Never used pliers to extract a coin battery. If I haven't been able to get my finger nail under it I've used a small screwdriver to lever it out. (I haven't read all the replies, in case anyone else has already said that, ot similar.)
Help Me Identify Pliers
May 14, 2026
Last reply: 2 months ago
66 Replies
Ideal is a plastic spudger of some sort, and you can probably get one with a bent end or soften the plastic with heat and bend it.
In my view, if you think you need a special tool to do something as basic as changing a battery, you are almost certainly doing it the wrong way.
Tim
No. As explained many times now there is very limited space so either a special tool is needed or the PC has to be stripped down.
Quite. You’re meant to strip it down. Usually this takes no more than a crosshead head screwdriver.
Tim
snipped-for-privacy@news.>>
I think I made it clear that you don't actually need any tools. It takes about 5 minytes, and it's hardly a strip-down.
Yes, it is very quick and easy to do.
My concern is that if you are using metal tools to grab both sides of a coin cell, won't that short it out?
"Details, details....".
Indeed! I would either need plastic or I could put a couple of condoms on the end :-)
does that matter, if the battery is dead?
"That's funny, I replaced the battery using my shorting pliers and it's dead already!"
My reply was addressing computers in general rather than this specific model.
Tim
I'm probably spoiled! All of ours are screwless. The big desktops are all capable of having a hard drive changed without tools, at all. The microservers do need a screwdriver for that.
Put tape over the tips. It would probably improve the grip as well.
But assuming the button cell is defective, shorting it isn't really a problem.
Presumably if the OP needs pliers to remove the duff battery he will try to use them to install the new battery.
Logical but the replacement was simple. It was getting my hand in and getting a grip on the old batter that was a problem.
It's a pity that changing the battery in a laptop isn't so easy! With mine, the manufacturers cleverly put the cmos battery directly under the keyboard. That means removing the main battery, drive enclosure, motherboard and fan, and goodness knows what else before the battery becomes visible. Why they didn't put it next to the main battery on flying leads to the mobo to make it easily accessible I'll never understand.
"Not my job, guv".
Because you're expected to buy a new laptop before the battery dies.
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