged–the charging IC. And that seems to be the problem here.

There’s nothing you can do about this problem but to let the technician take a look at your device. One more thing, water damage isn’t covered by warranty so, you cannot request a replacement unit and you’ll have to pay for the service.

Having problems with your phone that’s not charging?

We can help you troubleshoot. We already published troubleshooting guides for the following devices:

• Samsung Galaxy S2
• Samsung Galaxy S3
• Samsung Galaxy S4
• Samsung Galaxy S5
• Samsung Galaxy S6
• Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
• Samsung Galaxy Note 2
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4