Google Pixel 4 XL Battery Replacement

Written By: Carsten Frauenheim

Comments: 54

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

45 minutes - 2 hours

Introduction

This repair guide was authored by the iFixit staff and hasn’t been endorsed by Google. Learn more about our repair guides here.

Use this guide to remove or replace a worn battery in the Google Pixel 4 XL. If your battery is swollen, take appropriate precautions.

For your safety, discharge your battery below 25% before disassembling your phone. This reduces the risk of a dangerous thermal event if the battery is accidentally damaged during the repair.

Note: Some photos in this guide show the SIM card tray ejected from the phone. You don’t need to eject the SIM card tray for this procedure.

Caution: Google warns that disassembly of the front laser assembly could result in hazardous exposure to invisible infrared laser emissions. Read their safety warnings here.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

Prepare an iOpener and apply it to the bottom edge of the back panel for one minute.
A hair dryer, heat gun, or hot plate may also be used, but be careful not to overheat the phone—the display and internal battery are both susceptible to heat damage.

I found 2 minutes works best per side. Great Guide btw, thank you for being a strong leader in the fight for right to repair.

Dennis -

Step 2

Apply a suction cup to the heated edge of the back panel by pressing down on it to create suction, as close to the edge as possible.
If your back glass is badly cracked, covering it with a layer of clear packing tape may allow the suction cup to adhere. Alternatively, very strong tape may be used instead of the suction cup. If all else fails, you can superglue the suction cup to the broken panel.

Step 3

Pull up on the suction cup with strong, steady force to create a gap between the back panel and the frame.
Depending on the age of your phone, this may be difficult. If you are having trouble, apply more heat to the edge and try again.
Insert the point of an opening pick into the gap.

Step 4

Slide the opening pick across the bottom towards the left corner to slice the adhesive.
With the pick still inserted, slide it from the bottom left corner over to the bottom right corner to completely slice the bottom side adhesive.
Leave the pick inserted in the bottom right corner to prevent the adhesive from re-sealing.

Step 5

Prepare an iOpener and apply it on the left edge of the phone for one minute.

Step 6

Insert a second opening pick underneath the back panel directly over the charge port.
Slide the opening pick to the bottom left corner of the phone.

Step 7

Slide the opening pick around the bottom left corner and across the left side of the phone to slice the adhesive.
The adhesive can be very gummy. Push the pick in and out in a sawing motion to help with slicing.
Stop when you reach the top left corner, near the camera, and leave the pick inserted.

Step 8

Prepare an iOpener and apply it on the right edge of the phone for one minute.

Step 9

With the first two opening picks still in place, insert a third pick on the lower part of the righthand side.
Slide the opening pick up towards the top of the phone, slicing the right side's adhesive.
Stop when you reach the top right corner, and leave the pick inserted.

Be careful when slicing the right side's adhesive. The contacts for the wireless charging pad are close to the edge and can easily be bent with the opening pick.

John G -

Step 10

Slide the third opening pick around the top right corner and across the top side of the phone, slicing the final strip of adhesive.

Step 11

Once you have sliced around the perimeter of the phone, carefully lift the right edge of the back cover, opening it like a book.
Do not try to pull the panel all the way off yet, as it is still connected to the phone.

Step 12

Continue swinging open the back panel until you can rest it on the left edge the phone, being careful not to put any stress on the attached ribbon cable.
During reassembly, this is a good point to power on your phone and test all functions before sealing it up. Be sure to power your phone back down completely before you continue working.

“and test all functions before sealing it up.”

Pretty sure I wont be sealing this up for a few hours, might be worth removing this part of the sentence as it’s confusing…

Geoff B - 03/05/21

Geoff B: These are good instructions. Any technician worth his or her salt will test the device for functionality before sealing it up. That’s why it reads, “During reassembly…and test all functions before sealing it up.” Not confusing if you read and comprehend the full pin.

Jeana Morales - 02/06/21

Step 13

Remove the four T3 Torx screws securing the battery connector shield:
One 1.8 mm screw
One 4.1 mm screw
One 4.4 mm shouldered screw
One 4.0 mm shouldered screw
Throughout this repair, keep track of each screw and make sure it goes back exactly where it came from.

Step 14

Use a pair of tweezers to remove the battery connector shield.

Step 15

Whenever you use the spudger near the battery, be very careful not to puncture the battery.
Using the pointed end of a spudger, pry the battery connector straight up from the motherboard to disconnect the battery.
To re-attach press connectors like this one, carefully align and press down on one side until it clicks into place, then repeat on the other side. Do not press down on the middle. If the connector is misaligned, the pins can bend, causing permanent damage.

I had the piece from the cable break off inside the connector. How would I go about getting it out

Dylan DVP -

What are the 5 copper dots under the battery connector for.

Brian Davis -

When you reattach the connector to the motherboard this is a good time to power up and check basic functionality temporarily. Even though it had appeared it was correctly lined, my camera was not functional, in particular the switch button from the rear to the front camera, I was stuck in selfie mode. Then I was getting a message on the screen, possible hardware or software issues. Once I reattached the connecter (several times) until it was correctly inlined, the error went away and I was able to switch from the rear and front cameras.

bonita pauley -

Step 16

Using the flat end of a spudger, gently fold the battery cable over so it doesn't accidentally make contact during the rest of your repairs.

Step 17

Use a T3 Torx driver to remove the two 4.1 mm screws securing the back panel connector cover.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to use the same (orange) color circles as the other 4.1mm screw?

Mark Kanzler - 18/05/21

Maybe Google did it to avoid exchange in the models where they differ

Daniele Carminati - 18/05/21

Step 18

Use a pair of tweezers to remove the back panel connector cover.

Step 19

Using the pointed end of a spudger, pry up and disconnect the back panel connector.

Step 20

Remove the back panel.
During reassembly, follow this guide to install custom-cut adhesives for your device.
Follow this guide if you are using a pre-cut adhesive card.

REASSEMBLY ADHESIVE: This is the step during reassembly that you'll want to set the back glass adhesive strip on (before you reattach ribbons). Set the adhesive strip into the body of the phone with the red tabs down (toward the body of the phone, it will simply rest inside the lip of the phone body). Press the back glass onto the adhesive strip to set the strip onto the back glass, lift the back glass back out of the body of the phone. Next reattach the ribbons, test functions, reattach connector covers, peel red adhesive cover off of the adhesive (on the back glass) then set the back glass into the phone lip. This could have been explained far better but was skipped over and the generic adhesive instructions posted in the comments are useless for this.

Michael A. Mascaro -

There are also detailed instructions at answer 742532, "How do I apply new back panel adhesive on a Pixel 4xl?" (sorry it doesn't let me link directly). But it advises adhering the adhesive to the main frame first before the glass. I do notice a slight lip on the main frame on both sides, which seems less forgiving to align with than the glass, so I would imagine doing the frame first would be easier? I haven't done this yet myself, so would be interested in opinions.

AySz88 -

Update: it appears the discrepancy is due to a difference between the third-party adhesives and the iFixit "genuine" one. The iFixit one is not mirror symmetric and must be adhered to the glass back first, though it has cutouts that avoid protrusions and facilitate this. The third-party one (I believe) has no such cutouts and thus must go on the frame first.

However, in trying to follow Michael's instructions, I could not get the adhesive and red tabs off the blue plastic without distorting the adhesive, and had to take the clear side off first. I ended up directly placing the adhesive onto the glass back, without the frame to help align (I posted my method in the above-mentioned answer 742532). The cutouts in the blue plastic seem to have been made with this in mind.

AySz88 - 26/11/22

Step 21

Use blunt tweezers to lift up the battery adhesive pull tabs so you can more easily grip them with your fingers.
The battery is held in place with three separate stretch adhesive strips, which are connected to a single black pull tab. You can try to pull all three strips out together, but it is easier to cut the black pull tab where it is notched and pull each strip out individually.

Yellow tab instead of black in my oh so orange Pixel 4XL

Geoff B - 03/05/21

Step 22

Pull on the black pull tab at a shallow angle with steady force. When the adhesive grows long, roll it around a spudger and continue pulling.
Continue firmly pulling up on the adhesive strip with constant force, spinning the spudger every so often to keep the exposed section of the pull tab as short as possible.
This may take a lot of force.
These adhesive pull tabs are very prone to snapping in half during this process. Try pulling as slowly as possible.
If the adhesive pull tabs are not stretching, you can fill a plastic dropper or syringe with high concentration isopropyl alcohol and apply a few drops under the left edge of the battery. Give the alcohol a minute to weaken the battery adhesive.
Continue this process for each of the three pull tabs, until all are either out or have snapped in half.

Step 23

If the battery tabs snapped during removal, insert an opening pick on the upper right edge of the battery, slicing the adhesive underneath.
Even if you successfully removed all three adhesive pull tabs, using an opening pick to dislodge the battery may be helpful.
Don't insert the opening pick on or anywhere below the grip sensor cable, as the pick can damage the charge port flex cable located underneath the battery.

Strip of glue is only on the top part, only 3 stripes. Becareful passing the gold strip

Jairon Lopez - 06/03/21

I wouldn't risk going across the topside of the battery either. the thin cable connecting the side buttons to the board is exposed and is easy to break. Learned from experience.

Rancid -

Step 24

Don't reuse the battery if it has been deformed or damaged, as doing so is a potential safety hazard. Replace it with a new battery.
Lift the battery up, away from the phone to remove it.
To install a replacement battery:
Remove any remaining adhesive from the battery well.
If you're using stretch release adhesive, apply them onto the battery. Otherwise, apply some double-sided tape, or pre-cut adhesive strips in the phone's battery well, being careful not to cover the charge port flex cable. Peel away any tape liners to expose the adhesive.
Temporarily re-connect the battery's connector to the motherboard socket. This ensures that the battery is properly positioned.
Lay the battery in place and press firmly.
Disconnect the battery connector from its motherboard socket and resume re-assembly.

The kit comes with a replacement glue strip for the back cover. I would like to have seen some guidance on putting that on. I’m not exactly a beginner at repairing things in general, but this is the first time I’ve worked on a phone. Figuring it out wasn’t too bad, but getting the old glue off enough to make it work added 15-30 minutes to the process.

Jason Ridenour - 18/11/20

This is what I’m sitting at now. probably 90% of the original glue off. did you put the replacement strip on the cover first or the body of the phone?

david janzen - 10/12/20

For this, I peeled off the white strip and placed the new adhesive (with blue template still on) onto the inside of the back cover, making sure it aligned. I then peeled off the blue sheet and applied pressure and a mostly-cooled iOpener to help it adhere. Worked very well for me.

Zaeda June - 25/01/21

You can follow this adhesive guide for installing new battery adhesive!

Carsten Frauenheim - 26/01/21

I decided to give up on getting all of the original adhesive stuff. I removed maybe 30% of it and then placed the replacement strip. It seems to be okay, and the back closed all the way.

Chem -

Conclusion

For optimal performance, calibrate your newly installed battery after completing this guide.

Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.

To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.

Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.

Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or ask our Answers community for help.

Author

Carsten Frauenheim

Member since: 10/03/20

87825 Reputation

34 comments

Worked great, was tough pulling up the battery but other than that went super smoothly. thanks!!

Kader Belbina - 25/01/21

Really comprehensive, helpful and well-written guide. I prefer to learn to fix things on my own, so this was immensely helpful and just what I needed. Thank you so much!

Zaeda June - 25/01/21

the adhesive pull tabs? there was no way to get them out as the hardware prevents you from pulling at the right angle. i went with softening the glue with a couple drops of alcohol and prying the battery up enough to get a guitar pick in and cut the rest.

Camilo Santana - 14/04/21

Just finished changing the battery to my Pixel 4XL. Battery was slightly bloated (about 1mm) but still running great, at 104% after one year and a half. However, it suddenly stopped charging wirelessly, even from the original Pixel charger.

The kit was great, everything happened according to the instructions. Carefully cleaning the old adhesive took most of the time. I used lint-free wipes and a small syringe filled with Isopropyl alcohol 99.9% to drop the liquid over the adhesive strips in small sections, with the phone positioned vertically, so the alcohol didn’t get inside. Same for the rear cover [Regular rubbing alcohol does not work at all for this purpose] The alcohol really helped removing the old stretch release strips really fast. The connector of the new battery was slightly out of alignment, so I had to plug it first, with the battery leaning at a small angle, then seat the battery on the glue strips. Thank you, that was fun! :)

Radu Oprea - 10/05/21

Great tutorial. I followed all the steps. And, even with the new battery, it's still stuck in 50%.

My phone took a dive in the pool. I love in Brazil, do I don't have Google technical support available, and due to battery mailing restrictions it took 6 months until I managed to receive a spare one.

Do you guys know what could I do?

Thanks

r.duarte -

it is stuck both while turned on and while off? does the battery life is decreased? or is it only a broken report of battery %age? while you tore down the phone, did you see any corrosion aroud?

Daniele Carminati -

Same problem here, but the Pixel turns on and work.. just don't recognize the level of battery.. it shows a "?" icon in the battery's icon...

Some times turns off or on without any sense.. so i don't know if its a problem of battery (the original one, i didn't change it yet) or the weird"Battery FPC Connector"... Just because i can change a battery, nut i can't do a "Damaged Battery FPC Connector Replacement". So if someone knows please tell me if i need a battery replacement or a FPC Connector replacement :c

Antonio Saturno -

Wow. I’ve fixed about 10 phones now and I’ve always had issues getting new adhesive tape delivered without being mangled into an unusable crumpled ball. They packaged it between two thin pieces of plastic and it arrived in perfect condition. They also don’t use plastic bubble wrap as their insulating material which is a refreshing change.

Thanks for the informative guide, competitive price and quality service!

Jake Graveldinger -

Thank you so much, @carsten and the entire iFixit team! <3

Chem -

Hi, I'm having issues with my Pixel's battery and I wanted to buy the kit for battery replacement, but I'm from Mexico.

Do you know if there's a place with international shipping? I would like to buy that kit.

Juan Carlos Garibay -

Sorry to hear about the trouble! Please contact iFixit Customer Support and they would be happy to assist you.

Carsten Frauenheim -

Great guide. I only wish there was a bit more details in the application of the adhesive in the re-assembly.

That said, my 17-year old son was able to follow the instructions and resurrect his Pixel 4XL that had been destined for the trash bin.

Thank you!

Byron Todd -

We have a couple of adhesive installation guides, here and here. You can reference those the next time you tackle a repair!

Carsten Frauenheim -

I ordered a new battery kit from iFixIt for my Pixel 4 XL ([linked product missing or disabled: IF356-158-1]) with the intent to use this guide.

From what I've seen elsewhere on the internet, I expected the battery to say either "Huizhou Desay Battery Co., Ltd" or "Sunwoda Electronic Co., Ltd". However, that portion of the label is blank -- there is no company name listed.

It also has 3700 mAh on the front label but the rear has a QR code and some text printed including "3740 mAh".

I'm concerned about the legitimacy of this battery.

nukem2k5 - 26/09/21

Changed the battery to the second Pixel 4XL. Obviously, it went faster. Having some highly concentrated isopropyl alcohol (>99% by volume) makes your life a lot easier when clearing the gunk and dislodging the battery.

What I want to mention is: please DO NOT RUSH. Take your time, do it elegantly. For the first time changing a battery, 30 minutes estimated time is a little too optimistic. Scrapping off the old gunk from the phone and the back cover took more than I thought, but it’s a cheap price to pay for a job done well. It was fun!

IFixit rocks!

Radu Oprea -

Overall this is a really well made guide, instructions for disassembly are clear and the pictures are definitely helpful. I do wish the guide actually showed the best ways to apply new adhesive though. It’s not hard to figure out but just taking out the battery and doing the steps backwards again isn’t really a complete reflection of the job.

Tom Vieira -

We have a couple of adhesive installation guides, here and here. You can reference those the next time you tackle a repair!

Carsten Frauenheim -

Thanks @carsten this repair guide mostly worked for me. My only issue is that my phone now doesn’t display the battery % and has a warning message “Problem reading your battery meter”. Does anyone have any ideas?

Adam -

I was getting this warning from my Pixel 4XL “problem reading your battery meter”. Ordered the battery and repair kit. Works great now, error message is gone. The glue ring around the back plate is definitely the most annoying thing. I doubt the phone is water resistant now, but I’m still very happy with this repair.

Marc Gagnon -

This is totally my fault that this happened, because I didn’t read both guides thoroughly before starting, but there needs to be a big red “STOP” symbol at the top of this guide that says “Stop! If you intend to replace your screen, start there first. Do not replace the battery and replace the rear cover prior to replacing the screen.” I am out 2 hours of my life and have to wait for another back adhesive piece. But the bright side is the battery works great and combined with a fresh factory reset the phone is running like new.

Cabel Gray -

Just did it. It was tough to get passed the glue thing on both the back cover and the battery, but I did it successfully. Now I have the phone as new, apart from the fact that the phone is not water resistent. I would add new steps to describe how to reseal with new glue and where to buy it. However, I just used the iOpener to reheat the glue so that it attaches again. Taking into account that I use the pixel cover, that shouldnt be a problem.

Iñaki Paz - 10/03/22

After replacing the battery my phone charged to 88% then stopped. The charging icon flickers when a charger is plugged in but it hasn't gone further.any idea what could cause this?

Kelley -

Help me battery

Baljinder Singh -

Thank you for this very GREAT GUIDE. My Pixel 4XL stopped wireless charging due to the internal battery being "bloated". It was of great help also because you have mentioned the tools needed; i.e. T3 driver, removing the battery adhesive was a pain though as all three of them broke at the very moment it was pulled. Nonetheless the entire replacement process took about 40 minutes following this guide, now it is sleek and thin and wireless charging is back.

Raymond Tan -

I followed the guide exactly and somehow my display has been damaged. The haptics still work so I know its on and the touch screen works but the display doesn't power on. Please help.

Parker Oria -

The lack of explanation for the back glass adhesive is pretty bad. It's a major reassembly step that is just completely skipped over with completely no mention and kind of complicated in comparison to the rest of the process IMO. It really needed to be in here so I've added a comment with regards to it. The generic adhesive instructions that have been posted in the comments aren't helpful for this at all either. Outside of this major instruction flaw the rest was solid and spot on. The phone has been fixed and Is working properly once again for way less than having someone else fix it.

Michael A. Mascaro -

I have assembled the battery but it is not charging: connected but not charging. Can anyone help me solve this problem?

Saoud Alanezi -

mine didnt charge at first aswell mb try reconnecting the battery

took me 5 tries of reconnecting

corni -

my phone battery started getting worse and worse and didnt display % so i decided to try my luck on replacing it. some small tips from me:

-things u need(from ifixit store): the battery replacement, adhesive strips for battery and back, the iOpener kit and a torx t3 4mm precision bit which is sold separately...

-hardest things when repairing: battery was very hard to get out... i had a friend help me and gently nudged some plectrums under it to make it easier... other hard thing was reconnecting the battery for me... i reconnected it 5 times and on the last try i finally got it right and the phone worked again. that little connector can be tough but still try to be gentle.

corni -

Honestly I would not recommend, as the pins on the battery connector broke off after a month of installation. I opened my phone back up to see why my phone would no longer charge and I see that the battery pins got stuck on the phone and that the battery connector on the battery itself was missing. I wish I could post pictures, but bottomline is that this product's build quality is inferior.

joshuagonzales1995 - 16/12/22

Great tutorial and excellent kit! My 3-year old Pixel 4XL could not read the battery meter with a '?' on the battery icon. The adhesive part was pretty fiddly. Apart from that, instructions worked like a charm and my phone has a new lease of life!!!

Thanks!

Subbarao Manchala -

Why do you remove the battery connector before removing the back cover?

Esp Ghia -

Hey! For the safest repair possible, we like to disconnect the battery as soon as we're able. In this case, it's accessible right after the back cover lifts away.

Carsten Frauenheim -

Hi Carsten, thanks for the reply. I made the repair today using this guide. Because my battery was replaced under warranty some time ago, things looked a bit different inside. The battery was installed with kapton tape, which made it very easy to remove. I found the hardest part of the process was to create a gap to begin removal of the glass back. The trickiest part was putting the battery and sensor connectors back in place. The battery is definitely charging. Fingers crossed, I haven't ruined the top sensor.

Esp Ghia -