Cannot get Charge to stay connected to computer.

[Crashes]

My new Samsung Charge does not seem to want to stay connected to my windows 7 machine.  I can connect it via usb and the computer will recognize it.  I can open the folders on the phone with my computer to add files but the phone will randomly disconnect and immediately reconnect.  Sometimes the phone will stay connected for minutes and sometimes it will connect and disconnect within a couple of seconds over and over.  That makes it difficult to transfer files like music and photos. The phone works fine otherwise.

My old phone was a Motorola Droid 1 and I never had a problem transferring stuff to it.

I have tried installing drivers from samsung and googling the problem but I dont see anything about it. 

What do you guys and gals think? Anyone else with this problem?

Thanks in advance.

[WCMack]

I have a similar setup and have not experienced the problem.  Can you tell us more about what might be happening when this occurs?

It sounds like you have the USB Settings selection on "Mass storage" but please confirm.  It also sounds like you can see the phone's drive in the "Computer" window accessible from the Start Menu on your computer.  Again, please confirm.

Does the connection always re-establish itself?  If so, it sounds like a software problem, and not a problem with the micro-USB socket or the accessory USB cable supplied with the phone.

Thanks.

[Crashes]

I have tried connecting the Charge to three different computers with the same results.  Now that you mention it I did not try a different cable.  I was trying to use the one that came with the new phone.  I went ahead and connected the phone to my computer with the cable from my kindle and it seems to work fine now.  There must be something wrong with the supplied cable.  I will keep trying it out and let you know but it seems to be good now. 

Thanks for the reply. 

[JoeNe]

Glad you got it solved.  I had a similar problem with the first Charge I tried, but it wouldn't connect at all to my iMac.  My new Charge connects with no issue.

[WCMack]

Verizon should replace the cable no charge since it is defective.

I am glad you apparently solved the problem. If I helped, please give me a kudo by clicking the icon on my reply. Thanks.

[Crashes]

I thought it had been fixed but today it is giving me the same problem as it did yesterday even with the different cable. 

I was able to get everything done yesterday that I needed to but today it is back to the same old problem.

Before I tried the second cable the phone would connect/disconnect every second or two kind of rapid-fire.  Today I can get 10-20 seconds between connect/disconnect.  I was really hoping that it was fixed.  

Has anyone else had this problem?

[WCMack]

As I said, I don't have this problem, so I can't offer any first-hand thoughts.  However, if you could give more information about what is happening when the problem occurs, it might help.  If you are willing, could you answer the following?

1.  Is the phone connected directly to the computer via the cable, or is there some device in between, such as a dock, adaptor or USB hub?
2.  What is your phone's USB connection setting?  To check, press the menu button (left physical button at bottom) when on any home screen, then select Settings > USB Settings.
3.  When you connect the phone to the computer with the cable, what do you see on the phone screen?  On the computer screen?
4.  Once you connect, on the computer go to Start > Computer...do you see the phone in the "Devices with Removable Storage" section?
5.  Is there more than one USB port on your computer?  Have you tried plugging the cable into all of them and you still have the problem?
6.  The "big" end of the USB cable supplied with the phone is still a "mini" plug, not a full-sized USB plug.  Do you have an adaptor?  (May not be needed, but it's a thought as to your problem.)

Thanks!

[JoeNe]

I will tag on to WCMack on this one.  I definitely recommend trying different USB plugs on your computer.  This was an issue on my iMac and this is also an issue on my daughter's Windows 7 laptop.  Her laptop is not phone related, but there are certain things that will not work when connected to a particular USB port.

[Crashes]

Thank you so much for your replies.

I have the phone connected to the USB on the side of my monitor which is connected to my computer directly with a cable.   I have tried other USB positions but never one directly on the motherboard.  When I get home from work I will try all ports with several different cables.

The phone is in mass storage mode and appears as my F: drive under "Devices with Removable Storage". 

The computer comes up with a popup: Do you want to scan and fix removable disk?  I select no. 

Phone says: USB storage in use.  I do not have to allow anything, it just connects.

I do not have any different style cable or adapter. 

It does seem to have worse symptoms when the battery is not very charged.

I will let you guys know of any new developments.

[WCMack · Accepted solution]

I strongly recommend a DIRECT connection between the phone and your computer.  When I first got my Charge, I tried to route the USB from the phone through a USB hub to the computer, and the computer did not even detect the phone.  Once I went direct, it seemed to work fine.

Good luck!

[Crashes]

I have been connecting my phone directly to the usb ports on my computer and it works flawlessly.  No more of the annoying disconnect/reconnects.  The phone just does not like to connect to my computer through my monitor.  I am glad we figured it out.  Thank you both very much.

[Nebular_Novice]

I just wasted a fair amount of time yesterday on the phone with support.  His suggestion, after consulting someone else, was to go to the Verizon store and get a CD which will have the driver I need.  We parted with me agreeing to do that if needed, but I finally tried a USB port on the front of the CPU instead of the monitor.  As you say, works fine.

Someone needs to get it into the support notes.  (HINT to some of the VZN people here.)  It would save cusomters and support staff a lot of time.

Now I just need to figure out why my Charge freezes when I plug it into either USB port on my laptop.

[WCMack]

Dear Nebular_Novice,

I have a couple of thoughts.

Did you load the driver onto your laptop before trying to connect?  I found that it helped a lot when I loaded it onto my computer.

The "big" end of the provided USB cable has a mini-plug, not a full-sized USB plug.  I am guessing that if your laptop is a little older it may not have the HW or SW to adapt the mini-plug male into the full-sized female (c'mon, no jokes!).  You may want to get an adaptor for the plug, or try to get a cable to has a micro plug on one end and a full plug on the other.

[Nebular_Novice]

WCMack,

Unfortunately your crystal ball wasn't quite as good on this one.  I already had the driver loaded, and the laptop is newer than the desktop and handles other mini-USB plugs fine.  I tried uninstalling the driver and reinstalling one from the Samsung site. No joy.

Tech support had told me to go to a Verizon store to pick up a CD with drivers for 4G phones.  The store knew nothing about the CD, but they did have the useful suggestion to go into Settings>Applications>Development and turn USB debugging on.  Doing that, I could "fix" things well enough that I can get connected and transfer files.  Some things work on the phone, but same rather important things don't (like making or answering calls).

I'm prepared to believe something is messed up on the laptop itself that is causing this problem (or at least contributing to it).  I'll probably play around with cleaning up any problems I see on the laptop, but it's not a big deal so it won't have high priority.  I can connecyt briefly to transfer files if I need to, and I can use Mobile Hotspot without USB connection.  Those are the two most likely ways I need to have laptop and Charge interact.

Thanks for your suggestions.

[WCMack]

Sorry I could not provide a solution. I will have to remember the USB debugging setting for the future. Thanks!