I’ve had a few phones now that over time will not charge unless you put pressure on the cable in a certain direction. Not seeing the internals it is almost as if there is a small break and that you are using the cable to move the female port in the phone so that a connection is made.
So what is going on here? It makes the phone practically worthless but if I could get in there and mend the break (or whatever the problem is) I could save the phone. Is it a microbreak or something else?
Iphone user here. I inherited an Iphone 5s several years ago and it exhibited similar behavior to yours when using the charging cable. Initially I thought the connector on the cable or the socket on the phone was damaged. I’d read that such behavior can be caused by debris accumulating in the socket on the phone. I got a toothpick and gently probed the socket…and retrieved a sizable glob of lint! No connection problems since…
TL;DR Try cleaning the socket out…
Tried that a week ago to no effect.
Have you tried a different cable(s). the wires inside can break.
If it’s on the phone side, it’s likely a bad solder point. Unless you have good solder skills and fine tip iron, probably not a DIY project.
It’s every cable including brand new ones. I saw a breakdown on the phone on youtube today and the port connects to the battery with a ribbon cable. Betcha that’s where its at.
Multiple possible failure points. In more than one device, I’ve had the port break loose from the solder on the motherboard (which you can tell by the port having some movement to it. In one phone, looking into the port with a lighted pocket microscope, I could see that one of the flat connector thingies had lifted from the surface of the plastic tab in the center and been crumpled against the back wall of the port (but with some cables if you held it tightly just right you could get a slow charge.) in a couple of them the plastic center tab just snapped off–but in those cases there isn’t even sporadic connection.
Sorry, no solution to help you, but I do have some insight as to the cause of this problem.
I’ve had this happen on several of our family phones. From what I’ve read (and my experience), the common cause of this is when you charge your phone with a power bank but jam the entire set-up in a pocket, purse or backpack. The cord end that plugs into the phone gets bent at odd angles which damages the interior connections on the phone.
Also, FYI - a great tip I was given to clean the connecter part on an iPhone (at least), is to use the toothpick trick, but wrap the tip in a small alcohol towelette wipe like the kind you get in a first aid kit. It works amazing.
The phone will be officially retired after Mrs Cad download a specialized app she needs for work so no issue pulling it apart. Worst case scenario we have a spare phone.