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Thursday, Sep 16, 2021 - 23:24 SGT
Posted By: Gilbert

Right To Refurbish

I have been using my old Samsung S7 Edge as my leisure browsing device for several years now, after the S20+ became my main phone, and it was with some dismay that I discovered its back pushing off, even within its powerbank casing. Closer examination revealed that the battery had swollen appreciably, and some searching revealed a subreddit dedicated to these spicy pillows, and the danger they can pose. From how even these relatively-small batteries can go off, one understands how apartments can burn down due to faulty PMD-size ones (possibly to be mitigated by local research)

Well, there are used S7 Edges going on Carousell for S$150 and up, but I thought mine deserved a new lease of life after its long service, and went looking about on Shopee for the required components. The biggest outlay would be for a new powerbank casing for S$46 (have gotten used to the weight), with a replacement battery (S$21), glass back (S$7) and hydrogel film screen protector (S$2) coming up to just S$30 combined (and a little more for shipping). Haven't been tinkering around recently, so it should be a good time to get those hands busy (always been a sucker for those crafts videos that pop up on LinkedIn now and then)


The culprit


I mean, it seems straightforward, right? Get the back of the phone off, take out the battery, put in the new battery, replace the back. Well, from the various YouTube D.I.Y guides, removing the phone back requires heating to begin with. Just as well that the expanding battery had done part of the work here, huh? I made to simply tear the rest of it off, and accidentally shattered the back cover. Eh, it was bent anyway, and that's what the new cover's for.

On to the next step, removing all those tiny screws. I did have some keychain eyeglass screwdrivers gotten on a whim, and managed to get all but four of them out, and that after bringing tricks like applying the force through paper (more commonly rubber bands, for larger screws). Well, these stubborn buggers weren't going to defeat me, and thus I went back to Shopee for a better screwdriver, which dealt with two more thanks to the increased torque. The last two still didn't feel like coming out, but since they were on the side, it was possible to pry the battery out, with them still embedded. Still, one figures that these sort of repairs should have been designed to be much easier to make, but I suppose the additional (unnecessary) pain imposed is good for the manufacturer's pocketbook, whether from servicing fees or encouraging new purchases, thus all the resistance.

A few old credit cards would be sacrificed, but the battery just wouldn't budge despite all the prying, to which I realized that the bottom had been stuck on by adhesive tape. I had had enough of this nonsense, and high-tailed it to the nearest smartphone repair outlet with the parts. I did apply the screen protector personally - and quite well too, if I say so myself - and a bit of buffing first with the included wipes, and then microfibre cloth and a 100% living hamsterfur brush (optional) had the S7 Edge looking as good as new. A job well done!



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