From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Yesterday I replaced the battery in my Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro.

Both the videos on how to do this showed the faceplate for the camera
lenses staying on the phone when the back was removed, but in my case,
the faceplate stayed with the back and the flat cable from the lowest of
the 4 circles was pulled out.

What do you think that circle is? The other 3 look like lenses, with
concentric circles, but this one is just a flat black circle.

I need to know what it is to decide how much effort I should put in to reconnecting it. Moderate pressure does not cause the faceplate to exit
the back of the phone. I'm sure I can separate the faceplate and the
back -- I have a 12 oz. hammer -- but I'd like to know why in advance.

The camera and flash seem to be working, though I didn't take any macro pictures and there are probably lots of other tests I did not make.




***All went pretty well. Took between an hour and 2 hours The longest
hardest part was detaching the old battery. The instructions said to use
heat, 90^C, that's almost boiling! But a video said not to use heat
just alcohol. The pry tool (a steak knife) actually made it spark when
it was 20% detached. but later I couldn't see where or how.

The battery had started pushing the back off the phone. I'm so dumb I
thought something was wrong with the case. After 3 days (during which I
barely used the phone) it was pretty clear. Once the back was off, the
vinyl bag around the battery seemed to be a swim toy, inflated. Not
sure if the gas pushed the back off or something harder.

When I saw that the battery was failing I backed up as much as I could
to the PC, I dimmed the screen to get as much time as I could without
charging (said to be dangerous), and it said 24 hours, but then I
plugged in the charger anyhow and it wouldnt show tha it was charging.
30 minutes earlier it did show that. Then I wondered if there was a
problem with the phone, but no, it was just the battery somewhoer.

Bought the battery from Amazon. Maxsharks. $19 for a kit that included
almost eveything. Including a screwdriver, but I have a kit for phones
with a magnetic screwdriver and the magnet is a big help. No glue to
glue to the back back on, however. Directions with color photos. They recommend 90C and stop at the point where the battery is out, no help on reassembly but there are other videos and text that cover that .

Tricky to get two flat connectors re-connected, took 60 seconds or so
for each. One more on the cable from the 4th circle.
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 8/6/26 11:31 AM, micky wrote:

The battery had started pushing the back off the phone. I'm so dumb I >thought something was wrong with the case. After 3 days (during which I >barely used the phone) it was pretty clear. Once the back was off, the
vinyl bag around the battery seemed to be a swim toy, inflated. Not
sure if the gas pushed the back off or something harder.

The wife's iPhone had its case swell up from a swollen battery one time. No
idea what caused it. It still worked so I just left it on a cookie sheet in
case of fire until the new Amazon battery arrived a few days later. She was
able to still use it remotely through her iPad.

Even scarier I was working on a laptop and when putting the cover back on I
put a long screw where a short screw went and punctured the battery. Fire
actually shot out of the laptop. I ran outside and threw it on my rock yard
where it continued to smolder. It was a complete loss of course.

So be careful where you carry a swollen phone. Front pants pocket? Yikes.
And of course be very careful when you do the replacement... 8-O


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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

In comp.mobile.android, on Thu, 6 Aug 2026 19:14:13 -0000 (UTC), AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:

On 8/6/26 11:31 AM, micky wrote:

The battery had started pushing the back off the phone. I'm so dumb I >>thought something was wrong with the case. After 3 days (during which I >>barely used the phone) it was pretty clear. Once the back was off, the >>vinyl bag around the battery seemed to be a swim toy, inflated. Not
sure if the gas pushed the back off or something harder.

The wife's iPhone had its case swell up from a swollen battery one time. No
idea what caused it. It still worked so I just left it on a cookie sheet in case of fire until the new Amazon battery arrived a few days later. She was able to still use it remotely through her iPad.

Even scarier I was working on a laptop and when putting the cover back on I
put a long screw where a short screw went and punctured the battery. Fire actually shot out of the laptop. I ran outside and threw it on my rock yard where it continued to smolder. It was a complete loss of course.

So be careful where you carry a swollen phone. Front pants pocket? Yikes.
And of course be very careful when you do the replacement... 8-O

I was using a steak knife to pry the battery out, and at one point it
sparked, but when it was out I could not find any metal showing except
at the end of the ribbon cable, and that was not where the spark was.

I used the phone for about 15 minutes 24 hours ago, and just now pickes
ir up. Sometimes the screen is right but most of the time there are
vertical bars of varying transparency going from the top to the bottom
of the screen.

I'll take it apart in an hour but I'm 98% sure I made good connections
with the battern ribbon and the other ribbon, and I'm sure the ribbon I
didn't connect is not doing this, because the back is off now and I'm
still getting the vertical bars. (Yes, I should have put some tape
between the two halves of the unconnected connector, but I don't think
they touched.)

Could a bad battery be doing this?

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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

In comp.mobile.android, on Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:36:51 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

In comp.mobile.android, on Thu, 6 Aug 2026 19:14:13 -0000 (UTC), AJL ><noemail@none.com> wrote:

On 8/6/26 11:31 AM, micky wrote:

The battery had started pushing the back off the phone. I'm so dumb I >>>thought something was wrong with the case. After 3 days (during which I >>>barely used the phone) it was pretty clear. Once the back was off, the >>>vinyl bag around the battery seemed to be a swim toy, inflated. Not
sure if the gas pushed the back off or something harder.

The wife's iPhone had its case swell up from a swollen battery one time. No >> idea what caused it. It still worked so I just left it on a cookie sheet in >> case of fire until the new Amazon battery arrived a few days later. She was >> able to still use it remotely through her iPad.

Even scarier I was working on a laptop and when putting the cover back on I >> put a long screw where a short screw went and punctured the battery. Fire
actually shot out of the laptop. I ran outside and threw it on my rock yard >> where it continued to smolder. It was a complete loss of course.

So be careful where you carry a swollen phone. Front pants pocket? Yikes.
And of course be very careful when you do the replacement... 8-O

I was using a steak knife to pry the battery out, and at one point it >sparked, but when it was out I could not find any metal showing except
at the end of the ribbon cable, and that was not where the spark was.

I used the phone for about 15 minutes 24 hours ago, and just now pickes
ir up. Sometimes the screen is right but most of the time there are
vertical bars of varying transparency going from the top to the bottom
of the screen.

I'll take it apart in an hour but I'm 98% sure I made good connections
with the battern ribbon and the other ribbon, and I'm sure the ribbon I >didn't connect is not doing this, because the back is off now and I'm
still getting the vertical bars. (Yes, I should have put some tape
between the two halves of the unconnected connector, but I don't think
they touched.)

Could a bad battery be doing this?

Goodle says, and if it's not the *new* battery, I could have predicted
that it's the snap-on connector, and indeed when I took the internal
cove off, the cable came with it, instead staying stuck It is hard to
connect those those things. So I tried again, and still no good.

Do you think I can be dmageing anythign by trying to run it with the
main, non-battery ribbon ccnnector from the bottom of the phone to the
top, misconnected?
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

In comp.mobile.android, on Thu, 06 Aug 2026 17:43:31 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

I was using a steak knife to pry the battery out, and at one point it >>sparked, but when it was out I could not find any metal showing except
at the end of the ribbon cable, and that was not where the spark was.

I used the phone for about 15 minutes 24 hours ago, and just now pickes
ir up. Sometimes the screen is right but most of the time there are >>vertical bars of varying transparency going from the top to the bottom
of the screen.

I'll take it apart in an hour but I'm 98% sure I made good connections
with the battern ribbon and the other ribbon, and I'm sure the ribbon I >>didn't connect is not doing this, because the back is off now and I'm
still getting the vertical bars. (Yes, I should have put some tape
between the two halves of the unconnected connector, but I don't think
they touched.)

Could a bad battery be doing this?

Goodle says, and if it's not the *new* battery, I could have predicted
that it's the snap-on connector, and indeed when I took the internal
cove off, the cable came with it, instead staying stuck It is hard to
connect those those things. So I tried again, and still no good.

Do you think I can be dmageing anythign by trying to run it with the
main, non-battery ribbon ccnnector from the bottom of the phone to the
top, misconnected?

ASI says "Yes, you can permanently damage an Android phone by assembling
it with a ribbon connector out of place.
Potential Risks
Bent or Crushed Pins: Forcing the phone together can crush the tiny
metal pins inside the connector.
Electrical Short Circuits: Misaligned pins can route power to the
wrong data lines, instantly frying components on the motherboard.
Torn Cable Ribbons: Putting pressure on a twisted or improperly
seated cable can easily tear its delicate copper traces."

And I think I did that, except the phone worked fine for at least 20
minutes last night. I did lots of things with it. I took pictures with
the flash in automatic, off, and on, and I looked at the pictures, and
they looked okay. . I looked at my gmail and at my Fastmail, I
downloaded more fastmail, and it was okay.. I used google lens, which
also uses the camera, to look at some little device I found in my
drawer, that plugged into the audio jack on iirc a cell phone, and I
read what Google Lens had to say and looked at one of the links. I put
the rubber case on,

I did all that last night, and may have used it this morning too. I
didn't bounce the phone around. I worked on the fence this morning and
the phone stayed on the kitchen table.

I didn't charge it because one set of instructinos said to run it down
and fully charge a new battery twice -- but other instructions didn't
say that and I was going to ask here.

There is a plastic cover for the "logic board" that is held on by 10
screws. When removed, you can see it has at least 4 rubber pads, two of
which are over the ribbon connectors from the battery and from the
bottom of the phone, the one that was loose when I took it apart the
second time Yhe pads are clearly designed to keep the connectors in
place. Maybe I should have tighten the screws another turn? The sceews
are 8 threads in an eighth of an inch. Could 1/64th or even 1/32 of an
inch not tightened be enough for the connector to move? None of the 10
screws were tight when I first unscrewed them. I tried to make them the
same tightness.

Of course I was happy to save 4 or 500 dollars but the bigger problem is
not the money I won'd save. It's the defeat. It's the failure to win.

I bought the phone 6 years ago. For a lot of you, that's plenty, but I
wanted to prove I could make it last much longer. But that's not the
defeat that's really bothering me. Its the failure to be able to
replace the battery, the failure to fix it. It's almost worse because
I seemed to have fixed it. And it *is* worse because I'm too stupid to
know what went wrong, after it was fixed.
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 8/6/26 3:34 PM, micky wrote:

I bought the phone 6 years ago. For a lot of you, that's plenty,

My phone is 7 years old with the original battery. And I treated the battery
poorly according to recommendations. For the early years I was an overnight
charger and in recent years I recharge at 80%. But for my light use it
still works fine - knocks on wood.

But that's not the
defeat that's really bothering me. Its the failure to be able to
replace the battery, the failure to fix it.

There comes a time when old phones need to be replaced. Technology marches
on. When mine finally expires I certainly am not going to try to fix it. My
biggest problem in my old age (I have 10 years on you IIRC) will will be
learning to use the new one. 8-O

My unrequested advice to you is do the same...


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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

In comp.mobile.android, on Fri, 7 Aug 2026 00:21:02 -0000 (UTC), AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:

On 8/6/26 3:34 PM, micky wrote:

I bought the phone 6 years ago. For a lot of you, that's plenty,

My phone is 7 years old with the original battery. And I treated the battery
poorly according to recommendations. For the early years I was an overnight charger and in recent years I recharge at 80%. But for my light use it
still works fine - knocks on wood.

Maybe I should have found some software which would have limited it to
80%. I was almost obsessive about 100%.

But that's not the
defeat that's really bothering me. Its the failure to be able to
replace the battery, the failure to fix it.

There comes a time when old phones need to be replaced. Technology marches
on. When mine finally expires I certainly am not going to try to fix it. My biggest problem in my old age (I have 10 years on you IIRC) will will be learning to use the new one. 8-O

No matter how impractical repairing it might have been, I tried and I
failed. I can't erase failure with appeals to practicality. But I'll
get over it. I did a good job on the fence the next day.

My unrequested advice to you is do the same...

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