"Darla, I routinely do this when replacing ports, especially Samsung. Obviously it has to be done carefully, but I find that even brand-new ports are somewhat loose and can be tightened this way. It could be done without replacing the port. I remove the circuit board from the tab or phone, insert a micro USB cable (that is NOT attached to power!), and then carefully and gently use a pair of pliers to compress the port toward the board from both top and bottom. Then I check tightness and adjust accordingly. If your port is really loose, this may not help. You may need a replacement, which requires soldering under a microscope. But if it’s only somewhat loose, it may be enough, at least for a while.
I am a phone/tablet technician who does microsoldering, and has replaced many Tab A ports."
"I would strongly recommend replacing the charge port with the same type of charge port that was originally in the device, which I assume was micro USB. While the extra current provided by a USB C port shouldn't be a problem (the device should only draw as much current as it needs), USB C chargers can also operate at more than five volts, and that is potentially a problem. A device designed to operate / charge at 5 volts, which a device with a micro USB port would be, should not be provided a higher voltage than that.
Many eBay sellers, including me, sell new ports for a whole variety of Samsung devices for very affordable prices (I charge $2.99).. this would prevent you from having to desolder the port from an existing board, which is not a trivial procedure.
Almost all of the USB ports that I sell are Samsung. I don't know what it is about Samsung ports that makes them so much less stable than other brands, but they clearly are."
I will be starting this project tonight. My tab A is paid for and been with me for a long time. The plastic inside the port broke first, I was lucky in all the pins stayed in place so I got a few more charges to play and get all my files backed up before two of the pins broke and now it's no more then a paper waight. I didn't buy anything off ebay and plan to just take the parts off another device. I'm also looking into if I can change it to a type C rather then oem type B. I'll record it and post it on YouTube if it's successful but will let you know my findings either way. I have replaced ports on other phones before and also am an active drone pilot so I do decent soldering and have a basic knowledge and experience level with chips and wires that this should not be impossible for me to do. I love my tabA and will take every precaution.
I tried something completely different. I have very amateur abilities with basic repair in computers, tablets. In searching for answers to charging issues, I did find the port on my Tab A was soldered. I looked over the port, and then the cables themselves. What I noticed on USB charging cables is sometimes they may be bent a little or a lot from constantly being plugged in and unplugged. After making sure dust and debris was removed from both port and micro end of the USB cable, I tried slightly squeezing the micro end “back into shape”, and it tightened up and charging was noticeably better, but not perfect. I am wondering if we can slightly squeeze the port back into shape as I did with the micro end. It would then be tightened up as well which may be what is needed. One of you may have a moment to try it and let me know. If it works, I can reopen my Tab A when I have time and try it myself. And, at that time, I can fix the rear camera issue that happened when I put the Tab back together. I obviously didn’t have the camera and cable placed correctly, and I now see a slight dark spot on my screen where the camera and cable are pressing on the glass..
