We have just had to once again replace our Oral-B electric toothbrushes because the batteries will not hold charge. There is nothing wrong with the mechanisms, they work well for a few two minute cycles and then they have to be recharged. I find this inbuilt obsolescence frustrating.
It is possible to open up the bottom of the toothbrush to access the battery, but the ‘normal’ consumer wouldn’t be able to do this, and certainly wouldn’t be able to successfully replace the battery and reassemble the toothbrush to retain it’s waterproof-ness.
This means that 99.99% of consumers will need to buy a new toothbrush when the battery dies. With the Oral-B toothbrushes costing anywhere between $25 and almost $500, it seems like a great way to generate an ongoing stream of revenue for Braun, not to mention the exhorbitant price of the relacement brush heads.
I think I have seen the odd ultra-compact-format computer where a rechargeable battery for the BIOS settings etc. is soldered in (rather than using a removable / replaceable button cell, which would be more usual in a full-sized tower). If you are using default settings, it is more an inconvenience than anything else i.e. computer is still bootable but may not boot unattended (and I guess the system time gets corrected once the network is up). But nevertheless an example of design-for-obsolescence. And device cost could easily exceed $500.
I was thinking of things that you would get regular use, as opposed to something infrequently/rarely used, say a Christmas ornament.
Absolutely; the device is hobbled rather than dead when the battery dies. It was possible to buy button battery cradles with wires that connected to the PCB. The battery in the cradle could be replaced and augmented the dead soldered battery. Not sure if these cradles are still available.
I have a perrixboard keyboard. $50. Nice product, soldered in battery. The battery failed just out of warranty and they replaced it. I took the old one apart - not difficult, and sourced a higher capacity battery I was able to fit in with trivial sanding. The new battery lasts many times longer than the original.
It beggars the engineering and financial decisions made in product design as the better battery was $0.50 more than the original as well as easily adapted. Make it even $55 and a far superior product. Another step to a replaceable standard battery would be priceless.
Logitech provide a range of portable bluetooth connected keyboards. One model, I’ve had for several years retailed around the $100 mark.
Keys-To-Go (1st Gen)
The original Keys-To-Go features a built-in, sealed lithium-polymer battery designed to be charged via micro-USB. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Replacement: Because the battery is sealed inside the waterproof fabric and housing, it is not user-replaceable without advanced soldering and disassembly skills. [1]
Fixing Charging Issues: If your keyboard is not holding a charge, you can find step-by-step guides for partial repair attempts on iFixit. Alternatively, replacement 180mAh batteries can be sourced online through marketplaces like Amazon AU, but professional electronic repair is often required to install them. [1, 2]
The current version uses replaceable button batteries. Potentially a different issue, although the Cr2032 cells used are one of the larger sizes available.
There are also many items where the battery considering the average consumer’s tool kit and skills are only replaceable by a specialist repairer and or the OEM/agent. Various slim line laptops, tablet devices etc. Apple set a gold standard, although there are non authorised repairers who charge less. At what cost is it better to replace with new?
In my younger days I was able to replace the batteries in my Oral-Bs. The first go was an experience. It required numerous talents including good eyesight, a low power soldering iron, being able to visualise the puzzle of parts to remove and replace them, and the ‘right’ rechargeable batteries. Not all rechargeable brands are precisely the same dimensions even when they are within the standard. Batteries on the small limit were much easier to install while one on the large limit made reassembly all but impossible.
Each new model of Oral-B was harder to disassemble than the previous. The last time I replaced the batteries was the last time because of the increasing precision required for each subsequent model and difficulty of disassembly and reassembly where every part had to be just right.
Oral-B seemed to have been going in the direction of ‘the 99.9% will never replace our batteries’. ka-ching.
In part defence of Orab-B the shaft ‘bearing’ appears to be plastic that wears as do any parts moving against each other. The shaft eventually wobbles affecting the pressure and other sensors, model dependent, so replacing the handle at that point, long after the original batteries are unserviceable, is when it should be replaced. Many users might not replace it or recognise what was happening and let it wobble, while whinging it was no longer as effective as new. With non-replaceable batteries it pre-empts that product degradation.
But the product degradation means it hasn’t been designed to last longer than its difficult-to-replace battery.
With more robust construction, it could last a lot longer before starting to wobble, making battery replacement more worthwhile … but Oral-B would then sell fewer electric toothbrushes of this type.
Been using Oral-B for decades. While that is often a design goal for everything to fail at a time, reality is basic products like plastics are often more robust than necessary to only achieve that goal, so the weakest part of the product dictates its life span. If the weakest part can be ‘fixed’ the rest of the product could go on to a long life. In my experience an Oral-B handle lasted at least 2 if not 3 battery replacements during the years I replaced the batteries prior to a degrading wobble.
Read that the European Union was clamping down on this type of practice , cannot elaborate further , also the practice of changing the shape of phone charging plugs was mentioned
I would think than any item/device which needs a specialised repairer to change the battery would end up costing more than one which the consumer can easily replace themselves. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the item has to be thrown out, but it would come down to the cost of having the battery replaced, considering the wear and tear of the item, versus the cost of buying a new one.
Like many other things, sometimes it’s not worth repairing because of the high cost of doing so
More accurately (in the EU) all devices in certain classes (including but not limited to mobile phones) must support charging using USB-C PD.
So, in theory, when you get a new phone, the new phone does not need to come with a new charger because the charger for the old phone can still be used and that, in theory, applies even if the old phone and the new phone are different makes.
That statement is incorrect. While it has been true for over a decade that most users cannot easily replace iPhone batteries themselves without tools or risk, there was a period in the early history of the iPhone where the battery was user-replaceable.
The Exception: iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s
The iPhone 4 (released in 2010) and the iPhone 4s (released in 2011) featured user-replaceable batteries.
These phones had a back cover held on by two small screws near the bottom.
Once the screws were removed with a specialized screwdriver (included in the box), the back cover could be slid off to reveal the battery.
Apple also sold replacement batteries and tools directly to consumers during this time.
Early Android phones had accessible and replaceable batteries, but for at least the last decade, except for a few niche devices, they’ve all been soldered in and hard to access. You have to remove the screen (which wasn’t designed to be easily removed), and screen damage is a real risk.
Most Electrolux ErgoRapido vacs. While it is possible to replace the batteries as a DIY project most models require modest disassembly, soldering skills, and the correct batteries for the model having solder tabs. Prices are into the multiple $100’s, model and retailer dependent.
My experience with iPhones-iPads has been that the upgrading was needed because of Apple no longer supporting that model.
The battery is still good, I can use them as a desk clock and torch, but unable to update to the new/safe iOS or access the latest Apps.
I have a portable light that has a battery that is soldered in. Unlike some devices, the battery is easily accessible and it is not a difficult soldering job. However, the place that supplied a replacement battery was happy to do the soldering job for me.
This goes nowhere near “most expensive” though, given that we have reached “iPhones”.
Even so, the time between charges may be decreasing over time. At a quick look, Settings / Battery / Battery Health and look at Maximum Capacity. It’s not “all or none”.
Apple even got into legal trouble for adapting the phone’s use of power as the battery condition degrades.
Not sure about this. I have replaced batteries for iPhones up to the model 14 I think. It just needed the tri-lobe screw driver, which were readily purchasable online for not much money.
Haven’t tried it with more recent models. It may still be possible?
