Samsung Galaxy S8+ Battery Replacement

Written By: Jeff Suovanen

Comments: 18

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

1 - 2 hours

Introduction

Use this guide to replace the lithium-ion battery in your Galaxy S8 Plus. With daily use, a typical battery will last around 18-24 months before losing significant capacity. If your battery no longer holds a full charge or is causing unexpected shutdowns, you can follow the instructions below to restore your phone to good working order.

Before disassembling your phone, discharge the battery below 25%. A charged lithium-ion battery can catch fire and/or explode if accidentally punctured.

If your battery is swollen, take appropriate precautions. Do not heat your phone. If needed, you can use a dropper or syringe to inject isopropyl alcohol (90+%) around the edges of the back cover to weaken the adhesive. Swollen batteries can be very dangerous, so wear eye protection and exercise due caution, or take it to a professional if you're not sure how to proceed.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

Opening your phone will compromise its waterproof seals. Have replacement adhesive ready before you proceed, or take care to avoid liquid exposure if you reassemble your phone without replacing the adhesive.
Prepare an iOpener and heat the back of the phone along its left edge for about two minutes. This will help soften the adhesive securing the back cover.
You may need to reheat and reapply the iOpener several times to get the phone warm enough. Follow the iOpener instructions to avoid overheating.
A hair dryer, heat gun, or hot plate may also be used, but be careful not to overheat the phone—the OLED display and internal battery are both susceptible to heat damage.

Step 2

In the following steps, you'll be cutting through the adhesive securing the back cover.
The adhesive is laid out as seen in the first image, which shows the inside of the cover after it has been removed.
As seen from outside the phone, you'll be slicing through the adhesive in the areas shown:
Thick portions of adhesive
Thin areas of adhesive
Avoid prying or slicing in this area, to protect the fingerprint sensor flex cable.

Step 3

Secure a suction cup to the back cover, as close to the heated edge as possible.
The suction cup will not make a good seal on the curved portion of the glass, so avoid putting it on the very edge.
If the phone's back cover is cracked, the suction cup may not stick. Try lifting it with strong tape, or superglue the suction cup in place and allow it to cure so you can proceed.
Lift the back cover's left edge with your suction cup, opening a slight gap between the back cover and the frame.
This may require a significant amount of force, but you only need to open a very slight gap with the suction cup to insert your tool.
If you have trouble, apply more heat to further soften the adhesive, and try again. The adhesive cools very fast, so you may need to heat it repeatedly.
If you're using an iOpener, follow instructions to avoid overheating it, or the gel pack may burst.

Step 4

Insert an opening pick into the gap.
The rear glass can break if you use too much force or attempt to pry with metal tools.
Optionally, once the pick is inserted, you can add a few drops of isopropyl alcohol into the gap to help weaken the adhesive in the following steps.

I strongly advise using a modeling knife to cut the adhesive when you get a sufficient gap otherwise you may easily break the corners of the extremely thin back glass on the phone (as I did).

Michael De Angelis - 29/07/19

There are NO "Opening Picks" in the repair kit!!!!!

CA Winters -

Step 5

Slide your opening pick along the left edge of the phone to slice through the adhesive securing the back cover.
Afterward, it may help to leave the pick in place and grab a second pick as you proceed to the next step. Leaving the pick inserted can help prevent the glue you just separated from re-adhering.

Step 6

Continue slicing through the adhesive along the bottom edge of the phone.
Re-heat the back cover as needed to prevent the glue from cooling and hardening.
The glued area is larger here, so you'll need to insert your pick farther into the phone to fully separate it.
Again, it may help to leave the opening pick in place and grab another one for the following step.

Step 7

Slice through the remaining adhesive along the top edge and right side.
You can damage the fingerprint sensor's flex cable if you insert your pick too far in this step. Work carefully and use the diagram in step 2 for guidance.

Step 8

Don't try to fully remove the back cover yet.
Lift the back cover from its left edge and hinge it open slightly.

Step 9

Use the point of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the fingerprint sensor flex cable.

Step 10

During reassembly, in order to reconnect the fingerprint sensor cable, first angle the back cover into position until the cable connector lines up perfectly over its socket.
Then, use the flat end of your spudger to gently snap the connector into place by pressing it straight down.
If you have slender hands, you may be able to press the connector into place with your finger. Just be careful not to strain the cable.
This takes patience and a bit of practice. Don't rush it or attempt to force the connector into place.

Step 11

Remove the back cover.
To install a new back cover:
Use tweezers to peel away any remaining adhesive from the phone's chassis. Then clean the adhesion areas with high concentration isopropyl alcohol (at least 90%) and a lint-free cloth to prep the surface for the new adhesive.
Peel the adhesive backing off of the new rear glass, carefully line up one edge of the glass against the phone chassis, and firmly press the glass onto the phone.
To reinstall the back cover, or to install a back cover without pre-installed adhesive, follow this guide.
Be sure to turn on your phone and test your repair before installing new adhesive and resealing the phone.
If desired, you may reinstall the back cover without replacing the adhesive. Remove any large chunks of adhesive that might prevent the back cover from sitting down flush. After installation, heat the back cover and apply pressure to secure it. It won't be waterproof, but the glue is usually more than strong enough to hold.
You may also need to transfer the camera bezel to your new part. If that's the case, follow our camera bezel replacement guide.

Step 12

Remove the eleven 3.7 mm Phillips screws securing the wireless charging coil + antenna assembly.
If any screws are difficult to remove even when fully loosened, you can pull them out with tweezers.

Step 13

The wireless charging coil + antenna assembly is also secured with small plastic clips.
Use a spudger to gently pry up the plastic in the marked areas to pop the clips free.

The spudger tool has a pointy end and a flat end, it’s not clear which end should be used. Furthermore, the flat end is too wide to insert into the area shown, so the pointy end would seem obvious, but there is no clear indication whether it should be used to push any tabs in the area referenced, which I couldn’t find any, or if you’re meant to just sort of pry it in there until the area pops up, which is what I had to do. Then use the flat end of the spudger to lift it up gently after releasing, or popping the opposite side up as well.

Mark Velasco -

Step 14

Remove the wireless charging coil + antenna assembly.
To reinstall, first insert the top edge of the assembly into the phone's frame, and then gently press down on the rest of the assembly to snap it into place.

Step 15

Use a spudger to disconnect the battery by prying the connector straight up from its socket.

Step 16

The battery is strongly glued into place.
If available, apply some isopropyl alcohol under each corner of the battery and allow it to penetrate for several minutes to help weaken the adhesive.
Alternatively, apply a freshly heated iOpener to the display directly behind the battery for two minutes to help soften the adhesive. Re-heat and reapply the iOpener as necessary.

I'm replacing the battery on this phone for a friend. The back glass had partially come loose because the battery was swollen. I already have two of the tool packs from other phone repairs but this is my first battery swap and first time reading one of your repair guides. When I was first given the phone and saw one corner of the back coming loose, I grabbed one of the blue pics and carefully removed the back glass to do a visual. I didn't know the finger print reader is glued to the back glass. When I took the back off the FP reader stayed with the phone so the back was a breeze to take off.

Daniel Clayton -

Step 17

Insert a couple of opening picks or a plastic card along the outer edge of the battery.
Apply steady, even pressure to slowly lever the battery up and out of the phone.
Try your best not to deform the battery during this process. Soft-shell lithium-ion batteries can leak dangerous chemicals, catch fire, or even explode if damaged. Do not use excessive force or pry at the battery with metal tools.

Step 18

Remove the battery.
Do not reuse the battery after it has been removed, as doing so is a potential safety hazard. Replace it with a new battery.
To install a new battery and adhesive, follow this guide.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

For optimal performance, calibrate your newly installed battery after completing this guide.

Author

Jeff Suovanen

Member since: 06/08/13

427153 Reputation

14 comments

this Iso + Heat method makes tough adhesive a thing of the past! just be patient. like the guide says, 2 mins to allow iso to penetrate

I applied the alcohol using a small paint brush, dipped into my iso jar, and “painted” along the battery edges.

roughly 30 seconds with heat gun on the front glass, boom, a freed battery

Andrew - 21/09/18

Just received this kit and I see it comes with the big adhesive, but it also has a smaller blue adhesive and a rectangle thing(that I think goes behind the battery?) that has a small one with it. Where do these things go?

Nick Pf - 15/04/19

Check out their guide they have up now for the replacement of this adhesive. Specifically, take a look at the pictures in step 10 to see where the little pieces are supposed to go.

Scott - 23/08/19

Highly recommend against doing this. Even going carefully and reheating, 2 of the corners cracked when moving the pick through. So much for taking perfect care of the phone for 2 years =o(

Nick Pf - 28/07/19

Ditto. I ended up cracking my glass using the iOpener method as well. After no ordering and replacing the rear glass as well now, I am resorting to only using isopropyl alcohol from now on. No matter how hot I got the iOpener, how long I let it heat soak the adhesive, or how many times i reheated the iOpener and reapplied it, I never got any of this adhesive to come off without a risky struggle. And upon ordering all the adhesive kits, I still was shipped missing pieces of adhesive (camera, fingerprint reader, specific support adhesive, etc.). Very frustrating and time consuming process; far more than what these guides say it takes.

Scott - 23/08/19

why no diagrams of where all the gaskets go?! I’m lost.

Jason Everett - 31/07/19

Hi Jason,

Follow this link for a general Galaxy S adhesive guide! Hope that helps.

Arthur Shi - 31/07/19

I’m back! The battery lasted about 16 months,. 2nd time went a lot smoother, particularly since the adhesive behind the battery was now much less. The replacement battery-only did not come with adhesive at all, so I just didn’t use any this time. I ended up just replacing the back to go along with it so I wouldn’t worry about cracking it and it was much easier.

Nick Pf - 19/09/20

Bonjour.

Tuto parfait mais incomplet. Le kit iFixit comprend tous les adhésifs nécessaires. Mais le lien vers le tutoriel adhésifs ne présente que la mise en place de l’adhésif de la batterie - rien sur les autres qui sont pourtant bcp plus difficiles.

Les étapes les moins faciles :

- le retrait de la colle

- La remise en place la plaque arrière qui colle de partout à cause des adhésifs qui sont en place et où il ne faut pas se louper pour la reconnexion du fingerprint

- l’insertion du premier mediator pour trouver l’interstice : tout est affaire de dosage, fermeté mais pas trop, chaleur suffisante, etc …

Le iOpener (gel chauffant) m’a aidé à décoller la batterie en chauffant coté écran; par contre, il est insuffisant pour décoller la coque arrière (preferer séche cheveux)

Soyez patient et réfléchi et vous arriverez.

Didier MAURICE - 27/11/20

This guide should have said that the rear glass is likely to break. I used the IOpener and was very carefully with the picks but 2 corners are cracked. The rest went fine. The phone is working but the rear glass is broken. This is for me okay because I don’t care if the phone is not completly waterproof. I would recommend everyone who doensn’t want their phone to look like this buying a new rear glass and the battery kit togerther. It saves you cleaning time and can be easily done at the end. Also it only costs under 20 $. Or maybe use isopropyl alcohol. Also this kit only includes one isopropyl alcohol pad. This was not enough!!! The cleaning took me more than an hour and there was still glue at some parts of the phone. All in all I needed 3 hours.

Levios - 11/04/21

I just followed all the guides on here to replace my charging port, back glass cover and replace my battery. I managed to do it in around an hour with my Ifixit kit and it has already been paid for on my first phone. Awesome guides as well!

I tried a bag of heated water but heatgun was easier and faster.

Alexander Falk - 18/04/21

After replacing the battery the phone works fine. But it won’t charge. Any ideas what the problem could be?

Dominik -

These instructions are terrible! This is only half the job. What about putting it back together. I tried the links above and it kind of helps but the photos don't match what I have, even slightly, or again is half the steps. I have already wasted what I believe should have gone around the camera because I couldn't figure out it's rotation, before and after the backing was removed. Which way up do these go? Now that the battery glue strip is in, now what? How do I get the back glass on? No instructions, no links, no nothing. NOT IMPRESSED.

Jon Christensen -

This guide is NOT sufficient. Changing the physical battery is only one part of the process. This guide does not address the software side of things. It was the most disappointing feeling to see that there was NO change in battery behaviour after swapping out batteries. The phone still thinks it is an old battery and tries to limit charge level. As far as I know, there is no way to reset battery stats without rooting.

Maybe this will be helpful to someone, haven't tried it myself.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/reset...

Tomas -