Good Morning from my Robotics Lab! This is Shadow8472 with a side project of the week. Let’s get started!
I’ve had my Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016) since before my new Android device lockout. It’s held out for the most part, but several months ago, it developed a problem where it would lose power while plugging it in or unplugging it. At worst, it would pulse its battery charging picture until eventually moving to a charge meter. The problem grew worse over time, and new power cables didn’t solve the problem. The parts to replace the USB connector and battery were out of my price range. One day, I even made a “Goodbye” backup.
I don’t know how I found this, but a little pressure on the back let my tablet boot again. Sometimes, the battery would register as empty and shut down once Android loaded – even when connected to wall power and the battery showed up as 100% again a moment later.
I zeroed in on the left-middle (viewed from the front in portrait mode) as the place to press. As I got used to this arrangement, I had to keep pressing harder. Eventually, I pried the back cover off with an orange peeler. The battery has two sections, and I’d been pressing on the bottom-outside corner of the upper pack. The battery itself did not appear bloated or otherwise damaged, and continued to work applying pressure directly to the battery pack (DUMB IDEA, by the way; DO NOT TRY) and pressing the tiny, exposed power button.
As it turns out, Android sees the battery as a critical part (unlike laptops), and I don’t have the tools or know-how to simulate one, but some kind of wall-only power mode would have been a courteous gesture, even if it were buried deep within the firmware.
Through another month or two of observations, I learned how the battery failed when I stopped pressing too soon after booting or if the tablet started drawing too much power, such as when turning on when when plugging it in while off. With this, I narrowed my diagnostic to just the battery pack, which I figured was worth trying to replace. Reviews of different compatible replacement batteries said not to expect more than a year out of it – even genuine ones. My guess is that it’s all old stock, changes pushed to the operating system intended to slow battery aging, or a combination thereof.
Replacing the battery once it arrived was only a matter of formality. The screwdriver that came with the kit was worthless, but I had access to a better one. I expected little of the battery, and I got little of it. It’s a step or two above junk, but it’s worlds better than the old one. I just need to be a bit more careful about how I handle my tablet from now on. If it only lasts another year or less, my plan is to replace it entirely.
Final Question
I can’t find any information online about applying pressure to batteries. Do you have any insights? If so, I look forward to hearing from you in the comments below or on my Socials.