I noticed the back of my steam deck feeling uneven yesterday. Opened it up to find a spicy pillow inside.

Replacement is underway, but I’m gonna remove this one now, already. Wish me luck…

  • ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    Isn’t battery adhesive the worst thing ever?

    I remember fixing a few macbooks that had batteries like this. The batteries were gigantic and the adhesive was crazy strong. Dumping acetone behind them with a syringe, heat, and gently prying eventually got them out but it was quite nerve wracking. I guess you can’t dump solvents in a steam deck though

    It’s so dumb. Adhesives make assembly easier but fuck over repairability. The only advantages are even distribution of pressure and vibration dampening, which are notable, but are not worth making the main wear item completely inaccessible and a nightmare to replace for the majority of people who don’t have experience with heat guns and sliding cards/thin metal to cut the stupid fucking adhesive that could’ve been replaced by a screw making the product 0.5mm thicker and 0.1g heavier (if that)

    • Localhorst86@feddit.orgOP
      0·
      1 year ago

      This was a chore to remove. I had to heat up the battery so much, I was really worried.

      I remember batteries that had a pull tab, why can’t they use those anymore

      I am considering not using the adhesive that comes with the new battery, but using something a lot less adhesive.

      • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
        0·
        1 year ago

        Few drop of 91% isopropyl alcohol all around the edges of the battery and waiting a few minutes helps a lot if you’re afraid of too much heat.

        • Localhorst86@feddit.orgOPEnglish
          0·
          1 year ago

          I thought about that, but checking the ifixit guide revealed there are holes spread around the battery tray, I was worried that any isopropyl alcohol I tried to get underneath the battery would just drain through those holes onto other hardware, potentially causing damage.

          In hindsight, tough, maybe putting some IPA onto the plastic card I used to insert underneath the battery to cut through the adhesive would have worked well.

          • entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org
            0·
            1 year ago

            FYI, it would almost certainly cause no damage. 91% isopropyl alcohol evaporates extremely fast and with no electricity flowing it couldn’t short anything.

            • Localhorst86@feddit.orgOP
              1·
              1 year ago

              Actually less worried about shorting something, note worried about it damaging some adhesive or protective film, or anything on the screen, really :)