Battery replacement for personal device

[California98Civic]

I have a 2014 Edition Samsung Tablet 10.1 (SM-P600). I have had it since it came out in Oct 2013. It is a heavy use item for me. I do not have a phone.

I am refreshing it rather than replacing it because I can upgraded the memory, replace the cracked screen, and install a new battery for $80. And I get to learn stuff.

BUT the battery I bought has a serious problem, unfortunately. It can hold a charge better than the 2013 OEM battery, but it it charges very slowly and the charge monitor has a red "X" over the battery icon the entire time.

It is not the fault of my charger, the connection, an outlet, or the device. I know this because putting the OEM battery back in gets rid of the red "X".

So the problem must be in the battery chemistry or the "pack" assembly. I cleaned the connector using MAP sensor cleaner. No change.

I think I can eliminate the chemistry as the problem. If the chemistry was bad, wouldn't it fail to hold a charge?

So I suspect that somewhere in the battery pack there is a bad connection. Does that sound reasonable? I wonder if I could mend it with a soldering iron. Your thoughts?

Here is a picture of the battery pack (not mine, just an online stock photo):



BTW, don't buy batteries from "Battery Monster" that company's return and warranty turns out to be no better than a con.

[freebeard]

Do you have a pinout for those three pairs of wires? I'm not sure how you measure the internal resistance of a battery. But you appear to have two circuits to compare.

I've had similar experience. I don't carry a panoption phone, but I got the Barnes & Noble Nook tablet when it came out. It was a front-end for their store as a loss leader, but it played MP3 and showed JPGs so I was happy with it.

Then the battery went out, but instead of replacing it, I got a new one because they are now down to $50. But the registration process to even boot it up was so onerous it's sitting in a box unused on a shelf.

So I said at least I got a new power brick (I'd had two fail) and they're $25. But then I see a news story that the power bricks are being recalled because fire hazard.

I'd just try again with a different company.

[SH@UN]

Way too much work. You can get new tablets on closeout for about $100. ��

[freebeard]

In which case, recycle responsibly.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by SH@UN

Way too much work. You can get new tablets on closeout for about $100. ��

I am partly motivated by the learning. And I still have the tablet to use. It is working fine this second, even with the charging problem. It has all my data and apps and configurations. Remember, it is not a toy to me. I really use it all day everyday as "phone" (google hangouts via wifi), texts, email, word processor, camera, games, calculator, flashlight, alarm clock, handwritten meeting notes, daily and long range calendar... you get the picture. I prefer the known devil to the unknown devil.

Originally Posted by freebeard

Do you have a pinout for those three pairs of wires? I'm not sure how you measure the internal resistance of a battery. But you appear to have two circuits to compare.

That's a good tip. And I went looking for a pinout in response. Could not find one. I found lots of dudes swearing by the idea of re-soldering the battery connector on the device (not the connector for the battery). But I know the connector on the device is not likely the problem because the OEM battery charges fine and fast and without the dreaded red "X". Something is wrong with the connections in the new battery. Maybe the connector just makes poor contact...

EDIT:Check this out. Here is some fine soldering. Here is a dude fixing my model tablet's battery connector by re-soldering. The video is grainy from magnification and shaky. To see how the job starts and ends, compare 0:01 with 2:16. Wow. Subtle but clearly improved. I need a specialist if this is my problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU0OoZSbma8

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by SH@UN

Way too much work. You can get new tablets on closeout for about $100. ��

Heck, the LG G Pad 7" can often be had for $45, sometimes with 500MB of free data.

https://slickdeals.net/e/9284123-100...archBarV2Algo1

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Heck, the LG G Pad 7" can often be had for $45, sometimes with 500MB of free data. ...

No thank you. That device is ridiculously inferior in capacities to my 4 year old Samsung 10.1 2014 Edition: this old device has 4 times its memory, about three times its RAM, a camera with twice the resolution, better audio quality, two speakers, twice the battery capacity, and a larger and better screen.

I'm refreshing what I have.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

No thank you. That device is ridiculously inferior in capacities to my 4 year old Samsung 10.1 2014 Edition: this old device has 4 times its memory, about three times its RAM, a camera with twice the resolution, better audio quality, two speakers, twice the battery capacity, and a larger and better screen.

I'm refreshing what I have.

Yeah, after 3 years with mine, I'm thinking to replace it with something better. I paid $45 for it with the intention of permanently mounting it in the Prius as a Torque fuel gauge. I end up gaming on it more than anything else.

The 8" has better specs for $133.

Still probably not as good as your Samsung though.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Yeah, after 3 years with mine, I'm thinking to replace it with something better.

The 8" has better specs for $132.

Still probably not as good as your Samsung though.

But that is a lot closer to my device, has a great price, and I bet it is quite a bit lighter than my 1 pound beauty.

Still, it's funny how suddenly, in the last couple years, since the time of the iPhone 5, the devices have seemed basically to stall in their rapid technological improvement, you know? Moore's Law seems to be faltering. I am kinda amazed and happy at how long some of these devices are remaining competitive in the capacities that matter to me.

I did look at the newer Samsung tablets and they are significantly better than mine, but not radically so. And they add creepy features, like a home button that constantly reads your fingerprint (!).

[jakobnev]

I'd be tempted to disassemble it and use the circuit board of the original battery with the cell of the replacement.