[Device Repair] R7027:
Thanks for clarifying.

Now that you mention it, one of my charging cable was a bit flimsy as well. Might be what happened with my phone as well. The connector would wiggle left and right so I would have to make sure it points straight into the port and rotate the phone left and right to make sure it's not tugging on it as I put it down on a book shelf. I always charge my phones on this book shelf as the power outlet is close by.

I have actually four identical Samsung 15 W chargers sitting there, all for the Galaxy S7. Three white ones and one black, and each with its own charging cable. I had purchased some extra chargers just as spares, and one of the chargers had a bit flimsy connection, as you say. I actually once spotted that one of the 4 pins on one of the charging cables was too short, and because of it, it was not charging fast enough. I stripped it down to bare wires, all for science and learning, before throwing it away.

On another occasion, I discovered that one of these cables didn't want to charge my phone when combined with one of the four chargers. It was a perfectly fine looking cable. The same cable worked well on the other three identical chargers though. So this was a bit of mystery I had never seen before. That will remain a mystery. That same charger also worked well when combines with other cables. So both the charger and the cable worked well, but only with others, not with each other. Note that these were all original Samsung chargers and cables. The "travel adapter", model EP-TA20EWE. They all came in original Samsung retail packaging. Although the spare chargers I purchased did have a bit stiffer and thicker cables, when compared to the original that came with the phone. They were presumably made in later years, so Samsung had probably changed them up a little bit.

But this goes to show that there is more to a cable and a charger than meets the eye. I suspect it had something to do with lack of compatibility across the many charging protocols that are in circulation in the fast charging universe, like Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 vs. 3.0 vs. USB Power Delivery 2.0 vs. what-have-you.

So you're not wrong to suspect something as "simple" as a charging cable. Not even a cable can be left alone, they have to make it "smart" and complicated. If the cable doesn't know how to talk the language of the charger, it's useless. Or worse, it can destroy a device. All because industry wants to satisfy inpatient people that want fast charging, and so instead of 1 standard, they make 4 different ones, if Apple Lighting-whatever is included. By the way, the faster you charger a battery, the faster it will lose its capacity and die out.

That depends where you look and how determined you are.

I ordered a new S535 power IC for my Galaxy S7 from Germany via Ebay, and I received it last week. I don't have the exact dates, but it arrived within the same week, so about three to five days. From Germany to Sweden. I also ordered three of the same chip from a supplier in UK, also via Ebay, and it has yet to arrive. This has to do with Royal Mail strikes, so everything is delayed. In addition, I had to pay customs fee and import tax from the UK. Not sure if it will be held at Customs service and delayed even more because of this, or if it will be delivered straight to my mail box since the UK supplier made sure I can pay upfront so it can be cleared for delivery. So I will have 4 of these in total.

Let me give you another example. I have an older car that's well looked after and only driven occasionally. A few years back, it started leaking oil from the rear axis. I went to the authorized repair shop. They told me they had to either replace the differential or rebuild it. But because it's an old timer, there are no parts for it readily available. This is a BMW car and BMW has a good reputation for stock keeping parts for old models for a long time. Well, maybe they don't keep a stock of big parts such as differentials. But it's not true that it's not available. I looked it up online and found several car stripping companies that have a number of these parts to pick and choose from, some of which were in almost new condition. So if they really wanted to, they could have ordered in from there. This is where small and independent auto repair shops order from as well. I even offered to order it myself and deliver to them. But they could not make the needed arrangements. Or rather, they didn't want to. I understood the message. They can't be bothered with something as heavy, oily, dirty, difficult, skill demanding, and time consuming as a differential replacement... and a rebuild is probably as distant as science fiction to them. I never went back there. I used to go to them for years and was always happy. Since they changed the owner and relocated, it's a completely different company. I would never again go to an "authorized" repair shop. They are properly titled "car dealers", because they are more interested in selling you a new car or a used car than repairing your old one.

It's the same with phone companies like Samsung and these places they call "Support Center" where you can walk in to get support and service on the device you already own, and they put up their latest "flagship" models on display and under your nose. That's how you know you're in the wrong place. It's all sell, sell, sell.

Make sure to get the needle-like test leads for it. This is needed for probing and measuring tiny components. The ones that came with my multimeter were very good, but they were not fit for the job, because they are not thin enough at the top. Most of the standard test leads have blunt tips. I ordered a pair from Amazon, a complete kit actually, but they are not very good. The whole kit was very cheap and I could not find any other, higher quality, more expensive ones. I don't want to promote Amazon, but I can post a link if you want.

A heat gun might work, but a hot air station is better. You need about 350 C to rework big components like BGA chips. Based on my limited knowledge, but extensive research. You should be able to tell what the temperature is at, and only the more expensive heat "guns" will have a temperature sensor and a digital display.

A service manual is a good resource. I wish I had a complete service manual for Galaxy S7. I looked for a places to buy one but I only found dodgy websites that seemed to be in the business of downloading free manuals, packaging, and selling. So if you have a complete manual, that's better. I only found excerpts of the most important chapters for Galaxy S7, and it has been very useful.