While the iPhone 4 battery is a big improvement over its predecessors, over time its capacity
will diminish, and you’ll feel the pressure to buy a new phone, just because it doesn’t
hold a charge like it used to.
Here’s the big secret: you can replace the battery yourself.
It only takes about 10 minutes and is way cheaper than buying a whole new phone.
Hi, I'm mj with iFixit, and today I'm going to show you how to replace the battery on
your iPhone 4.
This might be the easiest repair you'll ever do, but just in case, you'll want to follow
the repair guide on our site.
Tool-wise, this repair couldn't get much easier.
All you'll need is a Phillips #00 screwdriver.
I'm using the one from our 26 piece bit driver kit, some plastic opening tools and your replacement
battery.
Now there is a chance apple didn't use phillips screws on your iPhone.
Apple has also been using a 5 point tamper resistant screw, and if your phone has those,
you will want to check out our iPhone 4 liberation kit.
It comes with the driver you will need to get those screws out.
The only trick to this repair is to make sure the silent switch is activated and the phone
is powered off before you begin.
So to start, I'll remove these two Phillips screws on either side of the dock connector…
then I'll push the rear panel toward the top edge of the iPhone-- It'll only move about
2 millimeters.
After sliding it upward a little, the rear panel should come off easily.
There’s only one screw I need to remove to free the battery, so I’m going to remove
it and then...
use my iPod opening tool to gently pry up the battery connector.
You’ll want to only pry it from the top and bottom of the connector, and be careful
not to pry against the pressure contact.
Once that screw is out and the connector is disconnected, I can remove the antenna contact
from the phone and set it aside.
Now I can use the plastic pull-tab to remove my old battery.
Apple used an excessive amount of adhesive on some iPhones, so if you’re really struggling
to remove the battery with the pull-tab, try using an iPod opening tool to pry up the battery
instead.
With the old battery out, I can put the new battery in; before you connect the battery
connector, make sure the tiny little pressure contact is in position.
Also, clean off all of the metal-to-metal contact points with windex or some other kind
of degreaser before you reassemble your iPhone because the oils on your fingers can cause
wireless interference, and with AT&T as your carrier you really can’t afford that.
KIDDING!
Not really...
After I’ve cleaned off my contact points, I’m ready to reassemble my iPhone, and I
can get back to playing Angry Birds without killing my battery.
Of course, you can find the parts and tools you'll need for this and many other repairs
at iFixit.com.
And if you run into problems during your repairs, there are tons of resources available on the
iPhone 4 repair manual page.
Thanks for watching, and happy repairing!