Motorola Moto G4 Battery Replacement

Written By: Jeff Suovanen

Comments: 26

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

15 - 30 minutes

Introduction

Use this guide to replace the Moto G4’s rechargeable battery. If your battery is swollen, take appropriate precautions.

For your safety, discharge your existing 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.

Tools

Parts

Motorola Moto G4/G4 Plus Replacement Battery

Step 1

Insert a fingernail or a spudger into the notch on the bottom edge of the phone, near the charge port.
Gently twist or pry to open a small gap between the back cover and the body of the phone.
While keeping your tool (or fingernail) inserted into the gap between the back cover and the body of the phone, slide it around the corner to begin loosening the plastic clips holding the cover in place.

Step 2

Slide your tool all along the side of the phone to separate more of the clips securing the back cover.

Step 3

Keep your tool inserted slightly under the back cover, and slide it around the top corner.
If necessary, continue prying around the remaining edges of the phone until the back cover comes free.

Step 4

Remove the back cover.
To install the back cover, carefully position it over the phone and then press gently all around the edges until you feel the clips snap into place.

Step 5

Push to eject and remove the MicroSD and SIM cards (if installed).

Step 6

Use a spudger to pry up the rubber cover for the camera flash connector.

Step 7

Remove the rubber cover.

Step 8

Use a spudger to disconnect the camera flash connector by prying it straight up.

Step 9

Use a T3 Torx driver to remove the nineteen identical 3.1 mm screws securing the midframe.

In my kit, the T3 Torx bit came in the ‘repair part’ box, while a T5 Torx bit was in the ‘repair tools’ box.

Joseph Albert - 06/09/18

my phone had t4, not t3

Donald Smith - 30/07/19

Screws are stuck quite hard, apply a hefty amount of pressure when removing. Otherwise you’ll destroy the thread

face - 27/11/19

unable to remove 8 of the screws. any suggestions?

wayne malcom - 15/02/20

My T4 is the tool that fit. I can see why people strip these. They were dam tight for such little screws.

I also had a tough time getting them out of the socket once loose. Magnet in the tool was not very strong. I used my tweezers, and scratch the screw heads. That means they are real soft steel, and strip easy.

P 38 -

Step 10

Insert a spudger under the midframe at the top left corner, and gently twist to separate it from the body of the phone.

I couldn’t get the spudger in, but had success with the opening pick instead.

Bernd Mast - 07/06/21

Step 11

Remove the midframe.

During the midframe removal, be careful and do not put too much torsional stress on the loudspeaker pickup wires (to the right of the main camera). It’s not that difficult to crush or shear the pickups there. Doing so will render your phone silent.

Kevin Kwan - 10/12/18

Exactly what happened to me. Both contacts broke off and if just loosely put where they were, they can't make proper contact anymore.

There should be a warning about this in the guide itself!

Simon Vetter - 24/12/19

Step 12

Peel up and remove any tape connecting the battery to the main board.
Be very careful not to puncture the battery with any sharp tools. A damaged lithium-ion battery can catch fire and/or explode.

Step 13

Insert a thin tool (such as one of your tweezer tips) under the red and black battery wires, and slide it underneath the battery connector.
Gently pry straight up to disconnect the battery.
Pry only from the side where the wires attach to the connector—if you pry anywhere else, you may break the socket.
During reassembly, align the connector in its socket with the exposed copper wire facing up, and then press straight down to reconnect it, wiggling slightly as you press to help it seat correctly.

Before detaching the connector, you may want to take a photo to remember which way the red and black wires go. Mine were the same way as in this photo, but when looking at the tiny connector of the replacement battery it wasn’t easy to be sure which way to insert it.

jouniseppanen - 15/09/18

What can you do if you break the socket??? Will anyone email me an idea, Or- is it simply ruined-??? My email address is jeffrey_f4@yahoo.com. THANKS in advance, IF- anyone will take the time to email me about this-!!!!!!!! :)

Jeff Farmer - 13/07/20

So you have bare copper wires and you’re sticking a metal tip tweezer in the vicinity.

And yes, the battery is discharged as far as you can, but_,………

Maybe an idea to snip the wires somewhere further up before doing this ?

Gary Jones - 13/04/21

Step 14

Push the battery wires towards the battery to de-route them from the black bracket on the motherboard.

Step 15

Peel up the black pull tab at the top of the battery, and pull slowly but firmly to separate the battery from the adhesive holding it in place.
The battery separates more easily if you add a few drops of isopropyl alcohol along each side, to soften the adhesive beneath. High concentration (90% or greater) alcohol will not harm your phone's components.
Heating the area behind the battery can also help soften the adhesive, but be very careful not to overheat the battery.
If the pull tab breaks, use a spudger or an old credit card to pry up carefully on the edges of the battery until it comes loose.
Don't deform or puncture the battery—it can catch fire and/or explode if damaged.
Never reinstall a damaged or deformed battery. Replace the battery.

Step 16

Remove the battery.
During installation, note the orientation of the battery—if the connector is on the same side as the motherboard, and the text is upside-down relative to the rest of the phone, you've done it correctly.
Use a few strips of thin double-sided adhesive tape or a pre-cut adhesive card to secure the battery. (Or, if you are replacing the display, it may come with adhesive for the battery pre-installed.)

Conclusion

Carefully compare your new replacement part to the original part. Remove any adhesive backings before installing your new battery.

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

After completing this guide, calibrate your newly-installed battery.

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

Repair didn’t go as planned? Check out our Answers community for troubleshooting help.

Author

Jeff Suovanen

Member since: 06/08/13

406727 Reputation

15 comments

Bought the battery from Ifixit because I’ve enjoyed your videos. I changed the battery, all seemed well, but now I get no sound out of the speakers! They are not mentioned on any of the topics. Help!?

Alex G Mendoza - 24/12/18

See the comment on this step. Make sure the two little copper prongs on the back of the speaker make good contact with their respective pads on the back of the midframe. It’s okay to (very gently) bend them up slightly if needed.

Jeff Suovanen - 27/12/18

bought battery and kit from ifixit. replacement went pretty well. Careful with those tiny little screws. They do not like to come out after loosening. I worked over a small tray and still had two get away from me. I also had some tape on the sim card side of battery not mentioned in instructions. I tore it pulling it back. Was concerned as it seemed to be foil faced on back side which sepperated when pulling up. All works though so no worries.

Hugh Wolfe - 14/01/19

Bonjour,

Etes-vous sûr pour le modèle du tournevis ?

J’ai échoué avec le Torx T3, mais réussi avec le Torx T4

LEFEVRE - 23/08/19

It definitely should be a T3, but not all driver kits are created equal. If a T4 works better for you, go with that ;)

Jeff Suovanen - 26/08/19

Def T3, it’s the one not in “The Essentials” kit

Hugh Tattersall -

I encountered two large adhesive pads affixing the battery to the metal frame. A couple drops of IPA weren’t enough. Gentle levering at the camera side of the battery and a slow injection of IPA with a syringe eventually did the trick. Take it slow and let the IPA do its thing.

andrewthocker - 05/10/19

What is “IPA” , mentioned as a lubricate ?

Lester - 21/03/20

my battery worked fine but after charging the phone the first time it wont turn on it has been plugged in for 12 and a half hours

Andrea Emory - 03/11/19

At end of Moto G4 battery replacement instructions , it says “ After completing this guide, calibrate your newly-installed battery. “

Don’t see any furthur explanation of this reference or how to calibrate ?

lestertmurphy@gmail.com 3/21/2020

Lester - 21/03/20

Hi Lester,

Please follow the instructions listed here:

Battery Calibration

Arthur Shi - 23/03/20

Bonjour,

Déjà à la lecture, le tuto est très clair, détaillé. Il met en confiance pour acquérir le kit de réparation. Les illustrations par photo sont très utiles. Un seul tout petit bémol, mais vraiment tout petit à l’étape 13, au remontage, le connecteur de la batterie (qui est vraiment très petit) est quand même assez contre-intuitif. D’un côté on aperçoit 2 petits trous où le cuivre apparaît et de l’autre côté, non. Et c’est ce côté, sans cuivre apparent qu’il faut clipser. J’ai effectué plusieurs tentatives du mauvais côté avant de consulter le tuto et surla photo très claire on voit bien dans quel sens il faut mettre le connecteur.

J’espère que la batterie tiendra mieux…

Merci.

Squelbut Jean-Philippe - 09/04/20

I didn't find your instructions when I first opened the back cover. Followed an instruction on youtube that suggests T4 screwdriver. Now 5 screws were stripped. Can't take them out. Can you post the size of the screws? I may have to drill the screws. Thanks

Ruby - 19/10/20

Hi Ruby,

I’m sorry to hear this! From my experience, there has been quite a bit of variation and manufacturing tolerances with the screws Motorola uses, and as a result, T3 works for some and T4 works for others. I can’t tell you much about these screws other than that they are 3.1 mm long.

Arthur Shi - 20/10/20

Any good suggestion on removing stripped screws? Rubber band did not

Ruby - 19/10/20