Since I can't upgrade my iPhone4 for another year without paying substantially more, I decided to just replace the battery on it. I went to ifixit.com and purchased the toolkit (plastic tools and a pentalobe screwdriver) and a replacement battery. Altogether it cost about $50.
The video and pictorial guides on the site are very complete and easy to follow. It was not a repair without its challenges though. If are at all a klutz with tools, don't try this at home!
Taking the back off is the simple part. The pentalobe screws are very very tiny and having magnifying lens glasses helps in all these processes. There are just two screws and then the back slides up and off.
One you remove the very tiny Phillips head screw from the battery connector, you have to remove the antenna contact clip and set it aside. I did this with tweezers as I didn't want my fingers touching it for fear of interference later.
You have to use one of the little plastic prying tools (called a spudger) to pry up on the battery connector. A gentle touch and patience is required with all these delicate parts.
There is a plastic tab to pull on to release the battery from the phone once the connection is free. I didn't use this tab at all as my battery was so firmly glued to the phone it was useless. I used the spudger and pried away at it from all angles... again gently with patience. It finally came free.
Putting the new battery in was just the reverse process. I made sure I kept the little antenna contact set aside in the same orientation so I knew how it went back (important little piece for WiFi signal). The new battery actually had a slightly longer ribbon cable to it so I had to connect the contact first and then careful put the battery in the phone without kinking the ribbon cable... those things are fragile and one kink could sever the battery lead.
One it was back together again, I powered the phone back up again. Worked like a charm and now my iPhone4 feels like new. $50 and 45 minutes of installation.
The video and pictorial guides on the site are very complete and easy to follow. It was not a repair without its challenges though. If are at all a klutz with tools, don't try this at home!
Taking the back off is the simple part. The pentalobe screws are very very tiny and having magnifying lens glasses helps in all these processes. There are just two screws and then the back slides up and off.
One you remove the very tiny Phillips head screw from the battery connector, you have to remove the antenna contact clip and set it aside. I did this with tweezers as I didn't want my fingers touching it for fear of interference later.
You have to use one of the little plastic prying tools (called a spudger) to pry up on the battery connector. A gentle touch and patience is required with all these delicate parts.
There is a plastic tab to pull on to release the battery from the phone once the connection is free. I didn't use this tab at all as my battery was so firmly glued to the phone it was useless. I used the spudger and pried away at it from all angles... again gently with patience. It finally came free.
Putting the new battery in was just the reverse process. I made sure I kept the little antenna contact set aside in the same orientation so I knew how it went back (important little piece for WiFi signal). The new battery actually had a slightly longer ribbon cable to it so I had to connect the contact first and then careful put the battery in the phone without kinking the ribbon cable... those things are fragile and one kink could sever the battery lead.
One it was back together again, I powered the phone back up again. Worked like a charm and now my iPhone4 feels like new. $50 and 45 minutes of installation.
