Samsung Galaxy S21 Overheated and Fumes from Charging Port

tallguyinoz on 25/09/2022 - 15:03
Last edited 06/10/2022 - 08:12 by 1 other user

Hi, yesterday my wife’s S21 overheated big time and I saw fumes emerge from the charging port. I unplugged it straight away and noticed that it also melted the USB charging cable (on the charging side).
Now the phone does not turn on any more.
I bought it 11 months back so it is still under warranty.
What is my best course of action - take it back to JB or contact/deal with Samsung myself?
Appreciate your suggestions.

Update - Samsung asked to bring my phone in to the nearest Samsung Centre for ‘inspection by a technician’ which I did. Next day I got a text to call them back about the phone. I was told that the “pin in the USB charging port was bent which was causing the fumes and heating and causing the phone to not charge. This is not covered by warranty and repair costs $270. Although as a good will gesture we will repair it for free, if I accept.”
I accepted the offer and requested an explanation since I was not convinced of what I heard. I got another text in a couple of days advising my phone was ready for collection.

When I picked up my phone and asked for an explanation the person looked at the repair notes and said, “the motherboard, SIM tray and ‘sub’ (not sure what part that is) were replaced”!

I don’t know if I’m right I’m thinking something fishy is going on here.

I hope I can keep using the phone without any worry of it smoking up again… or worse blowing up!

Mobile Mobile Phone Samsung Android

Comments

  • HairyChickens on 25/09/2022 - 15:09
    +1

    Was the charger and cable original or third party? Also, have you had the battery replaced, although I doubt considering its 11 months old?

    • tallguyinoz on 25/09/2022 - 15:12

      3rd party and still has the original battery

      • Hybroid on 25/09/2022 - 15:23
        +8

        Well there you go. Most likely a cheaply made cable that developed an issue or not insulated internally properly & overheated or shorted etc.

        It's not really a warranty issue then. Not JB nor Samsung's fault.

        You might want to go to a phone repair stall and see if they can replace the charging port and bring it back to life.

        • HairyChickens on 25/09/2022 - 15:47
          +2

          I mean no harm in trying to claim this under warranty OP might get lucky but the culprit is definitely using a dodgy third-party cable. Hopefully, a charging port and/or battery replacement will fix it and nothing got fried on the motherboard.

          Otherwise, you will need to find some competent old mate that can do board-level repairs.

          • tallguyinoz on 25/09/2022 - 17:11
            +2

            @HairyChickens: If it helps, thw cable was an Energizer USB A to C from Coles. Paid $20+ bucks for it.
            The phone is quite expensive so wanted to make sure we get a good quality charging cable to charge it with.

            • JoeBogan on 25/09/2022 - 17:12

              @tallguyinoz: What charger was it?

              • tallguyinoz on 26/09/2022 - 06:49

                @JoeBogan: I use the USB charging port on the IKEA power board. Again, I do believe it is one of the better quality power boards out there.

                Update - I contacted Samsung about this and they have raised a case with a ‘specific team that can only be reached online’ (when I mentioned I am happy to take the phone in to my closest Samsung Service Center).
                They kept insisting on getting the Model and Serial number of my phone, which I could not get since it does not turn on any more (I also checked the Samsung account under devices but couldn’t find it there either - any ideas where I can get this information?). I provided the IMEI since it was printed on the back of the phone but the rep kept saying he could not locate it on their system .. they’ve raised a case nonetheless and have advised they’ll be in touch in 24-48 hours.

            • HairyChickens on 25/09/2022 - 17:59

              @tallguyinoz: How about the charging brick/AC adapter? The thing you plug into the wall

              If everything is reputable than its probs the fault of the phone.

            • freefall101 on 25/09/2022 - 18:12
              +2

              @tallguyinoz: Not that it helps much now, but the markup on cables at Coles is massive and the price isn't indicative of quality. Best to use the cable that came with the phone or pay a lot of attention to the specs of the charger, the phone and the cable to make sure they match.

              As far as I can tell from what little info is available online, Energizer ones are only rated to 2.4 amps, which doesn't really make it fit for purpose for charging a modern phone. If you used a cheapo charger with it, it might not be recognising how much power it should be pushing across the 5V line and went with 3 amps maybe?

              • HairyChickens on 25/09/2022 - 19:36

                @freefall101: I reckon energizer cables should be fine. Their Apple ones are MFi certified. Interested in what brick is being used.

                • freefall101 on 25/09/2022 - 23:13

                  @HairyChickens: Energizer likely don't make the cables, just import them from China like everyone else. They're not exactly big in the cable business, it would just be giving Coles a high margin product with a brand everyone knows in the store.

                  But as I said, it's rated for 2.4A, which means a thin gauge. Then it comes down to simple physics, thinner wire, higher resistance, generates more heat, more likely something can go wrong. If the whole handshake process between charger/phone/cable went wrong and the charger tried pushing 15W (or even 25W, which is a high end samsung charger rate) I could easily see it melting something and causing a short.

                  That's not a problem with the cable, simple the wrong cable for the job.

                  • HairyChickens on 25/09/2022 - 23:30

                    @freefall101: Huh so if you had a reputable cable rated 2.4A and a reputable brick would it still push 3A?

                    • freefall101 on 26/09/2022 - 00:13

                      @HairyChickens: Reading a bit more about it I was way off sorry, it shouldn't. For a cable less than 3A it shouldn't have an E-marker chip in it so the phone and the charger should both agree that it will limit to the base USB 3.0 spec, which is 2.4A (900mAh on the normal line, 1.5A on the dedicated power line added with USB 3.0). I thought it meant that it would push 3A regardless, but that seems a pretty problematic thing to do.

                      Seems unlikely the charger would screw that up, so probably a short somewhere.

            • numloxx on 26/09/2022 - 08:59

              @tallguyinoz: Avoid them like the plague.

  • KaTst3R on 25/09/2022 - 15:20
    +1

    i find JB to be easier to communicate with and generally great customer service. So go through them for the repair.

  • Wafflel on 25/09/2022 - 15:23
    +5

    It wasn't a heymix charger by chance, was it…?

  • garetz on 25/09/2022 - 15:59
    +2

    Deal with the retailer, after all it is still under warranty.

  • Kaz0551 on 25/09/2022 - 16:09
    +10

    As the newer phones don't come with a charger, they can't enforce a 'third party charger so not our problem' right?

    • numloxx on 26/09/2022 - 08:59

      You can still buy a genuine Samsung charger.

  • silenthillrocks on 25/09/2022 - 16:55
    -2

    Typical overheating for Exynos

    • Exec-Matrix on 26/09/2022 - 07:30
      -1

      Was waiting for this comment… Usual NPCs can't help themselves

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 25/09/2022 - 20:05

    Samsung genuine chargers are usually a decent price.

    • terrys on 26/09/2022 - 08:49
      +3

      Maybe - but if they sell the phone on the " get your own charger" basis, they can hardly complain when you get your own charger…

      • BewareOfThe Dog on 26/09/2022 - 11:33
        +1

        Thank Apple for making this a trend, to save on 'green waste' and costs.
        Disclaimer- Yet Apple still use Lightning?

  • frodoballbaggins on 26/09/2022 - 09:24
    +2

    I had the pins burn out of a blitzwolf USB C cable, luckily it only damaged the cable plug & not the phone itself. You can look into the plug with a magnifying glass & see if the pins are missing/damaged

  • iLOLZ on 26/09/2022 - 11:17
    +1

    Try use a wireless charger if you have one, this will bypass the bottom charging daughter board.
    In terms of repair/warranty you get 2 years of warranty with Samsung, this shouldn’t be an issue just omit details and say “not sure why”
    Try to get a set of original samsung 25w adapter and use the cable in the box once its fixed.

  • iLOLZ on 26/09/2022 - 11:20
    +1

    Also what I’ve realised from fixing these, when you put the cable in, if theres like a ‘crisp’ noise it means one of the pins is bent and touching another.

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