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I need to know how to fix PS Vita not charging. What can I do to fix this?
You have to actually plug it in all the way in the socket.
Of course.
And then you should stop playing it so it can charge, since playing it while charging
really slows down charging.
That is common sense.
If the logo glows orange for one or two seconds but then dies, then you may have a hardware
problem.
If the charger is broken, I don't have the skills to break it.
If you're lucky, cleaning it with cotton swabs will clean it enough that it can make a good
connection and actually charge.
Dusting the gaming device seems redundant.
If there are bent pins in the charger, you can try to straighten them out.
I'm more likely to bend them. I've heard of smart phone batteries losing their ability
to charge over time – could that be the case with the PS Vita?
Yes, but unlike phones, it is way harder to take the battery out.
I know some of them are wedged in there while others are so loose you need to add a little
plastic to keep the battery in place in some phones.
For the PS Vita, you essentially have to disassemble it from back to front to get to the battery
in the middle.
That's a lot of work.
And that's why a lot of people send it in for battery replacement if the PS Vita won't
charge. However, if it suddenly stops charging, try charging it a different way before you
do that.
It is just the charger.
If you try to charge it from a laptop that's low on power, it won't charge, while plugging
it into a computer that is trying to charge multiple things through the USB ports may
mean it can't charge the Vita, too.
I've tried plugging the charger into the wall.
If it lights up like it will charge and then dies, you may want to play it for a while
to keep the motherboard active, then stop playing when it starts to charge to not use
too much charge.
I've never heard of that trick.
You can also try plugging it in to charge while turned on, and once it starts to charge,
turn it off so it can charge.
At least you haven't told me to reboot it.
Oh, that's an option too if the unit doesn't really shut down while charging, but try starting
it in safe mode instead.
I'm pretty sure it failing to charge is a hardware problem.
If it won't start in safe mode while plugged in, the battery is dead or it has bigger hardware
problems like shorted out circuit boards.
You're right, that is something that requires repair.
But try charging it through a wall charger or another way before you do that – and
make sure the problem isn't that the power strip you plug it into was turned off or that
you kept leaving the PS Vita on so it couldn't charge.