Hi there,
I need help. Since two days now my FP3+ is not charging correctly anymore. It was connected to the cable all night and is only charged by 33%. Thatās pretty annoying. Whatās wrong here? Any help is highly appreciated!
Kind regards
winnewoerp
Hi
Slow charging is a consequence of the charger and phone not communicating properly.
There can be a number of reasons and the above posts and other topics may help you decide how to proceed.
The most common causes are dirty port on the phone, not easy to see or clean.
Will find a link
The second possibility is the cable. Fully compliant USB C cables are diagonally symmetrical so that it āshouldnātā matter which way that end is inserted.
If the wiring or contacts are damaged on one āsideā then it will only charge in one direction or if the contacts on one side are tarnished then the charge rate may be reduced. You can re-orientate the cable to see. If itās the same then it should be fine. Test the cable else where and try a new cable to confirm.
If you can asses the charger and cable can quick charge other devices, we are back to the phone.
The port may be dirty, so clean or at least try a couple of times
The bottom module may not be seated well or itās contacts may be tarnished. You can remove the bottom module, check, clean and reassemble. Whilst you do that check for a red or white square. If it is not pink or red you may still have a valid warranty.
If all the above do not work you can buy a bottom module and see if that is the cause, if you use the warranty note your phone will be wiped so save any data before you send it off.
Here is a link to a post with image of the āredā square and the successful effort to clean
All the best
Iāve owned my Fairphone 3 for around 2 and a half years. about six months ago I had this slow charging problem and I went through all the remedies that have been explained above. In the end I took the advice of someone from a different thread to update the phone while the battery is charging, and this did the trick. I had no problems until this month. I used a new charging cable which was faulty and actually damaged the USB port in the phone, so I had to buy a new lower module. This has been working fine for about 2 weeks but suddenly has started this old slow charging problem again. I think all my system updates are installed so I donāt know what Iām going to do next!
Hi Paolinho,
Cable plugs (both ends) and USB sockets can get dirty very quickly. Make sure these are all clean, including at the charger end.
If youāre still having problems, you might take your phone to a local repair shop (which doesnāt need to be a Fairphone specialist) who would be able to check the charger and cable, and maybe try other chargers and cables.
You might also get in touch with a local #fairphoneangel if thereās one in your area.
Has anyone found a solution for this charging issue? I was reading other threads but didnĀ“t find a clear solution.
It seems that I have the same issue with my FP3+. Some cables only charge at all one way around (cables that are USB-C to USB-C). Yesterday my cable that has been charging just well for months only charged slow charging. So I used my laptopĀ“s USB-C to USB-C cable. It charged normally. Today the same exact laptop cable charges slow.
IĀ“m beginning to think I have to check if the USB-port in the phone is dirty, as this laptop cable started to charge normally after a few connects and disconnects.
Sounds like a plan 
How come you have only just thought of it 
I use a magnetic cable so as not to worry.
I did a little cleaning (taking all the lint out of the port) but that had no effect. What/how would you recommend for a better clean, if I open the whole thing? Wiping with ethanol or something like that, maybe?
How old is the phone? as you can dismantle the bottom module, but it voids the 2 year warranty.
Have you tried removing the bottom module, which doesnāt void the warranty and cleaning the port and itās module contacts more carefully?
Yeah, Iām beginning to think thereās definitely something wrong with the module. Hereās a screen recording what is going on in USB-settings. Itās in Finnish but I think you get the idea.
Any ideas?
Looks like a connection problem to the screen, affecting just one part of the screen. Right at the end of the video you show a different text but the flickering occurs at the same place on the screen.
If the phone is still under guarantee then you could send it in for repair.
If itās not, then I would recommend you to disassemble the phone (but donāt take the modules apart to begin with). Use compressed air to get rid of dust. Clean all contacts with cotton buds and isopropyl alcohol. Leave to dry for several hours before reassembling the phone. Be careful not to over-tighten the screws, or you may strip them.
You can follow the iFixit teardown (I donāt think youāll need to go beyond step 7).
Thanks @OldRoutard. I think itĀ“s got something to do with the connections of the USB-port, not the whole screen as flickering doesnĀ“t happen anywhere else. It seems that the phone thinks another USB-device is connected or keeps getting contacted to it, although itĀ“s not. So maybe some dirt of something in the usb-port makes it think there is another device.
And I am afraid that the 2 year warranty has just run outā¦
Hi regarding the warranty having expired, you can now take the bottom module apart to see if you can better clean it.
There is always a possibility that a fairphoneangel near you has a bottom module they can provide to test that it is actually the bottom module.
For a breakdown of the module
However the flashing/disconnect could be a software issue. Have you tried a Safe Mode start
Regarding the inconsistencies::
I have two FP3+ and they have been inconsistent for two years and I have been using a magnetic adapter for six months on both
Also the notification about Rapid and Slow charging are not always relevant. Occasionally I get a āRapidā charge from 20% annotated with 1.5 hours to full other times it will say Rapid and 5 hours:
Iāve just this minute tested:
The battery is at 63% and ideally under Rapid charging would take about half an hour yet the screen shot shows 3 hours ???
The Power Management Chips, which may well control the charging rate and screen display, are on the main board.
* Qualcomm PMI632 power management IC
* Qualcomm PM8953 power management IC
@OldRoutard @anon9989719 This is getting a bit annoying. The USB-settings should be found under connected devices, right? Well, I canĀ“t find them there. If I use the search bar in the settings app, they are found and the path shows they are under connected devices, but if I go straight to connected devices, they arenĀ“t there.
And hereĀ“s the best part. When I restart the phone in safe mode, I canĀ“t use the search bar in settings app. When I try to do it, it just jumps back to settings app and doesnĀ“t let me write anything in the search bar.
Yes, but if you do not have a ādeviceā connected then you will not see the option under Connected Devices
So what device have you connected and a power unit is not a ādeviceā?
Try connecting a PC and then see what you can change under the settings.
Oh, ok. Thanks @anon9989719 . Well, if I connect my laptop to my phone and open the phone in safe mode, the blinking and flickering doesnĀ“t appear for as long as the usb cable is connected. However, I canĀ“t choose any of the options in USB-settings either. As soon as I unconnect the cable from the phone, the flickering and blinking starts again.
Interestingly, when I kept my phone attached to the laptop and switched the phone off and on again without the safe mode, the USB-settings appeared normally, without blinking and choosable for a while. The phone also seemed to be charging (a lightning icon in the battery icon). However, when I unplugged the cable and plugged it again, it never started to charge again and the usb-settings donĀ“t become visible again, except from the searchbar. When I go to USB-settings via the searchbar, the same blinking goes on when I unplug the phone. Also, when the phone is plugged, the USB-settings donĀ“t blink but they arenĀ“t choosable either.
Also another observation. Very often, when I plug my phone to a laptop or a charger, the little led light turns on (as if it was charging), but the little lightning doesnĀ“t come to the battery icon.
What is your opinion: Software or just dirt in the USB-port causing some kind of a short circuit or something?
I opened the phone and unattached/cleaned the USB-module but didnĀ“t open the module yet. It had no effect. It appears that Finland has a nationwide shortage in isopropylalcohol so I couldnĀ“t get it from the pharmacy. Just my luck. 
EDIT : You can buy Isopropyl alcohol online maybe??
Any pure spirit will do. Absolute Vodka so no flavourings etc. and at least 60% but will take a while for the 40% water to dry, so if you can find 90% so much the betterā¦ You can look for surgical spirit from a chemist but again it has to be additive free so as not to leave any residue.
From you experience itās not possible to know what is wrong, however for the cost of a bottom module you can eliminate that and if that works you can then spend some time cleaning the older one. I bought a couple of bottom modules as a) I have two phones, they are two years old and of course the USB port is the most vulnerable part of the phone over time.
But it still can be a cable issue to some degree as apart from obvious dirt tarnishing of the contacts in either the cable or the phone means there has to be significant pressure between the contacts to get an effective and reliable connection, and given the inevitable bending will get even more difficult over time.
On other devices, in desperation, I have bent the USB plug or socket to increase friction, but of course that increases the problem after a whileā¦
It does sound like a problem with the USB port.
In the past weāve also discussed problems with misaligned contacts between cable and port, but ideally I would advise trying a bottom module exchange. Thereās a Fairphone Angel near Helsinki who might be able to help, you could try writing to: Jarvenpaa@fairphone.community if youāre in the area or can get there.
So I still have this issue with the blinking in USB-settings, and I think this is eating up my battery life. My theory is that the device is thinking, that some kind of a device is getting plugged and unplugged all the time and that is using the battery. When I plugged a real USB-device, the blinking stopped but everything stayd āunchoosableā.
However when I plugged the phone to my computer, my laptop kept beebing all the time as if I was plugging and unplugging the phone all the time, so that definitely indicates (imo) something is wrong with the port. Also, when plugged in to a laptop, I was able able to choose (in USB-settings) that "the usb-connection is run by this device (instead the plugged device, donĀ“t know the official english terms, the first setting in USB-settings), but everytime the phone switched it back to plugged device by itself.
I am thinkin about doing a factory reset and seeing if that would help.
What do I need to save from the phone before the reset? Photos, WhatsApp conversationsā¦ Can I restore the apps and accounts from somewhere after the reset or do I need to install every single app and account manually again?
Possibly, the port is both a physical thing as in the USB C socket and a software one a USB 2 port which decides on the charging.
Regarding saving data.
If you have an SD card inserted fornatted as portable then ensure any other media you have on the internal is copied or moved to the SD, or get an SD card possibly.
If you have a Goggle account there are options to upload to the google server and then download later.
Iāve never had to worry so someone else will be better placed to give specifics.
