You’d think that after dropping at least $1k for the latest and greatest smartphone, you’d be able to charge it, huh? Owners of the Samsung Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 Ultra are reporting that their pricey devices either charge very slowly or won’t charge at all, and so soon after launch. The Galaxy S25 only just came out on February 7.
It isn’t all owners, but it’s enough of them for Samsung to take notice. The good news is that a fix is on the way. The bad news is that we don’t know how long it’ll take, and a problem with a phone not charging is what I’d call a major snafu. At least they’re not exploding on flights, so that’s something.
what’s going on with samsung?
From user reports so far, it seems to be affecting only the Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 Ultra, not the base-level Galaxy S25. Regardless of whether a Samsung-provided 45W charger or a third-party charger is used, the common thread seems to be the 5A charging cable between the phone and the charger.
Several folks claim that they’ve used the same 5A cables on other devices and they’ve worked fine, only acting up when plugged into these two specific Galaxy S25s. So that seems to rule out the cables being faulty.
Samsung itself lends credence to the theory that the problem is in the phone’s software. “In fact, we are aware of an anomaly on charging with the 5A cable that will be resolved with a future update,” Samsung Italia wrote in a post on X, in response to a user who noted they were having problems charging their Galaxy. The original post was, of course, in Italian.
what to do
Right now, as we wait for Samsung to provide the update, there’s just a mishmash of trial-and-error home remedies floating around the forums. Some suggest turning off the super-fast 45W charging in your settings, their reasoning being that the base-level Galaxy S25 tops out at 25W charging (it doesn’t have super-fast charging) and seems to be immune to this charging issue.
Others say to use a slower charger than the 45W charger that comes with the Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 Ultra, in a similar vein of reasoning. Reports are inconsistent on whether that’s worked for people, though. Some say it has, others say it hasn’t.
Samsung Italia suggested that until the software update is out, you can charge your phone (if it’s affected by the issue) wirelessly, as that remains unaffected by the strange bug. Or, if you have a 3A charging cable, swap it out for the 5A in the meantime, and that should fix it.
The post Having Trouble Charging Your Galaxy S25? You’re Not the Only One. appeared first on VICE.
