Replace your Nexus 10 battery

[crxssi]

Batteries slowly die and or fail and will need to be replaced. For most of us, the battery will work fine during the 1 year warranty, but as many of us approach two years of daily use, we will start to have problems or notice significantly reduced life/runtime. Even though the N10 battery is not "swappable", it can be fairly easily replaced. It is time for mine to be replaced, see this thread why: http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-10-tablet/291202-nexus-10-battery-drain-instant-4.html

Anyway, there are only a few third-party N10 batteries on the market and not much quality information about the quality or satisfaction with them, so let's share information. I can see the most prominent product is made by "NewPower99" and you can see it on their site here: Google Nexus 10 Battery Replacement Kit - Extended Life

That battery is also on Amazon (which many of us would prefer to use) and for a few dollars less for shipping: Amazon.com: Google Nexus 10 Battery Replacement Kit with Video Installation DVD, Installation Tools, and Extended Life Battery: Computers & Accessories $60 + $6 But there are only 3 reviews. One review is invalid. One review is by someone who has only made one review ever, so I don't know if it is a real review or astroturfing. So there is really only one review, and it is positive but with no followup.

Has anyone else performed this or any other battery replacement on the N10 yet? If so, which battery did you use and are you happy with it? What is your story? I would hate to spend the money/time/effort and end up with a crappy battery that doesn't fully charge and/or has a substandard life and/or dies after a few months.

 

[Devlyn16]

I haven't done so yet but am interested in any responses and also curious if it would be a good idea to purchase a battery NOW and save it for later. Could scarcity become a looming issue?

 

[crxssi]

I haven't done so yet but am interested in any responses and also curious if it would be a good idea to purchase a battery NOW and save it for later. Could scarcity become a looming issue?

I was wondering the same thing. Certainly the third party makers know the demand will start to peak only after the factory warranty, usually a year after that... and continue to climb for probably into at least 3 years into the model.

Of course, if you buy it sooner and sit on it, and the vendor really does honor the warranty (which is 1 year on the PowerNow) then that warranty starts ticking away the moment it is shipped to you.... let it sit for 6 months and you lost half your warranty. (And I do recommend when we replace the battery with another, hold onto your old battery just in case... it is likely if something goes wrong with the new one, you will need SOMETHING to put back in it while you deal with returns or warranty or whatever. An old 1/3 life battery is better than a completely dead tablet).

 

[Devlyn16]

I (And I do recommend when we replace the battery with another, hold onto your old battery just in case... it is likely if something goes wrong with the new one, you will need SOMETHING to put back in it while you deal with returns or warranty or whatever. An old 1/3 life battery is better than a completely dead tablet).

Great tip, thanks for sharing!

 

[jaltman]

I installed the replacement battery and it was pretty easy. Battery life has been great. Just make sure you secure the ribbon cables well on reattachment.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[crxssi]

I installed the replacement battery and it was pretty easy. Battery life has been great. Just make sure you secure the ribbon cables well on reattachment.

When did you do that (how long have you used it with the replacement)? Was is the NewPower99 model? Where did you buy it? What types of issues were you having before you replaced it? Thanks

 

[jaltman]

When did you do that (how long have you used it with the replacement)? Was is the NewPower99 model? Where did you buy it? What types of issues were you having before you replaced it? Thanks

It is the Newpower99, I don't recall if i got it directly from them or off of Amazon. I have had it in use about 3 or 4 months and get about 5 days use (my use is light to moderate) out of a charge. The issue i had after about 15 months on the OEM battery was I would get to about 50% battery after a day or two and it would crash to 0. When I replaced it it was crashing to 0 at about 65%.

I will say I had left the original battery on the charger a lot, now I am more careful to let it discharge more fully before charging it. Conventional wisdom says that shouldn't matter with a modern Li-ion battery, but this one anecdote makes it seem otherwise.

 

[crxssi]

It is the Newpower99, I don't recall if i got it directly from them or off of Amazon. I have had it in use about 3 or 4 months and get about 5 days use (my use is light to moderate) out of a charge. The issue i had after about 15 months on the OEM battery was I would get to about 50% battery after a day or two and it would crash to 0. When I replaced it it was crashing to 0 at about 65%.

Thanks for the update. I still have it sitting in my Amazon list waiting for when I feel the time is right. I have been waiting until it gets annoying enough and there was enough feedback from people about the battery replacement. Mine is 21 months old (Nov 2012) and I use it for gaming about 1.5 hours a day across two sessions (with charging inbetween). My crash to 0% is at about 70% or something now, I think... it is hard to say because I am normally playing games and it doesn't tell me the battery level at the moment it takes a dive. Games like Candy Crush and Plants vs. Zombies 2 really do suck a lot of power.

I am glad it worked out well for you.

I will say I had left the original battery on the charger a lot, now I am more careful to let it discharge more fully before charging it. Conventional wisdom says that shouldn't matter with a modern Li-ion battery, but this one anecdote makes it seem otherwise.

I leave mine on the charger 100% of the time I am either not using it or carrying it with me. As you said, it shouldn't matter with modern batteries... there is one exception.... when Lithum batteries are brand new it is a good idea to exercise them from full to significantly low a few times. This will typically bring the capacity up to full and help to calibrate the battery meter.

 

[mavrrick]

Any more experiences with these batteries. My tab is starting to have issues as well. Not nearly as early but still it is starting.

I also need to replace a battery in a Note 10.1 2013. They have both.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Terry Ulanch]

I will be replacing my battery with a newpower99 replacement battery in my nexus 10, which is doing the crash thing ( drains to 0 instantly) at about 75% battery life.

Curious what battery use/life is like after the battery replacement. Does it go to a low battery reading and warn or does it still get to some level and then go to 0 without much warning?

 

[crxssi]

I will be replacing my battery with a newpower99 replacement battery in my nexus 10, which is doing the crash thing ( drains to 0 instantly) at about 75% battery life.

"kgeissler" also reports the same thing that that he has bought the newpower99 battery and will be trying it. I asked him to make sure to post feedback here about it.

"Aredubu" also reports "Replaced the battery with the Amazon replacement kit, and now all is good." here: http://forums.androidcentral.com/report.php?p=3689628 I have asked him, too, to share his experience here in this thread, since it is likely the "go-to" place now for people researching replacing the battery.

Curious what battery use/life is like after the battery replacement.

Hopefully people will report back on it right after replacement and then every few months for a while. Lithium batteries do not attain their full potential until several full drain/charge cycles. And poor quality Lithium batteries will often seem to work just fine for several months (having similar energy density to the OEM) but then they tend to take a downward turn much sooner than quality batteries.

Does it go to a low battery reading and warn or does it still get to some level and then go to 0 without much warning?

I hope not. I am not even sure I remember what the stock behavior is, because I rarely use the tablet off the charger for more than a few hours. It was only when that few hours was apparently "too much use" for the dying battery that I started seeing this instant 70% to 0% stuff. I suspect there is design flaw in the battery monitoring circuit design or the software that interprets the data. It is unlikely the battery is actually going from 70% to 0% in a short time, it is just that the curve/level the user is being shown is incorrect.

 

[kgeissler]

Well... I ordered the battery, but unfortunately Newpower says it is back ordered 2-4 weeks (even though their website said in stock). I will let everyone know how it is when I get it.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[crxssi]

Well... I ordered the battery, but unfortunately Newpower says it is back ordered 2-4 weeks (even though their website said in stock). I will let everyone know how it is when I get it.

Yeah, last night I noticed it was "out of stock" on Amazon. And you are right- it still shows it in stock on their own website (noticed that yesterday AND today) which seems a bit slimy.

 

[RickInHouston]

I'm in for one from Newpower, as well. Doesn't matter that they don't tell you they are backordered because no one else seems to have one.

Wait, I did find one on newegg. It's listed as shipping 5 to 15 days.

 

[RickInHouston]

NewPower is now shipping replacement batteries that have been on backorder. Got my confirmation today.

 

[kgeissler]

I got my confirmation also.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[kgeissler]

Got my battery today! I installed it using the video on their website and all went well. It booted up and everything appears fine. Since I got the Samsung Galaxy Tab S, I will be giving the N10 to my wife. She doesn't use the tablet that much, so it might be a while before I am able to tell you if the battery replacement fixes the "powering off with 70% remaining problem" I will report back when I know.

If you have any questions about the battery or install, let me know.

 

[Umass021]

How long did it take to install and how hard was it?

 

[RickInHouston]

Got my battery on Saturday. Got back into town today and installed it. Took maybe 35 minutes, or so. Hardest part was removing the back casing from the screen. But it came apart just like in the video. All works normally. Booted up with a full charge. I'm topping off the charge anyway and then will see how it lasts. My battery life was quite miserable. Always seemed to be low or would power down on it's own due to lack of charge. We'll see. I'm optimistic.

 

[Umass021]

I look forward to hearing the results.