Okay, I admit a little dramatic license with the title of this thread, but now that I have your attention...

The spring-loaded battery-release button on the back of my i500 exploded (in a sense) earlier this week. It must have come unattached from the phone and launched the button spring-and-all several feet. I managed to find both the button and the spring, but in the process of trying to push the darn thing back on, I lost the spring.

Now the battery slips off accidentally at least a few time a day, and as you can imagine, it is getting very annoying. So, this evening, I took it in to my local Sprint store in the hope of replacing the spring and remounting the button to hold the battery in place. Nevertheless, the Sprint representative said that they didn't have a replacement spring. So I told her that I had another crappy i500 at home which I could scavenge for the spring. Then she told me that she wouldn't be able to remove the spring from the other i500 without breaking the spring in the process because, according to her, it is soddered to the back of the i500.

Needless to say, I find this explanation hard to believe. There must be some way to remove the spring from the crappy i500 and use it to make my good i500 whole again. Moreover, I'm hoping that this is just the place where I might find some kind and knowledgable soul who can tell how to do it!

Has this happenned to you?

How did/would you fix this problem?

Thanks!

nv

I took a spring from an extra-tiny ballpoint pen, cut off a piece about as large as the original i500 spring, and it works just fine!

But the springs from ordinary-size ballpoints won't work... they're too fat.

Okay, interesting, thanks!

But how did you secure the spring to the body of the phone and the button? Did you use glue or did it just snap into place or something?

Thanks,

nv

I used 2 pieces of rubber band on either side of the main post of the button. Then I never removed the battery again. The rubber bands are just thick enough to push the button up against the battery and hold it in place.

FYI, the spring isn't soldered in or anything else. It is held in by the button. Originally your button would have had barbed posts on each side (so they would go in, expand and not come out again). Those have probably broken and now provide no protection. If you want to remove your old spring I'm thinking you would remove battery, use a narrow tweezer to squeeze the 2 side posts on the button in enough that they release. Of course, then it may explode (try keeping a finger on the button and GENTLY releasing) and you will have to find the spring again. Try doing it in a small area with a shoe box or something over the phone.

Thanks for your responses, deibelsan and booklaw!

booklaw: I like your replacement spring approach, but I wonder how the button stays on. Did the button still have barbs on it like deibelsan explained? Or did you use glue or something?

diebelsan: I like your tweezer approach, but I haven't been able to find tweezers small enough to try this -- they would have to be really really small. I'm not even sure I've ever seen tweezers that small, but I really appreciate the greater understanding you conveyed about how the button works. I don't think I understand your rubberband solution. Could you please clarify with a bit more detail?

Thank you!

nv

yes. in my case the barbs were still intact. if not, i'd have used scotch tape to secure the battery.

if you keep your finger firmly on the button while changing batteries then it will not pop out and also be held in by the battery while the battery is in place sans barbs.
BB ( yeah I'm still around even if using a 755)

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That'sssssssss all folks!

BB is correct about holding the button while changing batteries (I was going to mention that the battery also holds the button in place). However, if your phone is like mine, when you accidentally drop it, the battery comes off. If so, then your button and spring may likely go flying off.

As far as the rubberband thing, I cut a standard office rubberband (not one of thos big thick things) into two pieces about 1/4 inch long each. I laid them on either side of the hole the main post for the battery button goes into. Then I carefully reinserted the battery button so that the rubberbands were on each side of the main post between the post and the side posts. If you press down you get kind of a spring action. You are only looking for enough to make the button raise back up and engage the battery. I'm not sure how else to describe it. There is another thread on this issue somewhere in this forum where I got the idea so it might explain it better.

"However, if your phone is like mine, when you accidentally drop it, the battery comes off. If so, then your button and spring may likely go flying off."

Ergo, do not drop it!

BB

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That'sssssssss all folks!

I wish I could remember that

Thank you all your insightful comments blazerboy, deibelsan and booklaw!

I will try out your suggestions this weekend and report back. Especially the one about not dropping it.

Thank you,

nv