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The inevitable aging batteries of my PowerBook G4 17” are losing their charge and not lasting as they once did, even my newertech replacements. Can the battery packs be opened and the cells inside be replaced, as one might with a phone or newer laptop that doesn’t use the removable battery pack?Thanks.
I personally wouldn’t bother as its risky and you’ll likely get worn-out cells! Determine battery cycle count for Mac notebooks First, you need to find the correct cell’s which are no longer available and anything you will find are from the back shelf that someone dusted off. Even many assembled new batteries won’t last very long either. The chemistry of these batteries was not as good as what we have today and doesn’t age well either. To add to it the charging profile is very different which is why you can’t swap them out with newer chemistry cells. Here’s one source which appears to offer the needed batt NewerTech NuPower Battery Anyways … Here’s what I’ve used so I could test things Teardown: Apple PowerBook G4: How to open Disassembly battery without destroying it " Sony Cells"
jaesonk yes, it can be done. I actually have done a few for different purposes. It is not a terribly complicated job. Part of the issue that sometimes arise is that you may have to find a way to “reprogram” the battery to be properly recognized and to display the proper data if queried by any software. You will need 6 US18650GR and those are widely available in new condition and thus not worn-out. Here is the datasheet for everything you need to know about the li-ion replacements. US18650VTC2 Sony
