Usb port dead after trying some android development

rqds12 · 06-18-2019, 11:08 AM

After deciding to learn Kotlin and dabble in Android Development I was connecting my android to my laptop to deploy the app to the phone. It was just some simple Hello World App to familiarize myself with the Android Studio program. After a couple of times of editing my laptop(Acer Aspire E15 on Fedora 29) powered off randomly and the usb(3.0) that the phone was connected to now does not, work even in the bios. Am I correct in thinking that the port is fried and what can I do to fix it?

business_kid · 06-18-2019, 02:42 PM

Hi and welcome to LQ.

USB-3.0 ports should have a current limit of 500mA but all hardware has a finite reaction time to overload, during which it can blow if poorly designed.

Power it down, remove battery and get it dead - dead. Then power up. If your port is back, count yourself extremely lucky. If not, it's probable the chip blew, or the track to the chip. You'll have to spend a little time deciding if the port alone is gone, or more damage has been done.

rqds12 · 06-18-2019, 05:13 PM

How would I go about figuring if the port alone is gone or if more damage was done? I powered the computer off and pressed the reset button(my laptop does not have a battery that can be easily removed) and waited about 10-15 minutes then powered it up and it still is gone.
Thanks for your help.

business_kid · 06-19-2019, 06:59 AM

Being an Electronics techie, then engineer makes me used to grokking dud boards.

If you can get the thing apart and get a look at the usb port, you may see traces from it either discoloured or blown. Blown, paradoxically, if often better You can repair blown traces, as they usually go in the middle. If you haven't used a soldering iron, abort and get your techie friend/repair shop to try. I used do it by stripping 50mm of multi strand wire, nipping off one strand, stripping a bit of insulation off the remaining track, and soldering it in.
If it's necessary to repair several in close proximity, use insulated wire from windings,(which can be bought) or slime the pcb with some glue that sets, and bury the traces in that. It's a pig to strip. Try a knife blade.
Try and follow the data leads to some chip. If it's a small chip, it will be a usb peripheral chip; if it's a large one, it's an ASIC. Try a heat test if it's safe to power it up. Throw a towel folded a couple of times over the chip for a few minutes. If it's uncomfortably hot/burning,that means it's consuming too much current. There's no option any more of replacing that stuff. It's replace it, or buy new.

jefro · 06-21-2019, 07:06 PM

Maybe start by removing ac and battery then press power button a few times. Then boot to bios and see if any bios setting may have changed. Then boot to a modern linux live dvd/usb to see if you can access any usb device on ports like keyboard mouse and such maybe.

The problem with the internal battery is it could keep circuits in some unwanted state. You need a full cold boot.