The Galaxy S23+ is the middle phone of its family and the first to charge at 45 W, which is why it behaves differently from the S23 next to it. It reaches that speed only with a 45 W USB PD 3.0 PPS adapter and a cable that is rated for 5 A; with a 25 W brick, an ordinary 3 A cable or a car socket it still charges, just at a lower rate, and the lock screen label drops from a super fast message to Charging slowly. A phone that does nothing at all when plugged in is a different problem, and on a three-year-old S23+ the likeliest causes are a USB-C port clogged with pocket lint, a worn cable, or Protect battery holding the charge at 85 percent.
Differential
Likely causes of “Samsung Galaxy S23+ will not charge or charges slowly”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
A 5 A rated cable is missing from the chain
What separates it The phone says Fast charging or Charging slowly instead of the super fast message, and a full charge takes close to two hours
How to confirm Swap in the cable that came with a Samsung 45 W adapter or any cable marked 5 A, and charge from a wall socket rather than a power strip; the label should change within a minute
- 2
Pocket lint compressed into the USB-C port
What separates it The plug feels loose, charging starts only when you push the cable sideways, or the phone reports moisture when the port is dry
How to confirm With the phone switched off, light the port with a flashlight and lift the lint out with a wooden toothpick, scraping the walls rather than the center tongue
- 3
Protect battery set to the 85 percent limit
What separates it Charging stops at 85 percent every day and the battery never reads full
How to confirm Open Settings, Battery, More battery settings and change Protect battery from Maximum to Basic if you want a full charge
- 4
The 45 W adapter has aged or been replaced by a cheaper one
What separates it Charging works on one adapter and crawls on another, and the adapter is warm but the phone is not
How to confirm Try the same cable on a second adapter and compare; PPS support is missing on many cheap multi-port chargers
- 5
A software fault after an update
What separates it Percent does not rise on any adapter, and the phone otherwise acts normally
How to confirm Restart, then charge for twenty minutes in Safe mode; if it charges there, an app is interfering and the newest ones should go first
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- Which adapter and cable you use, and whether either charges another phone properly
- The message on the lock screen while charging: slowly, fast or super fast
- Whether wired, wireless or both are affected, and whether the phone feels hot
- How long a charge from 20 to 80 percent takes on a wall socket
Try in this order
0 of 6 completedRead the charging label first
ReversibleWhen you plug in, look at the lock screen. The S23+ shows a different message for slow, fast and super fast charging, and it tells you at once whether the chain of adapter and cable is the limiting part.
Swap one part at a time
ReversibleChange the cable first, keeping the adapter, then change the adapter, keeping the cable. Use the Samsung 45 W adapter and a 5 A cable as the reference pair. Changing both at once hides which part was at fault.
Clear the port with a light and a toothpick
ReversiblePower the phone off. Shine a flashlight down the port and gently scrape out compressed lint with a wooden toothpick, then plug in a cable and check that it sits firmly and clicks to a stop.
Look at the Protect battery setting
ReversibleSettings, Battery, More battery settings, Protect battery. Maximum stops at 85 percent, which looks like a charging fault if you have forgotten you set it.
Try a wireless charge once
ReversiblePut the phone on a Qi pad without a case and center it on the coil. Wireless works at up to 15 W on this phone; if it charges there but not by cable, the port or cable is at fault.
Test in Safe mode and run diagnostics
ReversibleRestart in Safe mode and charge for twenty minutes, then open Samsung Members, Get help, Phone diagnostics, Battery and charging to test the cell and circuit.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- The 45 W rule
- Full speed needs three things at once: a 45 W PD 3.0 PPS adapter, a 5 A cable, and a cool phone. If any one is missing the S23+ drops to a lower rate.
- Wireless on the S23+
- Qi wireless charging at 15 W, and Wireless PowerShare at 4.5 W for charging earbuds or a watch from the back of the phone.
- Repair route
- Samsung's US list shows $249 for the screen module repair that includes a new battery, and a separate port repair is a service item at a Samsung center.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If two adapters and two cables fail and the port is clean, book a Samsung repair; the port is a replaceable part and is cheaper than a new phone
- !If the connector is loose in the port even with a clean cable, the port itself is worn and needs replacing
- !A phone that is hot, smells of burning, or has a back that is lifting must go to service immediately; do not keep charging it
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Exact questions
Common questions
How fast does the Galaxy S23+ charge?+
Wikipedia lists 45 W wired Super Fast Charging 2.0 for the S23+ and 15 W wireless, against 25 W wired for the S23. With the right adapter and cable Samsung quotes roughly two-thirds of a charge in half an hour.
Why is my S23+ charging so slowly?+
The most common reason is a cable that is not rated for 5 A or an adapter that is not a 45 W PPS charger. Heat can also slow the charge, so cool the phone and charge it idle.
Does Samsung put an adapter in the S23+ box?+
Not in the US. Samsung sells its 45 W adapter separately, so many owners use an older 15 W or 25 W brick without realising.
Is a worn USB-C port common after three years?+
Yes. Daily plugging, pocket lint and loose cables wear the port. A clean-out fixes many cases; a loose connector needs a repair.