Modifying the THL W8 battery

[ahabec]

I have ordered 2 batteries since I knew I may fcuk it up... and I did, so here's a post for everyone to learn from my mistake.
I didn't know where to add it since the forum is a bit messy but moderators are welcome to move to a different thread and close this one.

The sticker and bottom of the battery should be peeled off, this is done easily and with no tools.

But the top of the battery is most successfully trimmed down by filing it on sandpaper. For a nice texture it's best to use grade 600 or higher.

If you have a caliper, the height of the battery can be easily compared to the original iNew battery.

But if not, here's a good rule to follow: file it in even height (the side with the contacts will tend to be higher since the brass contacts are a tougher material, so pay attention that the height is equal along the entire width.

You need to file down to the point where the top part of the plastic (where the contacts are) is so thin it starts going away and exposing what's underneath.

If it's higher, the battery will fit, but only with slight pressure, and this may appear as pale or dark spots on the screen.

If you want a nice finish (and not a hole in the top) you can fill in the missing parts with 2-part epoxy glue.

If when you file the black top part starts coming off from the metal body - be careful that it doesn't tear off. You can strengthen it with superglue (3-second glue).

The modified battery should fit in the phone with the same easiness as the original one or just very slightly tighter.

DO NOT return the sticker - it makes the battery too thick.

If you all saw the videos of how this is done - the method used by user Kuoko can be dangerous since there is a small strip where the contacts are soldered and this can very easily break if you try to pry out the top plastic, so filing it is better. This also keeps the little indentations in the edges that prevent inserting the battery upside down and also keep it in place.

If anyone wants a picture of my final result, say so.

[Rob45]

Yes I would appreciate photo's of the final result, especially the top. I probably filed off too much, since the three contact points look like one now and indeed the surface under the plastic is exposed. I don't dear to put in in my phone anymore...

[ahabec]

The black area in the middle is where the plastic is very very thin. It probably actually indicates that I didn't file it 100% straight and that area is just slightly thicker. The contacts are filed down so thin that they may fall off at some point after inserting and removing the battery a few times, but the brass is just a cover on the "real contacts underneath.

[Oshirai]

so.. how's the behavior of the battery?
how much different between the original battery and the replacing battery, especially the uptime

[ahabec]

so.. how's the behavior of the battery?
how much different between the original battery and the replacing battery, especially the uptime

I have still to test it.

By the way, I filed down the battery some more today, and I did reach the point where I just took the contacts off with a soldering iron. This doesn't HAVE to be done but if you decide to do it be very precise and do it in an from-up-to-down motion because if you short two contacts with the solder then the battery will be useless.

---

so this is not really a real-world test but as you can see, even taking into account the phone was used slightly less after I switched to the THL battery (look at awake and screen on times), this screenshot shows the phone used with original battery (with a tiny spike when I replaced the batteries for a few minutes) and then the THL. I think it's already easily visible that the THL drains much slower. You could ski on the graph of the original battery.
By the way, you can also see in the screenshot in the first half of the graph) how much draining goes down when you turn off wifi (my default is always on unless I know I must save battery).

[Oshirai]

so.. how's the behavior of the battery?
how much different between the original battery and the replacing battery, especially the uptime

I have still to test it.

By the way, I filed down the battery some more today, and I did reach the point where I just took the contacts off with a soldering iron. This doesn't HAVE to be done but if you decide to do it be very precise and do it in an from-up-to-down motion because if you short two contacts with the solder then the battery will be useless.

---

so this is not really a real-world test but as you can see, even taking into account the phone was used slightly less after I switched to the THL battery (look at awake and screen on times), this screenshot shows the phone used with original battery (with a tiny spike when I replaced the batteries for a few minutes) and then the THL. I think it's already easily visible that the THL drains much slower. You could ski on the graph of the original battery.
By the way, you can also see in the screenshot in the first half of the graph) how much draining goes down when you turn off wifi (my default is always on unless I know I must save battery).

nice review
so you're using wifi or 3g?

as ur usual usage, how long is ur average using time of the phone?

[ahabec]

Hi, sorry for late reply.
I needed a few days to test it.
I use 3g only when wifi is unavailable, but wifi is on all the time (i.e. even if it isn't connected to a network).

These 2 screenshots show my usage. It's been said before that every person uses the phone differently but quite objectively, it's obvious the ThL battery is stronger and quite subjectively, without getting into measurements, it doesn't feel 9% stronger but really more like 20%. I just think the 1830 mAh statement on the iNew battery is not truthful.

[tywin]

Hey ahabec!
How's that battery going? Still hasn't exploded?

[ppsc44]

Hi, sorry for late reply.
I needed a few days to test it.
I use 3g only when wifi is unavailable, but wifi is on all the time (i.e. even if it isn't connected to a network).

These 2 screenshots show my usage. It's been said before that every person uses the phone differently but quite objectively, it's obvious the ThL battery is stronger and quite subjectively, without getting into measurements, it doesn't feel 9% stronger but really more like 20%. I just think the 1830 mAh statement on the iNew battery is not truthful.

In my Opinion, the THL W8 battery is a big improvement.

I had my Inew V3 with stock battery switched on at 8.00 in the morning, battery at 100% - all day it was on with wifi and bluetooth activated, some video, some telcalls, some surfing, a lot of emails and at 20.00 the stock battery was at 49 %.

The other day I did the same with the THL battery, started at 8.00 with 100% battery load and the same wifi/bluetooth running and nearly the same use of the phone, and at 20.00 it was at 69 % battery, still no loading all day neither in the car nor via usb.

I'm pretty sure that with the night in flightmode the iNew will make it for 2 complete days now without charging in between. I would estimate the THL W8 battery being around 25 - 30 % stronger (in my user profile as described) than the stock one.

Take one - but be careful with grinding too much...

[tywin]

Hi, sorry for late reply.
I needed a few days to test it.
I use 3g only when wifi is unavailable, but wifi is on all the time (i.e. even if it isn't connected to a network).

These 2 screenshots show my usage. It's been said before that every person uses the phone differently but quite objectively, it's obvious the ThL battery is stronger and quite subjectively, without getting into measurements, it doesn't feel 9% stronger but really more like 20%. I just think the 1830 mAh statement on the iNew battery is not truthful.

In my Opinion, the THL W8 battery is a big improvement.

I had my Inew V3 with stock battery switched on at 8.00 in the morning, battery at 100% - all day it was on with wifi and bluetooth activated, some video, some telcalls, some surfing, a lot of emails and at 20.00 the stock battery was at 49 %.

The other day I did the same with the THL battery, started at 8.00 with 100% battery load and the same wifi/bluetooth running and nearly the same use of the phone, and at 20.00 it was at 69 % battery, still no loading all day neither in the car nor via usb.

I'm pretty sure that with the night in flightmode the iNew will make it for 2 complete days now without charging in between. I would estimate the THL W8 battery being around 25 - 30 % stronger (in my user profile as described) than the stock one.

Take one - but be careful with grinding too much...

Have you tried this modification? Do you notice any temperature increase?