My dear little phone (Galaxy S7, got last January) was starting to drain with the screen on except for one card game, even while plugged in. This was a problem. But the rest of the phone's fine, and new phones are expensive, so I decided I'd try replacing the battery on my own (after finding that a kit was only $15, including little tools). I left the phone unplugged all afternoon so it would discharge, since I have an aversion to leaving naked lithium-ion batteries around while fully charged. I warned my partner that I was running down my phone battery, and it might be off before they got home. It hit about 3% at the exact moment they unlocked the door. I pulled up a list of instructions and a demonstration video.

(At this point we pause to go out and be social with one of the local crews for an hour or two. My partner joins some of The Guys in attempting 5 rail trick shots. I plug in for long enough to play silly games on the way back.)

It turns out that to open the S7 you need to heat the adhesive.

After moving away from Alaska to Phoenix AZ, I had little need of a hair dryer. Why add heat and waste electricity when I could just walk outside and benefit from the evaporative cooling a little? I was also a member of longhair for many years.

At some point I got an inexpensive hair dryer and never used it. I last remember seeing it on the table when Leopard Girl was gearing up for some fancy event. I have no idea where it got put away after that.

All this is to say that I was not prepared for that requirement. I sulked, loudly.

I tried pulling/prying without applying heat first, but that of course didn't work. When I'm particularly determined, though, I don't necessarily let these things get in the way. I thought about what I had available to apply heat. I do have an electric kettle. I decided that the best way was to fill a container with boiling water and set the phone against the container.

The best container, I decided, was going to be one of those thick silicone bags I got when I was preparing to do sous vide cooking. (I have not, as yet, been as determined about sous vide as I am about having my phone get acceptable battery life.) I rummaged around the basement looking in my various kitchen boxes for the damn things, since I knew I'd seen them semi-recently. I was down there long enough that my partner came down to make sure that all was well. All was; I just couldn't find them. We did find laundry and the cup-cap for that blue thermos.

I was only slightly daunted, and proceeded to stuff one of the lovely dishcloths (handmade by one of my partner's friends) into two plastic zippybags, and poured water on that. I clearly had the right idea, but it wasn't transmitting enough heat before it cooled. I wound up with two dishcloths, folded, nearly fully saturated with boiling water. That did it, and I was able to pull and pry the back off the phone.

My partner kept the cat from claiming my seat as I popped up and down to get things. I took my glasses off and disappeared into The Zone^TM. I was in there for a while. My partner reported that I'd sworn a few times while I was out, but not very much. I bent the old battery in getting it out (it felt a little like stiff clay as I was prying) and was glad that I'd discharged it. I Sharpied a warning on it.

At the end, my phone booted right back up. No problems. I look forward to at least a year of reasonable battery life.

*jitter*
SQUEE!
*jitter*
*bounce*
perk perk perk
Ga-BOING!!!
(eep.)

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