Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Specifications: Overview
The newly launched Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G features a 6.4-inch AMOLED panel with a high refresh rate of 120 Hz. It is an FHD+ panel with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. Under the hood, we have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G that is built on a 5nm manufacturing process. It is an octa-core processor with one Kryo 680 core clocked at 2.84 GHz, three Kryo 680 cores clocked at 2.42 GHz, and four Kryo 680 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz. Additionally, in some specific regions, instead of the Snapdragon chipset, we have Exynos 2100 built on a 5 nm manufacturing process. It is an octa-core processor with one Cortex-X1 core clocked at 2.9 GHz, three Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.8 GHz and four Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2.22 GHz.
Coming to the optics, we get a triple camera setup at the rear and a single camera at the front. The triple camera setup consists of a 12 MP primary sensor paired with an f/1.8 lens, an 8 MP telephoto sensor paired with an f/2.4 lens, and a 12 MP ultrawide sensor paired with an f/2.2 lens. At the front, we get a 32MP sensor paired with an f/2.2 lens. Both the front and rear camera setup are capable of capturing 4K videos.
There are three storage variants available for this smartphone: 128GB + 6GB RAM, 128GB + 8GB RAM, and 256GB + 8GB. In terms of communications, we get Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC and USB Type-C. And for sensors, we have an under-display optical fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, and compass. Powering it all is a 4500 mAh battery that can be topped up quickly using the 25W adapter included in the box. The company claims that the battery goes from 0 to 50% in 30 min. This smartphone is available in four color options: White, Graphite, Lavender, and Olive.
Reboot the phone
If your phone is charging, but instead of opting for fast charging, it is charging slowly, reboot the phone and check if it makes any difference or not. It is likely that the phone intercepted a minor glitch causing the system to opt for slower charging than the usual speed. Monitor the charging performance after a reboot and verify if the charging speed is restored to the original or not.
Upgrade the OS
The Android 12 with One UI 4 on your Samsung S21 FE 5G is what handles everything you do and interacts with your smartphone. Turns out, just like how apps can introduce bugs and glitches, the bugs and glitches can occur at the OS level as well, hampering the functioning of the phone at some juncture. For this instance, I am talking about the Samsung S21 FE 5G not charging or the fast charging issue.
A troubleshooting method to fix the said problem is to get the firmware upgraded to the latest available version. Outdated software can introduce a lot of problems and that is why upgrading the firmware saves the day. Here’s how it works.
- First up, tap and open the Settings app on your phone.
- Next, tap on “About Phone” and proceed to “Software Version”.
- Tap on “Check for Updates” and the system will run to see if there’s an update available or not.
- If yes, download and install it. In case there’s no update, go to Samsung Updater (Google it) and you will find the latest available firmware for your device.
Check if any process is consuming more power
In case the phone’s battery is draining faster than charging, either the battery at fault (more on it later) or the apps or games running on the device during charging is draining more power than it should. Close all the apps and processes and turn off the airplane mode if required to allow faster charging. Check back in some time and verify if the battery is charging the way it should or not.
Restore factory
This is the last point wherein a software-related issue causing Samsung S21 FE 5G to stop charging itself is a problem. Here’s how you wipe everything off the device to fix any impending issue. Note that taking a backup of all the data that you want to secure as pulling off a restore factory will wipe off all data. It is irreversible unless you know how to use data recovery tools. Read along.
Method #1:
- Open Settings on your device.
- Navigate to “About Phone” and select “Factory Reset” from amidst the options.
- Tap on “Erase all data” at the bottom of the screen, agree when prompted, and enter the PIN/Password (if asked) to proceed.
- Restart the phone and set it up again to see if the charging problem is gone or not.
Method #2:
- Switch off the phone.
- Press the Power plus Volume Up key together for 15-20 seconds until it vibrates.
- Release the key and let the device enter Recovery Mode.
- Use the volume buttons to navigate and the power button to select the “Wipe Data >> Wipe All Data”.
- Press the power button on “Confirm” to agree and kick off the wiping process.
- Retreat “Back to Main Menu” and tap on “Reboot >> Reboot to System”. And it is done.
These are the various hardware-related issues that could trigger Samsung S21 FE 5G not charging or fast charging issues.
Check for debris inside the charging port
Debris inside the charging port such as dust, lint, or any other foreign particles can cause the Samsung S21 FE 5G to charge slowly or not charge at all. You’ll need to clean the charging port as the issue will only escalate if not taken care of. However, you should be careful when cleaning the charging port. Here’s how to do it.
- First, use a torch or flashlight to check inside the port if you can spot any lint or debris.
- Turn off the device.
- Use a toothpick or any sharp object except anything metallic to carefully and gently remove the chunk. Be gentle here as any damage to the charging pins will make you replace the entire charging port even if it wasn’t faulty when starting out.
- For those who know how to do it, take a cotton swab and dip it in isopropyl alcohol, and clean the port. Since alcohol evaporates easily, it will take away remnants and corrosion with it.
- Leave your Samsung S21 FE 5G idle for some time and plug in the charger to see if the Samsung S21 FE 5G fast charging issue is gone or not.
Verify you are using the original cable or swap it
The USB cable is one of the most abused hardware components during a battery charging spree. This is because it is strained, twisted, bent, and undergoes a number of stresses and it is likely one of the first things that will break down.
Check for any cuts throughout the length of the USB cable. If there’s a cut, check if connecting the ends does the trick. If not, you will need a different USB cable anyways.
If there are no cuts (although the stress part remains unchanged), detach the old cable and use a new cable or if you have one in spare. Check if the Samsung S21 FE 5G charge with a different cable with everything else from the power source, the charging brick, and the phone’s charging port remain the same. Check back in 2-3 minutes if the phone starts charging and if it does so with the same speed it would charge originally. If that’s what’s happening, the old USB cable you were using was at fault.
In case if the new USB cable doesn’t make any difference to the charging speed, it isn’t a problem and you will need to proceed with the next method to verify what’s wrong.
Verify if you are using the original charger
After verifying that the USB cable isn’t at fault, the next logical step is to verify if the charging brick is at fault or not.
The procedure to verify if the charging brick is at fault or not, here’s how you can do it.
- First, detach the old charging brick.
- Use a different charging brick and attach it to the USB cable and plug it into the device to charge the battery.
There are two scenarios here, the Samsung S21 FE 5G either start charging at an original pace or not. If not, the problem lies with the charging port or any other internal component. If yes, the old charging brick was at fault and you’ll have to use a spare or new one.
Note: It is advisable to use an original charger instead of a third-party or local brick. The latter can cause lagging and freezing issues as well thus, using the original charger will save the day.
Check if the port is damaged
Although physical damage to the port is likely to be visible to the naked eye, water damage remains unseen unless you know exactly what you are looking for. Swap both the USB cable and the charger to check what’s working and what’s not. If the different charger or brick is working on a different phone, your phone’s port is at fault since no amount of swapping is forcing the battery to begin charging.
If the battery is dead?
The battery on the device has a specific lifecycle and as and when it progresses, the efficiency decreases. With hundreds of life cycles over 02 years of usage can curtail the battery to just 75-80 percent. Since you are facing Samsung S21 FE 5G not charging or fast charging issue, it is likely that either the battery is completely dead or it has lost its efficiency and is en route to die in some time.
Since your Samsung S21 FE 5G has a non-removable battery you can’t actually remove the battery and swap it with a new one. You need the expertise to snatch the old battery and swap it with a new one. I recommend going to a service center or hiring a technician to do the swap.
Change the power outlet
Power outlets can also curtail charging speeds as they might not deliver adequate amounts of power, impeding the charging speed. Change the power source and check if that was the problem after all.
The final resort
You can’t use Samsung S21 FE 5G without charging the battery properly. No matter if it is a software or hardware-related issue, it must come to an end as there’s no compromise here which is something you can do with the headphone jack, camera, Bluetooth, WiFi, or other features. You will need to get the problem fixed, and that is where technicians come into play.
Head out to an authorized service center or get the software or hardware-related issue charging the Samsung S21 FE 5G not charging or fast charging issue in the first place. You even have an option to visit a local service center for a speedier and inexpensive repair or replacement of the affected software or hardware component that triggered the issue in the first place. Note that you will lose any warranty on the device by getting the Samsung S21 FE 5G repaired at a local service center which isn’t the case with an authorized one, so it is your call.
Closing Words
You will have to make arrangements to charge the battery and use the Samsung S21 FE 5G because without a working battery, you are just holding a slab of plastic, aluminum, and glass and that’s all. Do let us know which troubleshooting method works best for you.
