Intermittent Charging Problem

[mmcg43]

I have a strange problem with my Z3. When I plug in the USB cable to charge it, the charging icon/red light comes on for a bit but then intermittently seems to connect and disconnect. I've tried a facory reset; changing chargers, USB cables; charging from computers etc but the problem persists. This morning the battery had completely drained overnight, having been plugged into the charger all night,  and it completely refused to charge at all - no red light at all, which led me to suspect the USB port is broken. Again, tried different cables, chargers etc. However, I've just plugged it into my PC (the phone is still off) and the red charging light is steadily on with no flickering, yet nothing happend this mornign when I plugged it into the very same PC.

Anyone know what might be the problem?

[Qatrium]

@mmcg43

Make sure the USB port is free from any dust or debris, and ispect it for corrosion and oxidation. I doubt it being a software problem, but it wouldn't hurt if you perform a software repair using PC Companion.

[Christofer]

Hi @mmcg43,

As Quester said a software repair is always worth trying if you are unable to find any dust or similar in the USB port that could be the cause of this. If the software repair doesn't help though you should contact your Local support team to get your phone examined further at an authorised service center.

[MarkMRL]

Most likely your USB cable is broken. Try another cable. I had a cable with the same exact problem. 

[Saltbush]

It's frustrating to see solutions like "check  your USB connection for dust" when this phone has an intermittent (I think either OS or software-related) charging issue.  I get the impression Sony would know how to resolve this but doesn't care to share the solution.

[exsanguinator]

Corrosion and dust build up in the micro usb port can definitely be a problem in most fones,if in areas that have more than normal climate situations,but the z3 has a flap there, so unless it's broken off there shouldn't be much of that there.
I presume you have tried several usb cables and chargers?
It's not uncommon for a charger to work fine when used initially, but can get intermittently faulty as it heats up and/or as the current draw increases and decreases due to an internal fault in the charger.