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 Post Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2022 10:40 pm 
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About a year ago my wife's Samsung Note 9 phone swelled -- basically the battery had gone defective and expanded inside the phone, popping the case apart. I had an extended warranty contract on it, so I was able to replace it with only a deductible charge for the claim.

Well, yesterday I discovered that my trusty Surface Pro 4 tablet had suffered the same fate. The screen was swelled out due to the expanded battery. A little research revealed that this, unfortunately, is something that can happen with lithium batteries if they are failing and there are quite a few reports oof it happening to Surface Pro 4 devices. Mine is 7 years old now. I haven't used it very much in the past 2 years as I haven't traveled. I did use it several months back when the graphics card on my desktop failed and the Surface Pro 4 still performed quite well then. It is well past warranty and the cost to replace the battery is not reasonable for an older device.

When the lithium battery in a device swells, it is at risk of further degradation - it can even be a fire hazard. I performed a full reset to wipe off my personal data and it goes to electronics recycling this weekend.

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 Post Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2022 10:56 pm 
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I don't know if this is accurate but I've heard that lithium batteries can be subject to humidity when not used and should be totally discharged if not going to be used for an extended period of time. :dunno:

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 Post Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:25 am 
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The same thing happed on my HP laptop. The battery started to swell and pushed the touchpad up on one side. I replaced the battery, and all was fine. I have since had to replace the battery again. Funny looking thing, looks like a black ice pack.

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 Post Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:08 am 
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jaylach wrote:
I don't know if this is accurate but I've heard that lithium batteries can be subject to humidity when not used and should be totally discharged if not going to be used for an extended period of time. :dunno:


I know that they are sensitive to heat. I don't think that humidity is a concern as they are sealed, though it is a concern during manufacturing of the battery. I found references to the fact that manufacturing of lithium batteries requires a very low humidity environment as moisture inside the sealed battery will cause premature failure.

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 Post Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:11 am 
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BillG wrote:
The same thing happed on my HP laptop. The battery started to swell and pushed the touchpad up on one side. I replaced the battery, and all was fine. I have since had to replace the battery again. Funny looking thing, looks like a black ice pack.


Unfortunately, the majority of tablets and mobile phones are not designed to be taken apart to replace the batteries. My old Lumia (Windows Phone) had a replaceable battery, which I replaced when it was not maintaining a charge long enough.

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 Post Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:25 am 
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sboots wrote:
BillG wrote:
The same thing happed on my HP laptop. The battery started to swell and pushed the touchpad up on one side. I replaced the battery, and all was fine. I have since had to replace the battery again. Funny looking thing, looks like a black ice pack.


Unfortunately, the majority of tablets and mobile phones are not designed to be taken apart to replace the batteries. My old Lumia (Windows Phone) had a replaceable battery, which I replaced when it was not maintaining a charge long enough.

That is a plus that I will give to my MacBook Air. It is actually a rare case where a few screws easily opens the case and three more screws allows the battery to be removed and replacement of the battery.

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 Post Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:47 am 
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I know new rules are in place (it may only be in the EU) but devices like phones are to be make so that the user can make repairs. This to cut down on the waste of having to throw out a device when a simple repair would keep it working.

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 Post Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:52 am 
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I hope it doesn't happen with my HP Laptop, it's the one running Windows 10 but that has to be kept plugged in to run as the battery is completely spent. Since I got my 11 laptop I don't use the other that much and it only gets turned on when I remember to check it out for any updates for it.

There is no way I could change the battery as there is no evidence I can get into it.

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 Post Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 1:49 pm 
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Joan,
The screws are hidden beneath the rubber pads on the bottom. You will probably need a guitar pick to split the halves of the case apart as there is probably glue.
I know you are not planning to do this, I just thought you might like to know.

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 Post Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2022 9:50 am 
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BillG wrote:
Joan,
The screws are hidden beneath the rubber pads on the bottom. You will probably need a guitar pick to split the halves of the case apart as there is probably glue.
I know you are not planning to do this, I just thought you might like to know.


Thank you for the information Bill, as you say there is no way I will be attempting to try and do it. It's an HP Envy 2 in 1 with a touch screen.

The Asus I had was easy the battery on that was just a plug in power pack.

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 Post Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2022 3:58 pm 
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My HP laptop is the same as yours. And I do remember it was a lot easier to change the battery when it was plugged into the back of the computer.

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 Post Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2022 4:49 pm 
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The laptop I use now running Windows 11 is an HP it would be the same problem with regards to the battery when the internal one no longer keeps a charge and has to be plugged into the mains all the time.

I liked the Asus but the problem I had with it was it got very hot underneath while running whereas the HPs are very cool to the touch and there is no heat generated while it's running.

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