Introduction
I started experiencing power issues with my laptop a few months after the warranty had expired - very short battery life (2 hours at most) and sudden power-offs rather than orderly shutdowns when hitting critical battery levels. I figured it was a problem with the battery and so decided to try replacing it.
Good thing too. When I opened it up, one of the cells had started expanding. It was very much in need of replacement.
Please note: I don’t consider myself a repair guru by any stretch, so please use this guide at your own risk. I just thought it might be helpful for others to know what I encountered in doing this to perhaps avoid some of my mistakes.
What you need
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Close the lid and flip it over. I was working with it so that the hinge is at the top.
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You'll need a Torx T5 driver to remove the screws. There are a total of eight that you'll need to unscrew. Sorry the photo had to be cropped so it doesn't show the three on the left side.
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Make sure you keep track of which screws go where. From what I can tell the top left and top right (closest to the hinge) are longer than the others, so you'll need to make sure they go back in the right place.
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OK, so here is where it got tricky for me. You'll notice that the back doesn't come off very easily. You'll need to get a spudger or something to (gently!) pry at the gap between the cover and the body. Don't try to pry it all the way off - just lift it off a bit.
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The reason it doesn't come off easily is because underneath the cover, on the top and bottom edge, are plastic clips that lock into slots in the body. See the photos to show what they look like. Unfortunately the photo of the bottom only shows 2 of the 3 clips.
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As far as I can tell, you need to insert something underneath once you've pried it up a bit to pull the plastic hooks toward the outside edge to have them release. I didn't realize this when I tried removing the cover, and as a result broke the plastic clips.
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Even if I did know of them, not sure how I would have been able to pull them to allow them to release - the gap is quite narrow.
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I don't think breaking the clips is the end of the world. They help secure the top and bottom edge, but I was able to reassemble anyway, though I imagine in the future there's a greater risk of a gap appearing at the top and bottom edges.
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There are four screws you need to unscrew. They are Phillips head. I used a 2.5 Phllips driver to remove. Don't remove the battery just yet
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On the right side of the battery, there is a clip that holds two wires (black and white) running to the speaker. Carefully lift those out of the clip.
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One the left side, you'll see a white socket where the plug from the battery connects. For me, it was easier to unplug once I started pulling out the battery, but just make note of it so you don't pull it too hard or the wrong way.
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Note also that just above the white socket there is a black wire that goes over the little flange where the screw goes in. Might need to pull that up slightly as you pull out the battery. I found it easiest to gently slide the battery to the right.
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Rather straightforward. But pay attention to the black cable above the white clip on the left as the flange (where you put the screw) needs to go under that cable
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Don't forget to put the two speaker wires on the right back into the clip on the battery. Something pointy will help to tuck them in.
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Also don't forget to tuck in the cable connecting the battery to the board. For me it took a bit of finagling, and I had to push down the wires coming out of the socket to move the battery in place.
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Rather straightforward, but pay attention to the clips (assuming you didn't break them like I did).
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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One Comment
Good and simple to follow! The size of the screwdriver was very helfull for me. Thaks for that data!
