Motorola Moto G5 Plus Battery Replacement

Written By: Taylor Dixon

Comments: 38

Motorola Moto G5 Plus Battery Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

45 minutes - 2 hours

Introduction

Use this guide to replace the lithium-ion battery in your Motorola Moto G5 Plus. With daily use, a typical battery will last around 18-24 months before losing significant capacity. If your battery no longer holds a full charge or is causing unexpected shutdowns, you can follow the instructions below to restore your phone to good working order.

Before disassembling your phone, discharge the battery below 25%. A charged lithium-ion battery can catch fire and/or explode if accidentally punctured.

If your battery is swollen, do not heat your phone and take appropriate precautions. If needed, you can use a dropper or syringe to inject isopropyl alcohol (90+%) around the edges of the display to weaken the adhesive. Swollen batteries can be very dangerous, so wear eye protection and exercise due caution, or take it to a professional if you're not sure how to proceed.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

Be sure to power off your phone before you begin.
Use a SIM eject bit, SIM eject tool, or paper clip to remove the SIM card from your phone.

Step 2

Prepare an iOpener and heat the front of the phone along its left edge for about two minutes, or until it's slightly too hot to touch. This will help soften the adhesive securing the display.
You may need to reheat and reapply the iOpener several times to get the phone warm enough to cut the adhesive. Follow the iOpener instructions to avoid overheating.
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.

Heat not only along the phone’s left edge, right?

Rémi Boissonnas - 21/02/20

I used two suction cups on the screen. Just above the finger print reader and the other near the top. Then used my heatgun set at 390 degrees. Low speed and had the wide, flat blade attachment so the heat spread to a narrow/wide area. Heated the left edge from corner to corner, then pulled up on the suction cups until I could work in a plastic triangle guitar-like-pic under the screen. Continued to heat and add another pick around the screen . Do not rush and take your time. Got the screen off and didn’t damage the adhesive too bad. Was able to reuse it. Once reassembled, I heated the screen around the edge and rubbed with a plastic tool to make sure the adhesive was working. So far so good with the adhesive. Good Luck!

strtrekbuf -

Step 3

In the following steps you will be cutting through the adhesive around the edge of the display assembly.
Refer to the second and third images and familiarize yourself with the width of the adhesive around edges of the display.
If you plan to re-use the display assembly, be particularly careful as you cut the adhesive on the sides of the phone. Don't insert your tool more than 2 mm into the phone, and angle it down (away from the display assembly) as much as possible.

2mm ONLY on the SIDES of the display. The top can have adhesive as far as 10mm from the edge, and at the bottom as much as 12mm. And there’s no way to cut this adhesive with the tools at 45 degrees. Once the left side is open, carefully insert the tool a little further at a time on the top and bottom, whilst attempting to keep a little pull force on the suction cup. Hard to do, and almost inevitably the on-off button will be hit at some point unless you’re really careful. The adhesive pieces are quite tough, and I used a tiny scissors to cut some of the adhesive “ropes” when the case was far enough open. A highly detailed photo of the adhesive locations top and bottom (and on both parts) would help here. This is likely the most difficult step (well, don’t know for certain, ‘cause I haven’t got further yet…), and warrants better photos and explanation IMO.

max barcalounger -

Step 4

Apply a suction cup to the display, near the middle of the left edge.
Pull the suction cup with firm, constant pressure to create a slight gap between the display panel and the rear case.
If the screen is cracked, the suction cup may not stick. In that case, try lifting with strong tape, or superglue the suction cup in place and allow it to cure so you can proceed.
If the display doesn't separate even with significant force, apply more heat to further soften the adhesive and try again. The adhesive cools quickly, so you may need to heat it repeatedly.

Step 5

Slide the tool along the left edge of the phone, cutting through the adhesive securing the display.
As you move on to cutting the adhesive around the rest of the display, it may help to leave an opening pick in place here and grab another for the following steps.

Step 6

Slide the opening pick down and cut the adhesive around the bottom of the display.
If the adhesive is too tough to cut, continue to heat it until it softens enough to cut fairly easily. Excessive prying or force used here could permanently damage the display or other components.
Be careful as you slide your pick around the top and bottom edges of the display. The display cables, fingerprint sensor, and fingerprint sensor cable are all housed fairly close to the edge of the display and can easily be damaged. Refer to this image to see the exact location of the cables.

Step 7

Continue cutting through the adhesive on the top and right sides of the phone.
The proximity sensor, earpiece speaker, and front-facing camera are all located along the top edge of the phone, but are housed beneath the display unit. You shouldn't come into contact with any of them as you insert your pick to cut the adhesive.

Pues se me fastidia la pantalla al hacer esto

Carolina Folgado - 25/05/21

This is a great guide except for one thing. My screen works fine but it is separating from the phone on both sides. I need to remove it just enough to clean up the old adhesive and reattach. The instructions on repeating the steps in reverse order to replace the screen doesn't help with getting the regluing right, what kind of glue or double sided tape to use, etc …

Gretchen Zimmermann -

Step 8

Once all the adhesive is cut, carefully lift open the display from the left edge.
Don't fully remove the display yet. There are still cables connecting the display assembly that can rip easily.
Prop the display unit at a 90 degree angle against a box to prevent the display and fingerprint cables from bending or tearing.

it should be pointed out that the fingerprint cable is easy to tear as it lays next to a sharp angle of the display unit.

Vincenzo -

Step 9

Remove the yellow sticker covering two of the black Phillips screws below the earpiece.

Attention must be paid not to lose the small rubber gasket around the proximity sensor - I found it best to collect it with all the screws of the midframe and reinstall it at the end during re-assembly.

Fabrizio Sassi - 04/04/21

Step 10

Remove the following Phillips screws from the midframe:
Sixteen 3.8 mm black screws
Three 2.4 mm silver screws

Esa placa se levanta por el otro lado, por donde estan los botones de volumen por ahi se puede levantar de una mejor manera.

Hector Juarez - 15/01/19

Step 11

Insert the flat end of a spudger between the midframe and the left edge of the phone and carefully pry to release the two clips holding the midframe in place.

Step 12

Lift the midframe up and away from the phone.

If replacing the battery, jump to that section at this step.

[deleted] - 14/10/18

Step 13

Use the point of a spudger to disconnect the larger of the two display cable connectors.

Step 14

Disconnect the smaller display cable connector.
This cable houses a display controller chip encased in yellow tape. You do not need to remove the yellow tape. The chip is lightly adhered to the motherboard, but should come up with minimal effort.
Gently continue lifting the cable to break the adhesive seal and pull the cable away from the motherboard.

Step 15

At the opposite end of the phone, disconnect the fingerprint sensor cable.
The fingerprint sensor cable is taped to a shield above it. As you lift the cable, lift the tape up with it. You can also remove the tape before disconnecting the cable.

Step 16

Remove the display assembly from the phone.
Before you reinstall the display assembly, thoroughly remove any remaining adhesive and glass from the frame of the device with isopropyl alcohol.
Be sure to turn on your phone and test your repair before installing new adhesive and sealing the display assembly.
If your replacement display doesn't have touch functionality and you're sure that it has been installed correctly, back up your data and perform a factory reset.

If your digitizer appears to be "dead", power down the phone (which you can't because the digitizer is dead) and disconnect the battery connector by prying the connector up out of its socket (with something NONE conductive like your spudge tool) for few seconds. (It does not "slide" out, but pries straight up.) This will FORCE a cold boot and initialize the digitizer WITHOUT a factory reset, preserving all setups and all your files. :-)

Glenn Hagfors -

Step 17

Remove the yellow tape covering the battery connector.

Step 18

Use the point of a spudger to disconnect the battery by prying its connector straight up from the motherboard.

Step 19

Peel back the black pull tab from the top of the battery and pull straight up with firm, steady pressure to break the adhesive holding the battery in place.
The battery is held in place by mulitiple strips of adhesive. You may be able to break the adhesive using the pull tab, but if not, apply an iOpener to the back of the device to soften the adhesive and proceed to the next step.

You don't even need to remove the battery! You can just leave it glued in and pop out the motherboard from around it.

Nathan Friedly -

Step 20

If your pull tab breaks or the adhesive is too strong to break, use an opening pick to gently pry the battery out of the case.
Only pry from the edge of the device. Prying from any other side can cause severe damage to exposed components.

In my case the battery was very securely attached to the case. The only way I managed to get it out was by inserting one of the picks pointy-edge in on the same side where the pull tab is located. Even then, I bent the battery slightly and fully agree with the suggestion of not reusing it.

Fabrizio Sassi - 04/04/21

Step 21

Once the battery is loose, remove it from the phone.
Do not reuse the battery after it has been removed. The stress of removal can cause hidden damage to the battery cell, creating a potential safety hazard. Replace it with a new battery.
To install a new battery:
Remove any remaining adhesive from the phone, and clean the entire area under the battery with isopropyl alcohol.
Apply a few new strips of pre-cut adhesive or Tesa tape.
If you are attaching the battery with a custom-cut adhesive, follow this guide.
Press the new battery firmly into place for 5-10 seconds.

It would be nice to have some instructions on how to use the adhesive sticker. I finally just kluged it on, then saw there was a double part to the blue shield, with part of the adhesive cut so that it can go behind the ribbon cables.

Robert Lynch - 11/04/20

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll add some more instructions on how to apply the battery adhesive.

Arthur Shi - 13/04/20

Why won't anyone show a back door removal? Yes it's difficult, but you won't damage the display and other components between you and the battery. I did this procedure and I damaged the display, and when it was all put back together the proximity and fingerprint sensors didn't work, and the phone has a big bulge in it where before there was none. Yes it was operator error (me), but I'm not retarded and I had the proper tools. It could save much frustration and money if someone would show a back door removal for battery replacement on these phones (moto g5 plus, moto g6, moto g7). Thanks!

Albert Einstein - 30/09/20

That’s an interesting idea! I’m not certain if the you can get in from the back panel, as it is attached to the frame and seemingly screwed in from underneath the display. But, I may be wrong!

Arthur Shi - 02/10/20

Hmm, no mention of:

1. take the (black on mine) battery-removal/grab-able tape section off the old battery and install it on the new one in the appropriate place. Otherwise gonna be much harder to remove the battery next time. Too late for me.

2. what to do about the little foam-tape sections around the top and bottom of the phone between the screen and the interior cover plate. I’m just gonna leave ‘em in place, as I can’t see how you could effectively mimic the original factory stuff with the tesa tape.

3. how to install the perimeter seal. I saw on a you-tube that you should cut the “cable” side of the perimeter strip off of the rest of the sheet and to install that piece (must align very carefully with tape guides) before attempting to install the screen and its cables.

max barcalounger -

OK, correction on the perimeter seal; here’s how it should be done (don’t cut anything; ignore my comment item 3. above):

1. The perimeter seal is a sandwich of 4 layers, the translucent white release sheet, the adhesive layer (black), a removable release layer (turquoise) that matches almost exactly the shape and configuration of the adhesive layer, and then the positioning sheet (also turquoise). 2. BEFORE the internal frame/cover/whatever-it-is to be installed, BEFORE the screen ribbon cables are installed, the perimeter seal must be installed.

3. Remove the translucent white release sheet. VERY carefully align the entire rest of the sandwich over the open rear frame ledge (with battery already installed). Notice that where the frame ledge is a bit fatter at the upper corner, so is the seal width. The entire positioning sheet can fit just inside the edges of the rear frame when it is positioned properly. Start at the bottom and fit it very lightly into position (too hard—>it will be stuck). cont.

max barcalounger -

continued from above:

4. when the whole thing is fit properly into place, you can remove the entire positioning sheet—just peel it up. Note that it’s a bit tricky at the top where the rear camera and light protrude. But there is a tab in this area in the positioning sheet to pull up the positioning sheet and better allow for fitting the seal into place along the top.

5. At this point the seal should be properly positioned around the entire perimeter. Note that there is still the final release part of the sandwich still on top. Woo-hoo! You can now press that down with a tool so the seal is well-attached to the rear frame. Leave this in place until you’re ready to install the screen permanently.

6. When you’re ready to install the screen, THEN remove this final release and carefully fit the screen into position. And, yes, I’ve left out a LOT of steps between item 5. and 6. in this list. Those things are more straightforward and are just reversing what you did to disassemble. You’re welcome.

max barcalounger -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions 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

Taylor Dixon

Member since: 26/06/18

63116 Reputation

19 comments

Or buy a new phone. If I'd known how complicated this was, I'd have bought another's device.

Andy Lyke - 29/03/18

I agree with Andy. Tutorial is perfectly explained, but construction design obviously is to avoid buyers change without risk of damage in comparison like other phones like Moto G 2nd version or Nexus 4 which are not piece of cake however is not to difficult. I hate that mind of developers trying to fix on design “battery for life of device”. That is the issue. Almost the problem is the battery. No matter how much well it is, continue being the critical lifetime part. Must need replaceable for users.

Zacarias S Kosa - 06/04/18

I personally wish phone makers would stop doing this crud, the battery is the least of the worries and should be easily replaceable, likely folks will want to upgrade to a new phone before battery is “dead” and more likely you will have to buy a new screen because of how fragile they make these things especially the new fad of ALL GLASS design >:(…wish moto would not advertise any water proof of any sort, just had my moto G4 Play die because of a small bit of water getting on the screen, now have to buy a brand new one, there goes over $400 down the drain….got so mad I beat the crud out of it smashed it right to bits when it refused to power on at all after drying out in dry rice for a few days, but at least it had an easy to remove battery with nowhere to buy a $20 battery for less then $90 (ship and tax)

Maurice Fortin - 30/07/18

The article is great, but I wouldn’t go through such torture. And the cost to have a repair shop do it might be 40% of the price of a new phone. I agree with Andy and Zacarias. This practice of non-replaceable batteries, claiming that this design is “waterproof” and makes the phone slimmer, is all just a racket. I kept my Samsung S3 with replaceable battery for four years, and only gave it up because it couldn’t take the Android updates anymore. Now only LG sells phones with replaceable batteries, but the LG phone I tried was a piece of junk. It looks like I’ll just have to replace my Moto phone every two years now. That’s unfair.

Claude Robotham - 14/11/18

Totally agree to comments by Claude. Real Water sealing is not being achieved by making batteries non replaceable. Now nano coating technology is there to make circuits water repellent. So water sealing is no longer an excuse for manufacturers. Hard to replace battery is just planned obsolescence.

Rineez -

Ok. It was stressful, but thanks to author and Moto G5 Plus Replacement Battery Kit I managed to get my phone back to full power again. One small note: Step 11 show flat side of spudger, but it was too tight to fit spudger there. I end up using iFixit Opening tool and opening picks. Except of that - everything was quite clear. Still scary as heck to cut the glue around the screen, but clear and reassuring that everything is gonna be ok :)

Vladyslav Aksonov - 06/02/19

my phone is motto g5s plus, there is any significant difference from the one from the guide motto g5 plus ?

emil ghengeaua - 09/08/19

Emil, the battery replacement procedure for the G5s Plus is similar, but slightly different! You can find the guide for that repair here: Moto G5s Plus Battery Replacement

Taylor Dixon - 09/08/19

Brilliant write up. Thank you.

Paras Parekh - 04/09/19

Where can I get the adhesive to reattach the screen? I’d like to get a pre-cut sheet that’s the right shape instead of fiddling with super thin tape.

dav1dh0ff - 30/10/19

You can find replacement display adhesive here: Moto G5 Plus Display Adhesive. Definitely easier than fiddling around with Tesa tape!

Taylor Dixon - 01/11/19

Had two issues with the repair: With opening I found myself picking in between the backlight and the LCD instead of behind the LCD and the midframe Now I have a few dust particles between there.

And concerning the midframe: Wow that is fit in thight! I found it easier to open it by picking from the plastic at the right side at both the top and the bottom of the phone.

For the second half of removing the battery I found it easier to drip a bit of alcohol on the end of a spudger and then pick between the battery and the frame.

Jacob van Dijk - 04/12/19

Great instruction for the G5 s Plus. Took about 1 1/2 hours but easy to do.

Thank you for the magnetic bits.

I used the same glass glue, just put the heating pad on to soften and bingo..

Calibrated the battery as instructed..

Thank you!

Frank Haas 1-7-2020

Frank Haas - 07/01/20

Some instructions on replacing the adhesive would have been nice, but I got it done anyway.

Robert Lynch - 11/04/20

Is it not possible to change the Accu without completely removing the display?

Skip 13 to 16?

Helmut - 25/06/20

Thank you for this guide. This revived my Moto!

The process is easier than it looks at first glance.

Jakob Busse - 14/07/20

moderate difficulty? not at all. I repair phones for a living this is a difficult repair

Rouge Employee - 14/01/21

I bought this kit because I had an excellent experience replacing a HDD on an older iMac with iFixit support a few years ago. Unfortunately, I underestimated the skill necessary to accomplish this battery replacement. Specifically, I could not get any edge of the ‘guitar picks’ between the display and the body of the phone as shown in the photographs. I cannot understand how that could work. They seemed too thick. I resorted to a razor blade and playing cards and ended up destroying the display thereby rendering the phone unresponsive to input. For anyone contemplating this operation, here are my thoughts: if you do not have prior experience opening phones, I would avoid attempting to do this unless you are prepared to buy another phone. If I knew then what I know now, I would have shopped for a good power pack to recharge my phone away from home and kept that up until the the short life span of the battery necessitated buying a new phone.

John - 02/06/21

If you are just a little bit skilled or working with hands it should not be hard to do this, just be patient.

one thing:

on last step when you put new battery in be super careful where you put cable from new battery, it can be CUT of with that small metal near it. Just put it as it is on image (old battery) and it should be fine.

anyway, my 6 years old phone is like new :)

thank you

Richard Sinčák -