The HTC One X is a beautiful and elegant Android device, but it’s a couple of years old at this point, and that means it might be time for a visual refresh, and possibly a replacement of the battery.
Most rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are made to be recharged only a few hundred times. This phone became available almost three years ago. If you were to charge it every day for three years that would be a total of over one thousand charge cycles so far. If your battery is still functioning at this point, it’s probably quite a bit below its maximum capacity, which means that a replacement could dramatically increase the battery life you could get out of your phone. This could save you hundreds of dollars on a new phone.
Some companies will charge a lot of money to do a simple battery swap for you, but you can do it yourself.
The HTC One X back cover and battery are actually user removable, even though it doesn’t appear that way. The instructions below will walk you through making the swap.
Removing the Back Cover
It would be helpful to have a thin plastic object, such as a guitar pick for making the change.
Before you start trying to remove the back cover, remove the SIM card. The SIM card will need to be removed using an item like a paperclip. Leave the SIM card and the SIM card slot out of the case during the cover removal process.
Take the plastic object and press it in between the area on the bottom of the phone where the plastic and the glass meet up with each other. There are no sensitive electronics within the plastic housing, so don’t worry about breaking anything. Move the plastic object back and forth to loosen the plastic back cover. After repeating this motion a few times, you should start to see it coming apart from the glass and the rest of the phone.
You may need to flex the plastic object forwards and backwards to get the leverage you need to make the HTC One X back cover loose enough. Next, you may need to move the thin plastic objects to the sides of the phone before you are able to remove it completely.
Swapping the Battery
You’ll need a precision Philips head screwdriver for this part. Remove the five screws around the device. These are holding in the battery. Be sure not to lose these screws. Next, peel back the copper sheet that’s covering the battery without removing it completely. Be careful not to tear it. Next, wedge your thin plastic object under the battery. It might be glued down. There’s a battery connection which attaches it to the phone. There may be a piece of black tape holding the connection in place. Remove that tape.
Now you’ll just need to slide the replacement battery in, attach the connector, and press the copper sheet down onto the battery. Next, put your cover back on the phone. Alternatively, you could also purchase a new back cover to add some more personality to your device.
