Charging problem with Samsung S2 Tablet

[donald_s1]

My wife has an 8" Samsung S2 tablet that she virtually lives on. She sometimes uses it 10 hours a day. Between reading books, sending email, playing games, etc.

The tablet has a charging problem that is driving me up a tree. The charger has a base that you plug a USB/Micro USB cable into. If my wife keeps it plugged in, the tablet will stay charged. Until...

After awhile something happens with the cable. The tablet decides that essentially it's a data cable. So instead of drawing 2 amps, it's drawing something like 50 milliamps. It's charging, but just barely. We are now on cable number 5, which has also gone to the dark side.

So I decided heck with it, I'll just get her a new tablet. But now I learn that the industry has decided that a light, powerful 8" tablet is something that no one wants. But a 10" tablet is awful big and heavy to hold and use all day long.

So my questions:

1. Is there a way I can convince this stupid tablet to continue to draw current at 2 amps?

Or

2. Is there a nice, light, powerful 8" tablet on the market that I can get her? I personally have a Samsung Tab A, and it won't do the job.

Thanks for any help!!!!

Don

 

[Dannydet]

Use a charger that plugs directly into a wall outlet, you'll get better results

 

[mikedt]

Try another known good USB 2A capable charger.

 

[donald_s1]

Thank you for the replies. I have tried other chargers. But the Samsung doesn't like them. in fact if I use a 2 amp charger I get a message on the screen that it's trickle charging. But with a 1 amp circuit it's completely happy.

The Samsung charger does plug directly into the wall. Then the USB plus connects to that unit. I'm fortunate that I only have to swap out the cable, not throw away the whole unit.

 

[svim]

If she's a heavy user and given the S2 tablet's age, there's a good chance this isn't a USB cable issue or a charger issue but the battery inside is just getting too dated to hold a charge the way it used to, nor is going to charge up like it once did. Lithium batteries age and that's inevitable no matter if you coddle them to the point of being OCD about caring about them or just using/charging them like most of us do.

The gsmarena site has a phone/tablet search function that you might find helpful if you do want to upgrade her
https://www.gsmarena.com/results.ph...Min=7&fDisplayInchesMax=8.5&sAvailabilities=1
https://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3?mode=tablet

Or as more of a stopgap solution, get a portable, external battery pack and just leave it plugged in all the time. It does limit portability a bit having to have a peripheral always plugged in adding some extra heft too (more so with one that has the capacity for a tablet), and you then need to keep that external battery charged, but if she just wants to hang on to her S2 a little longer it's a viable option.
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-usb-battery-packs/

 

[puppykickr]

Something you may want to do is inspect the charging jack on the device itself.

These things are tiny, have even smaller contacts inside, and are always open to the environment.

Dust, debris, and whatever can get in there will make for bad/intermitant connections.

Be very, very careful if you attempt to clean the port, as the contacts can be easily damaged.

A wooden toothpick- with a due amount of care, can be used to fish out dust, lint, etc. from the jack.

It is also possible that a contact(s) has already been misaligned over time, so compare the jack to the same port on another working device.

Check your cord with another device.
I know that you have replaced the cord multiple times already, but the cord is almost always the problem.

Even the best cords wear out eventually.

In fact, I have the worst luck with the more expensive cables that are cloth wrapped.
It is not the cord itself that goes bad, mostly. It is the ends.
So when selecting cords, disregard the cable itself, and pay attention to the quality of the ends themselves, and how they attach to the cord.

I have had the cheapest cords work great, provided that the ends are durable and attached well.

On the other hand, I have spent good money on expensive cords that looked and felt very durable- just to have the ends fall off.

Right now I have a love affair with cords that I have purchased from Big Lots.
They are $8-$9 (depending on type) and are 10 foot long.
I have't had a failure yet and three of them are more than a year old.

iHome is the product name.