Replacing a mobile phone battery (in a shop)

[OneMoreFarang]

I have a MI, Xiaomi, POCO (all the same) since about 2 years. It works fine. When I bought it and used it the whole day, then in the evening, when I charged the phone, it showed maybe still 70% battery capacity. Now it is down to about 50%, with similar usage.

In the moment that is still fine, but it looks like some time in the future I will need a new battery - or a new phone.

 

I think about going to the official store, i.e. in Fortune Town, and ask them to replace the battery.

 

Did anybody of you replace the battery in a phone like that? Does it work perfect again? Or is a (slowly) failing battery a sign or reason to buy a new phone?

What is your experience?

 

I don't really need a new phone, I just want to prepare for the moment when in the evening there is only 20% battery left. Then it will be time to replace the battery or buy a new phone. 

[Tropicalevo]

I am not aware of the brand of your phone, but over the years I have replaced batteries in a number of different phones.

There are usually no issues with the new batteries.

However, I suggest that you buy original manufacturer's batteries if they are still available.

'Copy' batteries are not as good and seem not to last very long.

Going to an official store is a good move but they will want to sell you a new phone anyway.

[dddave]

25 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I have a MI, Xiaomi, POCO (all the same)

Good Xiaomi specific forum on Reddit. Better information available there.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Xiaomi/

[carlyai]

Up country, B300 to change a battery in a Samsung mobile.

 

[LS24]

Have replaced a battery in a Xiaomi phone but not from the OEM supplier. worked fine. Just buy the battery from a reputable seller and then check specs with an app like Ampere.

 

I have an underscreen finger scanner and there was no issue.

[thoengthaied]

Hello OneMoreFarang, I have been using those phones for many years. I started with a Pocophone which I had for maybe 6 years then about 4 years ago I bought a Xiaomi Redmi K30 Pro Zoom which I am using to this day. I can't remember why, but about 2 years ago I decided that I would like to replace the battery on this phone. I searched the internet and found a youtube video on how to replace the battery. On opening up the phone as described in the video I was able to remove the battery, and searched again on Google for a replacement which is a Panasonic Li-ion battery, 680mAh. I found what I wanted and duly ordered 2 online. They arrived quite quickly if I remember, and I think they came from China. Sorry, can't remember the cost. I was able to install one of the batteries using the instructions on the youtube video and it has been working very well ever since (about 2 years now). I still have the other new battery in a drawer ready to install if the current battery needs replacing. I have just searched again for the youtube video so that I could send you a link but cannot find at the moment. So, I hope this helps and wish you good luck.

[CharlieH]

May be of interest and use.

 

[FritsSikkink]

What is the problem with being at 20% if you are recharging it anyway? I understand that you want to be sure that you can use it all the time. Buying a power bank would give you the opportunity to recharge it anytime, also available at Fortune Town.

[sometimewoodworker]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

I don't really need a new phone, I just want to prepare for the moment when in the evening there is only 20% battery left. Then it will be time to replace the battery or buy a new phone. 

That is the wrong metric. 
when the battery will only hold about 70% of the new value it’s time to change it

[LukKrueng]

Why would you charge a phone battery at 70%? Or 50%? A battery has a number of cycles it can go through before it start losing the efficiency to hold power. The more times you charge the worse gets. Better let it drop to about 20% before charging it, so in your case, when the phone was new it it only used 30% per day you should have charged it once every 3 days. As @sometimewoodworkerwrote, when you try to fully charge the battery and it doesn't go above 70% - that would be a good time to look for new battery or phone.

[GammaGlobulin]

15 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

Why would you charge a phone battery at 70%? Or 50%? A battery has a number of cycles it can go through before it start losing the efficiency to hold power. The more times you charge the worse gets. Better let it drop to about 20% before charging it, so in your case, when the phone was new it it only used 30% per day you should have charged it once every 3 days. As @sometimewoodworkerwrote, when you try to fully charge the battery and it doesn't go above 70% - that would be a good time to look for new battery or phone.

I believe this is NOT true of lithium ion batteies. 

 

I keep my NOTE4 charging 95 percent of the time. No problem. 

 

You may be thinking of the older nickel metal hydride batteries. 

 

Also, don't buy a phone that does not have user replaceable batteries. 

 

Soon, the EU will require all phones to have user replaceable batteries, just like my NOTE4. 

 

Don't buy before then, maybe 2 more years. 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

14 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

Why would you charge a phone battery at 70%? Or 50%? A battery has a number of cycles it can go through before it start losing the efficiency to hold power. The more times you charge the worse gets. Better let it drop to about 20% before charging it, so in your case, when the phone was new it it only used 30% per day you should have charged it once every 3 days. As @sometimewoodworkerwrote, when you try to fully charge the battery and it doesn't go above 70% - that would be a good time to look for new battery or phone.

You may have misread my post.

if your new phone battery storage is 5,000mAh when the used battery only holds 3,500mAh (that is 70% of the new battery charge) you will need to replace it.

FWIW the number of times you charge a current mobile phone is not the complete information. It is the number of complete  charges that count so 5 X 20% charges are 1 complete charge cycle. Apple batteries typically last at least 2 years before the loose more than 20% capacity, if your battery falls below before 2 years this and you have AppleCare + you get a free replacement, you can be a sure that Apple replaces very very few batteries for free

[kennw]

22 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I have a MI, Xiaomi, POCO (all the same) since about 2 years. It works fine. When I bought it and used it the whole day, then in the evening, when I charged the phone, it showed maybe still 70% battery capacity. Now it is down to about 50%, with similar usage.

In the moment that is still fine, but it looks like some time in the future I will need a new battery - or a new phone.

 

I think about going to the official store, i.e. in Fortune Town, and ask them to replace the battery.

 

Did anybody of you replace the battery in a phone like that? Does it work perfect again? Or is a (slowly) failing battery a sign or reason to buy a new phone?

What is your experience?

 

I don't really need a new phone, I just want to prepare for the moment when in the evening there is only 20% battery left. Then it will be time to replace the battery or buy a new phone. 

Yes I replaced the battery myself in a Samsung phone, you need to heat the back to soften the glue that holds it then gently prize it off. Often the new battery pack will contain a prizing tool. Google u-tube to see the steps. 

[FolkGuitar]

Many people have different attitudes about 'when' to charge their phones. We see people charging their phones everywhere they sit for a few minutes. My favorite restaurant even has charging stations for customers to use while eating. We see people every day untangling charging cables, searching for a charging outlet, or dealing with carrying around heavy power banks.

 

Personally, I put my phone in the charging dock every night, even if it is still at 95%. I like to start the day with a full charge so if some unexpected drain occurs (many calls, streaming media, GPS travel, etc., I don't have to worry about dealing with charging when I need to be using the phone. I've never had a problem using my phone this way.

 

Every few years I do need to change the battery. So for about 800 Baht and 30 minutes of my time once every 3-4 years, I change it. No big deal. I do buy OEM batteries online, as most often the small shops carry reconditioned batteries that don't last as long.

When you do buy online, the batteries usually come with all the tools needed to do the job, and a good set of instructions. Youtube has several instructional videos covering the various phone brands. Takes about 30 minutes to do if you've never done it before. The kit below is for iPhones. The kit for your brand may have different tools.

Edited September 2, 2023 by FolkGuitar

[OneMoreFarang]

Thanks for all your information.

It seems now the battery gets worse and it is definitely time to replace it.

I will let a professional shop do the replacement. Work like that is cheap in Thailand. I won't spend an hour of my time to try to do this, and do it somehow not perfect because I do it the first time, when the alternative is to pay a shop a few hundred THB to do that job. And they did it probably already hundreds of times. 

[ujayujay]

I change the Battery on Smartphone within Minutes. Specially Xiaomi/Mi Brand. Order before the correct Battery and the needed tools are includet!

[OneMoreFarang]

Funny enough, the recent lower battery on my phone was probably not the battery's fault but some app or background process which used more power.

Most of the time I never switch my phone off. Recently I did switch it off, and after that the phone battery showed similar usage like months ago. Interesting. 

[sometimewoodworker]

10 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Funny enough, the recent lower battery on my phone was probably not the battery's fault but some app or background process which used more power.

The information that you need is something like this

 

this shows the amount that an old battery will deteriorate in time, in this case if I wanted to use this on battery power I would need to get this one replaced