Glued iPhone batteries may be a thing of the past, if this new tech works out

AppleInsider

Apple is reportedly testing ways to make it a lot easier for users to remove the glue holding down the battery in the iPhone, with a report suggesting the new tech may arrive as soon as the iPhone 16.

Pulling a battery out of an iPhone

Like many mobile devices, the battery in the iPhone is a very difficult to service element. In the majority of cases, owners have to submit their iPhones to Apple or authorized repair centers to switch a worn battery for a new one.

With a large amount of components to remove to access it, as well as adhesives, the battery is quite difficult to replace normally. A user can do so via a self-service repair, but that still requires the rental of specialized tools from Apple itself.

Now, Apple is reportedly preparing to make replacement of the battery a bit easier for consumers. According to five people involved in the manufacturing process speaking to The Information, it may arrive with the iPhone 16 in at least one model.

If successful, it could also be rolled out to all iPhone 17 models.

The proposed change could make things easier, but not by much. After device disassembly, the current process of extracting the battery involves using tweezers to pull on adhesive strips. To add the new battery, a machine and tray is used.

The new version is called electrically-induced adhesive debonding, which involves encasing the battery in metal instead of foil. Using electricity, the battery can be dislodged from the chassis very quickly.

It is still a far cry from smartphones of yesteryear, which allowed users to easily remove the casing to grant them free access to the inside of the device, and the battery. It is thought that Apple will still be constructing the iPhone in a way that it will require specialist tools to take it apart, just like the current models.

Despite being easier, it seems likely that the process will only be accessible to customers well-versed in electronics, and are confident to perform their own repairs.

A regulatory pressure

Apple's work on the technology may have been prompted by regulators attempting to force tech companies into making their hardware more repairable by home users.

In July 2023, the European Council approved regulations to ensure that batteries in many different product categories are replaceable by users. This impacts the iPhone, along with other hardware like electric bike batteries and those used for industrial applications.

While that may be interpreted by some to mean an accessible battery door, but the rule doesn't specify it has to be easy to access. It does say that it can be removed using "commercially available tools," though specialized tools could be used if they are provided free of charge.

In June, Apple announced it was going to expand its Self Service Repair program to a total of 32 European countries, with Canada added in 2025.

Depending on how Apple operates its Self Service Repair program in Europe, this could be enough to meet the requirements of the regulation.

Rumor Score: Possible

Read on AppleInsider

mikethemartian

A simple fastener will do.

Xed

mikethemartian said:

A simple fastener will do.

That will work, but it also means the battery will need to have some sort of encasement or frame that will allow for a fastener to hold it. The benefit of the adhesive strips is that they are strong yet thin and lightweight. I don't think simply sandwiching the power source between other components is good enough from a safety perspective.

Afarstar

mikethemartian said:

A simple fastener will do.

Like Velcro?

VictorMortimer

mikethemartian said:

A simple fastener will do.

Yep.  Glued batteries are and have always been incredibly stupid.

One thing I always do when replacing a glued battery is to stick it to my jeans a few times before installing it, reducing the glue adhesion.  It makes it much easier to remove the next time.

sfmike64

Glued batteries are MORONIC. I had to replace the battery in my husband's Macbook Pro and when I looked at the steps and it was over 50, I paid someone $250 to fix something I could've done MYSELF on any other computer. It's infuriating and there's NO good reason for it. Not a single one. I hope the EU forces them to stop doing this under right to repair laws and regulations. Replacing a non-glued in battery takes 10 minutes.

And yes, Velcro could work amazingly well but is probably too thick unless they use ultra thin velcro. 

davidw

There is a reason why the battery in iPhones and iPads are "glued" down, that most here don't seem to realize. That is that the adhesive, which covers the whole backside of the battery, acts like thermal paste to help transfer the heat from the battery to the metal back cover. The back cover acts as a heat sink. Just like how thermal paste is applied between a CPU and the heat sink, to ensure as much contact as possible.

There is also a very small gap, (at least on the ones I've replaced), between the top of the battery and the screen on top of it. This acts as a insulator to keep as much heat away from the back of the screen and more importantly, to provide enough space for normal expansion of the  battery when it heats up. Therefore, one do not want that expansion gap between the battery and the back cover or any gap there at all, caused by just putting a small amount of adhesive on the corners of the battery (to hold it down) so that it can be easily removed later.

And if possible, when replacing the battery, one shouldn't just use any double sided tape but heat sink double side tape (they sell such a thing) when bonding the battery to the back cover. And the tape should cover the whole battery to ensure a complete bond. The very last thing one want to do is to use any adhesive that ends up acting like an insulator. (Which is why velcro is a no-no.)

 

https://www.amazon.com/25Mx20mmx0-15mm-Adhesive-Performance-Thermally-Heatsink/dp/B0751GYD6N /ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vuZ8wI-bHDxR-RnUCevX5nGN1r9HBmsOSpS0LmTCCj28eheGdWn-TftGSY5q35FRGB5oFvliVoFrEmHIro_UXYt7bLobmGg_L7scdtbsdE9N1pGuS96deJ5EzMuV7XUuo1syF_WxRA2jf1biKPkjTjiO-4oKr0fVYjxsvufpKPVGUbfz9QFQp6FwGRvgf9geH1c7Pjx9G5rfDYf-qHY2QNYuhKcv3DZgq0U21IWZxL0.eepM9THFhEfI7AZ6NcEfXDhnFm6XHmwpM6kbCB31seM&dib_tag=se&keywords=double+sided+thermal+tape&qid=1719535955&sr=8-2

One shouldn't be accusing Apple of unnecessarily making it difficult to replace the battery. But Apple do have a habit of over engineering a fix to a problem, where the fix might cause more of the problem later on, than the problem being fixed. 

I just use a hairdryer to heat the back cover for about 30 seconds, to soften the adhesive and battery can be easily pried off. But it still requires the battery to bend quite a bit (when being pried out.) and therefore, I would never use that battery again in another device. Don't know what internal damage could have been caused by the bending.  Which is why I don't buy used iPhone or iPad batteries, even if the seller say that it's in excellent health. No telling how much bending occurred when it was removed.

macxpress

Command strips would work great for securing in the battery. It's also easily removable and replacable without damaging the battery while removing it. Flat out glue is a very bad decision. 

VictorMortimer

macxpress said:

Command strips would work great for securing in the battery. It's also easily removable and replacable without damaging the battery while removing it. Flat out glue is a very bad decision. 

Clips would work great.  There is ZERO excuse for using the garbage they use, which is essentially a very thin "command strip" type strip (that breaks virtually every time you try to pull it out.

davidw said:

There is a reason why the battery in iPhones and iPads are "glued" down, that most here don't seem to realize. That is that the adhesive, which covers the whole backside of the battery, acts like thermal paste to help transfer the heat from the battery to the metal back cover. The back cover acts as a heat sink. Just like how thermal paste is applied between a CPU and the heat sink, to ensure as much contact as possible.

There is also a very small gap, (at least on the ones I've replaced), between the top of the battery and the screen on top of it. This acts as a insulator to keep as much heat away from the back of the screen and more importantly, to provide enough space for normal expansion of the  battery when it heats up. Therefore, one do not want that expansion gap between the battery and the back cover or any gap there at all, caused by just putting a small amount of adhesive on the corners of the battery (to hold it down) so that it can be easily removed later.

And if possible, when replacing the battery, one shouldn't just use any double sided tape but heat sink double side tape (they sell such a thing) when bonding the battery to the back cover. And the tape should cover the whole battery to ensure a complete bond. The very last thing one want to do is to use any adhesive that ends up acting like an insulator. (Which is why velcro is a no-no.)

 

https://www.amazon.com/25Mx20mmx0-15mm-Adhesive-Performance-Thermally-Heatsink/dp/B0751GYD6N /ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vuZ8wI-bHDxR-RnUCevX5nGN1r9HBmsOSpS0LmTCCj28eheGdWn-TftGSY5q35FRGB5oFvliVoFrEmHIro_UXYt7bLobmGg_L7scdtbsdE9N1pGuS96deJ5EzMuV7XUuo1syF_WxRA2jf1biKPkjTjiO-4oKr0fVYjxsvufpKPVGUbfz9QFQp6FwGRvgf9geH1c7Pjx9G5rfDYf-qHY2QNYuhKcv3DZgq0U21IWZxL0.eepM9THFhEfI7AZ6NcEfXDhnFm6XHmwpM6kbCB31seM&dib_tag=se&keywords=double+sided+thermal+tape&qid=1719535955&sr=8-2

One shouldn't be accusing Apple of unnecessarily making it difficult to replace the battery. But Apple do have a habit of over engineering a fix to a problem, where the fix might cause more of the problem later on, than the problem being fixed. 

I just use a hairdryer to heat the back cover for about 30 seconds, to soften the adhesive and battery can be easily pried off. But it still requires the battery to bend quite a bit (when being pried out.) and therefore, I would never use that battery again in another device. Don't know what internal damage could have been caused by the bending.  Which is why I don't buy used iPhone or iPad batteries, even if the seller say that it's in excellent health. No telling how much bending occurred when it was removed.

Virtually everything about this is wrong.

First, you DO NOT want the battery to be thermally coupled to a heat sink that is also the heat sink for the CPU.  The battery would get HOTTER because of it.

Fortunately, the back cover is not a heat sink in current iPhones, it's made of glass, which isn't that great at thermal conduction, particularly compared to the aluminum they used to use. 

And one should absolutely be accusing Apple of unnecessarily making it difficult to replace the battery, because that is exactly what they are doing.

Heat is the WRONG option for removing the adhesive.  Squirt a bit of 91% isopropyl alcohol in there, you'll be able to remove the battery undamaged.

But adhesive of ANY kind is doing it wrong.  Small metal clips with screws would be the perfect attachment for batteries like Apple uses, but that's ALSO the wrong approach, because batteries should be easily swappable without tools, like they were on older phones.  Changing the battery on my old Motorola flip phones took seconds, I kept spare batteries charging so I never had to worry about charging the phone itself, I just changed to a fully charged battery.  THAT is what Apple should be doing.

hexclock

Afarstar said:

mikethemartian said:

A simple fastener will do.

Like Velcro?

Alien Tape. 

Xed

hexclock said:

Afarstar said:

mikethemartian said:

A simple fastener will do.

Like Velcro?

Alien Tape. 

Vulcan technology.