There seems to be some confusion about the solutions we have all found for the dreaded Sony bug .Yes it does exist and it impacts the charging and possibly some other features too. Not everyone is impacted or some people simply accept the problem and do not complain, but with the hundreds on this forum do not fear, it is Sony, not you.
The problem appears on almost every device from the Sony Z phone and Tablet all the way to the Sony 4. We have seen no bug reports for the new version of Sony, being the 5 release.
Once your phone would charge on any charger with any cable. And it worked up until Android version 4.4.4. The previous bugs were in Android 4.4.2 but Sony fixed those. This bug they have not fixed.
These are the solutions.
1. Use guides in the forum to install (Downgrade to) Andriod 4.4.4. on your phone. There is no software to downgrade if you have the Sony Z tablet. You are stuck with the bug
2. You can still charge if you have the following 1. High cacity charger and 2. High capacity cable. You may find yourself working your way through cables but here is a hint. If a USB cable works for a USB hard drive, it will probably work on your phone. Also, the stock cable that came with your phone will work.
The Chargers. Sony stock chargers are low capacity and may not charge your phone. You can buy other chargers that are higher capacity. I found the best one was the USB charging ports in the AC power board. You can install sofware for free called AIDA 64 to see what your phone is charging (or discharging) at. If you live in Australia the COLES USB chargers and the COLES power boards with USB charger ports built in, both work fine. The Coles USB Cables also work fine. (for non Aussies, Coles is a supermarket chain).
You will always have more success charging your phone or tablet turned off than turned on.
Factory reset does not work
Running your phone flat until it shuts off does not work.
Nothing you do other than downgrade andriod or upgrade your chargers and cables makes any difference.
Sony has not to date admitted there is a problem. We have surmised that the Google Andriod software does not address the unique sony hardware properly leading to problems with charge capacity, and battery level. Sometimes your battery may be fully charged but only say 88% for instance. The only way to tell is measure the up time and even then it is hard to tell. If you previously had AIDA 64 you can compare measurements.
Summary of solutions:
1. WAIT to see if Sony will address the issue.
2. WAIT to see if Google will address the issue for Sony.
3. Downgrade to 4.4.4
4. Change cables and chargers to ones that show a positive recharge (AIDA 64).
No more to add to this thread. We have been through it all many times. I know it is unfair. You may decide to no longer use Sony and if you are like me you simply send their advertisements to the recycle bin now instead of wowing the latest versions of Xperia anything. All we can really do is wait and see what happens. Most of us found work arounds not solutions. For phones, downgrading is a very real options. For tablets.. there are no images for downgrading.
So ignore what Sony support tell you. They deliberatly lie to us all and expect to get away with it. The only power we have is the power of our money. Stop buying Sony and they may get the message that we will only purchase from honest companies that promote quality and good support.
B.
