TCL Phone

I have this exact phone that I use very little, but it does have its uses.

Went to Boost to add money. Woman behind the counter said it has a swollen battery, which I never heard of. Added $30 (for 3 months) & went home. She tried to sell me a new phone though this one is less than 2 years old.

My question now is this thing gonna explode & start a fire? Woman didn’t mention any of this in the store though she said cryptically that I would be back sooner or later.

HELP, will be back Wednesday. Would love some advice before the house burns down.

__________________
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

I probably won't be much help, Stirch, but you can open the back and look at the battery to see if it looks okay. You could also take down the battery info and order a new one on Amazon or eBay as a replacement & to ease any worries.

Don't charge it unattended. And make sure to unplug it as soon as it's fully charged (I've heard that cell phone batteries can cause fire if overcharged & unattended).

I have a similar flip phone - a couple years back it started to malfunction and wouldn't hold a charge. I bought a new battery online. In the meantime, I took the battery out, cleaned it, blew on the phone's innards, put it back in, charged it, and that same battery is still working normally today. I have no idea what the problem was. But now I've got a back up battery in case this one dies.

...and do not poke at it if the battery seems puffy

yeah, batteries can for real swell up. they get gassy too.

__________________
"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel

"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel

"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear

Everytime I eat too much dairy I become a battery! Who knew

Agree with most of what @Captain Steel has said.


Best to get it changed. We can't always be expected to be around our phone, when it is charging. A phone with swollen battery is just asking for trouble.

THANKS EVERYONE! I HAD NO IDEA THIS COULD HAPPEN.

Never knew this. I’ve never unplugged a phone when it’s fully charged.

Can’t & won’t get rid of it now because I’ve just put $30 on the darn thing for 3 months. I can purchase the exact same phone on Amazon & when the money on this one runs out I will probably do that even though it’s less than 2 years old.

I imagine the batteries catching fire is in cases where people put their phone on charge then forgot all about it. Probably takes many hours of over-charging for such a thing to occur (but then again, I'm not really sure.) Whatever the case, I have read that cell phone battery fires or explosions are very rare.

Some phones have automatic protection against overcharging and some beep when done charging. Best practice: charge your phone in a cool dry place, never covered, placed inside a drawer, or under your pillow like some people do.

You also don't have to give up the phone to get a new battery. Your minutes or plan time have nothing to do with the battery. (I think all that stuff is stored in the phone's SIM card.)

I've taken the batteries out of my flip phones and never lost any info, contacts, data, texts or minutes doing so.

So you can order a new replacement battery. On Amazon, for your phone, they run between about $12.00 - $20.00 so they aren't all that expensive.

Have been trying to get the back off with no luck.

Try a big knife

Will do.

Those old plastic backs can be notoriously tricky to get off, mostly because people are reluctant to "force" it when it resists unless they're positive they're doing it right.

My electrical engineer hubby always says to get a new battery if yours is getting puffy/swollen. NOT good. YouTube can probably help you figure out how to get the old battery out and how to put a new battery in.

I'll add separately that hubby has also had not-so-great experiences using off-brand replacement batteries. Always read all the reviews of any battery you buy. Good luck!

__________________
Linda's Author Website
Linda's Amazon Author page

I can sympathize.

If you have the manual, it may show how to take the back off to replace the battery. (If you don't, you may be able to find a copy online to look at.)

Coincidentally, one of my customers recently complained about her smart phone taking a long time to charge and how she may need a new battery. I suggested we take a look at it - first I had to get through the "holder" which I thought was part of the phone (but is just a colored bracket that goes around it). Luckily, the lady got the manual out and it stated: Do not attempt to remove battery. If there's a problem take to a certified dealer.

So, apparently there are smart phones that don't allow you to open them. Always good to check the manual. (But I've never experienced a flip phone that didn't have a removable back.)

On the back, there should be a little notch towards the bottom. You can see an example in the photo above: it's the little gap on the right hand side.

You can stick a dime in that and twist it, and it should pop that corner off. And then you can pry the rest off. Then the battery should just pop right out.

You will feel like you're about to break it. That's normal.

__________________
"This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." -Baruch Spinoza

Most manufacturers don't want you replacing your own battery. They'd rather have even more of your money to replace it themselves. This is where YouTube is your friend. The manufacturer makes it difficult, but not impossible, to take the backs off phones, and there are always replacement batteries available, if one is willing to do the homework and research to find the best battery.

Will give that a shot later. Thanks so much.

Speaking of batteries, pissed to find in January that Apple doesn’t replace iPad batteries. If one’s battery conks out, that’s it. One dead iPad.