Motivation
My son’s 10 inch tablet was only 2 years old when it’s battery stopped charging. It got to the point where he was using it plugged in the whole time. I have upgraded Tablet batteries many times, they are much easier to open than phones usually.
But we couldn’t find the correct battery. The only one available that would be a reasonable fit (apart from the dealer who charges the same price as a new tablet for factory replacment part) was 2000MaH less, so something like 4 hours of battery life. Unacceptable.
But I had an old power bank which had tons of 18650 Lithium re-chargables inside. The charging port broke on that, so I took them out, and..
*PLEASE NOTE: I BOUGHT MY SON A NEW TABLET, SO THE OLD ONE WAS SPARE. THIS HACK IS NOT KID FRIENDLY – I MADE IT FOR MYSELF! ALSO I DON’T TAKE THIS OUTSIDE IN PUBLIC – EVER.
Materials needed
- Tablet, with the old battery (we need this)
- 18650 batteries (I used 3 in parallel)
- 18650 battery holders
- 18650 battery charger (optional but you are gonna want to make sure all batts are charged the same)
- Wire
Steps
- Open tablet, take out old battery (I found a teardown video on youtube for mine which helped)
- Cut off the metal parts connecting the charge control circuit to the battery. Make sure to note which one is + and – (use a multimeter if not labeled)
- Safely dispose of battery. Solder 2 wires to charge control circuit, leave quite long. (see pic – green and red/black wires connected to green circuit board)
4. Drill 2 holes in the back of the tablet and put the wires through (make sure not to drill through anything important!). Then insulate the charge controller and plug its connector back in.
5. Secure the charge control circuit with a bit of tape (double sided works good for padding) and close up the tablet.
6. Get the battery holders and put double sided tape on the bottom of each. Orient them with the correct polarity and solder them in parallel to the wires coming out of the tablet.
7. Place your batteries in (make sure they all have the same charge please I’m told this is important) the correct way around (!)
8. Switch on and enjoy. Mine charges fine when the tablet is plugged in, the combined capacity of the 3x 18650 is more than the original battery, and in case of a power outage I have more in reserve!
The battery holders actually hook onto the stand I have really well for watching my favourite Crunchyroll Anime!
Disclaimers
This may not work for you, don’t try it unless you know what you are doing with a soldering iron. I cannot be held responsible for your expensive failure.
Exposed battery terminals at the back are a shock and fire risk. They don’t do it like this for A REASON.
Do I need to mention that your warrantee is now void?
Thanks to REDDIT I have also added some hot glue to the holes (so the wires don’t rub and get exposed and short)