Charging issue

(I posted this in an iPhone community but it started with my P9PXL and continues, so there's got to be some technical commonality.)

So I'm in a mixed marriage - I'm Android and they're iPhone. Yet we're both experiencing the same issue. A few months ago my Pixel 9 Pro XL suddenly got super finicky about corded charging. It either simply wouldn't charge when I plugged it in or it'd pop up a 'liquid detected' warning message, even though there was no liquid whatsoever. After a few weeks the problem semi-resolved itself. The liquid detected warning message quit popping up and my Pixel phone got better about corded charging, although it still did nothing when I plugged it into some chargers it had previously worked with.

So now several months later not only is my spouse's iPhone 17 Pro Max doing the exact same thing but their iPad A16 is too. There is no rhyme or reason to it. Neither device wants to charge with any charger or cord. Interestingly, on the occasion I do manage to get a device charging it is usually with a cheap third party charger, like from a convenience store. I have several 3-in-1 chargers with different connection types. I seem to have slightly better luck occasionally with the Apple devices using the lightning cable with a USB-C adapter weirdly enough.

I've ordered charging blocks and cables off Amazon and they either won't work at all or they work for a while and then stop after a few weeks. I am more tech savvy than the average person but not expert by any stretch. However, I am ensuring that I'm ordering PD charging blocks and compatible cables ranging from 20w to 65w.

We can wirelessly charge the iPhone, so it's not dire but the iPad has become a constant struggle. The power will get down into the teens and I'll mess with it for two days before it just suddenly starts charging using a block and cord I've already tried before. Sometimes the override button will work when it says liquid detected and sometimes it won't.

This week I ordered charging blocks and cables that are PD and capable of reaching up to 65w. The product description specifically says that it will work for an iPhone 17. However, they arrived yesterday and they do not work for my spouse's iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPad A16 or my Pixel 9 Pro XL. Both of the Apple devices pop up the liquid detected warning and my Pixel simply does nothing. However, the new chargers work great with an old iPhone 13 we have for our business (using a C to lightning adapter) and it works fine on our daughter's Samsung Z Flip 5. (In fact it fully charged her phone from 1% to 100% in a little over an hour!)

I have tried using the Apple cords that came with the devices but since they no longer provide charging blocks I don't think that any of mine are 'official' Apple brands and, even if they were, they'd be years old now, going back to whenever they used to include the charging blocks with the devices.

I have googled this issue and cannot find any useful information. There has to be some commonality between the new Apple devices and my Pixel 9 Pro XL that's causing them not to work with the chargers.

This is the latest charging set-up I ordered if the specs happen to tell you anything...

https://a.co/d/0hQUYPk4

5 points · 4 comments · view on lemmy.world

4 Comments

Zachariah@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 61d (1 reply)

Have you tried to make sure there’s not lint/debris in the ports?

https://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-clean-a-usb-c-port-3334655/

Generica@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 61d

Yes. I used canned air and had the P9PXL 'professionally' cleaned at the Geek Squad counter inside Best Buy, where I bought the phone. They used canned air and that putty stuff but did not use any alcohol, as another person suggested.

brickfrog@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 61d (1 reply)

Doesn't really answer your question but re: the Apple devices did you already try asking Apple about it? According to their forums they might say it's a hardware issue & perhaps could replace it.. I don't know if that's true but just an idea https://discussions.apple.com/thread/256302659

Not sure if I can add anything useful but just out of curiosity since it's happening on multiple devices at the same household:

  • Is the humidity in your home way high? In theory that could trigger the liquid detected issue.
  • You definitely don't have pets or something else that would be getting your cables wet right? Like a pet that keeps licking at those cables when not in use.

I've seen the liquid detected issue on my own Pixel 7 but it's only happened when I've messed with my phone outside in the middle of rainstorms and such, so sort of expected.

Generica@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 61d

Both Apple devices are so new they're still under their initial one yr warranty AND have Apple (doesn't) Care coverage too.

I thought maybe the problem was with the home's wiring but the problems persist at work too :(