Microsoft Surface Book Battery Replacement

Written By: Wesley Kendrick

Comments: 177

Microsoft Surface Book Battery Replacement

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

Time Required

45 minutes - 2 hours

Introduction

Use this guide to replace a worn out or dead battery in the screen (tablet section) of a Microsoft Surface Book.

To minimize risk of damage, turn off your Surface Book before starting this procedure. If your battery looks puffy or swollen, take extra precautions.

The lower/keyboard portion has its own separate battery, and replacing it requires additional instructions.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

In order for the keyboard to be detached with the Detach buttons, both batteries must be charged above 10 percent. If your device doesn't power on and you can't use the Detach buttons, skip to the next step.
Press and hold the Detach button on the keyboard.
Once pressed, the Detach button it will light up red. After a second, it’ll turn green and you’ll hear an audible clicking sound.
Alternatively, click the Detach icon on the right-hand side of the Windows 10 taskbar.
Remove the display.

Step 2

The next six steps show how to detach the display manually if you’re unable to power on the Surface Book.
Flip open the display as far as it will go.
Lift the device up and place it on its side, with the display facing away from you and the SurfaceConnect port facing up.

Step 3

Straighten out one section of a paper clip.

Step 4

The Surface Book has an internal lever arm mechanism that can be manually actuated through an access hole in the vents on side of the display.
Insert the straight end of the paper clip at a 45 degree angle into the sixth hole from the left.

Siete geniali! Bravissimi! Ggrazie di cuore

Adriano Mezzi -

Step 5

Firmly push the paper clip into the hole.
This may take a considerable amount of force.
Once the internal lever arm is fully depressed, you can disconnect the display.
Pull the base away from the display to detach it.
If you are unable to detach the display from the base on this side, release pressure on the paper clip and try again.

You should feel slight resistance when pressing against the internal lever arm. If you don’t feel the resistance after about half an inch, back out and try again. Be careful not to push the paper clip too far, as it can scratch the screen bezel from the inside, leaving a visible mark.

Alexander V Trofimuk -

This doesn't work on mine... there's a 90° metal support bracket that covers the entire corner (goes up to about the 8-9th hole on the side) and blocks any & all access to the screen release mechanism. After seeing this "solution" online so many times, I never understood how this worked for anyone else...

miked9746 -

I could detach mine following these instructions. When inserting the paper clip you will feel a resistance like pushing a spring. In my case, pushing the paper clip in about 5 millimeters and holding it when I hear a "click" sound. Be sure to grab the tablet when you see it separating (or have at hand a plastic spudger or opening pick to avoid snapping into place again due to the very strong magnets present).

Andrés Vettori - 27/11/23

Bonjour,

J’ai suivit les indications telles qu’elles et cela fonctionne parfaitement !

Appuis de « haut vers le bas avec angle de 45deg) comme expliqué.

Merci pour l’astuce. Cela ma permis de me rendre compte que la batterie derrière l’écran n’était pas hs. Apparemment un problème de connexion « clavier-tablette ».

Twey -

Step 6

The magnetic connections are prone to snap back into place, so hold the two halves apart.
With one side detached, pull firmly to pivot the display out to disconnect the second side.
If the magnetic connection feels extra strong and the display won't detach on the second side, keep the detached side separated with a spudger, pen, or pencil, and repeat the paper clip process on the other side of the display.

Step 7

Remove the display.
Completely power down your Surface Book before opening it up for any repairs.

Step 8

Heat an iOpener and lay it on the bottom edge of the screen to soften the glue securing it.
You can also use a hair dryer or heat gun, but be careful as extreme heat can damage the screen and/or battery.

Once you insert an opening pick, you can use a few drops of Acetone around the edge to loosen the glue. I found this much easier than keep reheating the iOpener and possibly cracked the display.

dan89fernando - 25/11/19

Bad idea to use acetone with these types of devices because of the plastic parts that can become either damaged or outright melted by the solvent. (Especially the ribbon cables and connections) You are better off using isopropyl alcohol or nothing. Easy enough just to avoid this idea completely. Not to mention that it is possible to cause the display to shatter due to thermal shock when you apply the solvent to a heated surface. Good luck to those that try anyway.

Rick Sanchez - 03/01/20

The iOpener did nothing to loosen up the glue. Had to use a hair dryer for almost 40 minutes to get it softened up enough to open.

david alexis - 17/06/20

Took at least 30 mins with a hair dryer to get the screen off. That 20 min completion time is total BS.

Tommy - 28/06/20

my screen is 25% off

Daniel R Patton - 21/08/20

Be EXTRA careful when running the opening pick around the bottom right portion of the screen. This is where the touch controller attaches to the display, and the ribbon cable is only about a quarter inch away from the edge and is easy to rip out.

Alexander V Trofimuk - 02/09/20

Very important hint!

Andreas - 29/12/20

YES! This needs to be called out specifically in the guide. The ribbon is so close to the edge, you will damage it if you are not careful.

meh -

Having recently been inside a Surface Book I purchased via Facebook marketplace, consider the screen a “cost” of replacing the battery and the pressure is off of you. I tried VERY hard not to break the glass, but…still happened. With that out of the way, I successfully replaced the screen, battery, and also battery in the base. Microsoft should be ashamed of this device. All that engineering effort built into their crappy hinge, only to have the batteries fail prematurely. Also, the mechanism to release the screen from the base sucks real bad. Mine doesn’t work, I carry a paper clip with me to unleash the tablet mode. Pathetic. Thank GOD I picked this up second hand for a few hundred bucks. Pity the folks that paid two grand or more for this turd.

Ken Okpych - 10/11/20

after I did reassemble back the screen, before applying the new tapes I did test it for one day and I did find out the right release mechanism was not working anymore. Accidentally I did disconnect the control wire coming from the main board. Easy to put it back in position. No need to dismantle all again. So, you can give a try and check the connectors. Both the connectors did disconnect while removing the mainboard. Just be careful and check them before gluing all back! Hope it helps.

Gian Paolo -

I just tried for over an hour and a half with heat packs and a dyson hair dryer, and got absolutely nowhere… I even bought the iSclack and had ifixit openers at the ready. I guess I’ll try a heat gun next (after I buy one). If anyone has any other suggestions, it would really be appreciated… I’m so disappointed in Microsoft right now.

Trevor Brown - 11/11/20

If you use a heat gun make sure to keep it moving along the edge and use your hand to shield the rest of the screen from getting hit with heat. You only want it to be hot to the touch and no further. You take a big risk of discoloring the screen if you overheat a part. Heat gun did make life much easier but you have to be very very careful and concentrated while using it.

andrew.j.nieto -

I got my computer open after completely abandoning the “step 1” instructions here. The hot pack (iOPener) and suction cups (iSclack) were completely worthless for me, and did absolutely nothing. Instead, simply get yourself a tool with a very thin metal knife, such as the “Jimmy” sold here on iFixit.

Use a heat gun to get a section of the screen nice and hot (I went with ~160 degrees Fahrenheit) then insert the Jimmy vertically in between the screen and the metal frame (a tiny gap.) Then, carefully flip it horizontally to get between the tape and the screen. After this, carefully slide the knife along the edge while using a heat gun to hover right over the place the knife will next be (I used gloves to prevent burning my hands.) Do NOT insert the knife more than a half an inch into the gap, or you might damage your screen (stay within the black bezel range.)

This will QUICKLY, EASILY, and SAFELY get the screen off.

Trevor Brown - 14/11/20

Attempted to do this without enough heat and the glass shattered; recommend using a heat gun and potentially using repair tape to keep the glass intact. The screen removal is the hardest part of everything.

J.K. - 03/03/21

I broke my screen too, but I blame myself for being impatient. Once I took my time heating with a hair dryer and getting the opening pick in there, with enough heat I could just slide the pick down the edges. Next time I’ll know better!

Kirk Feindel - 13/05/21

I tried the heated iOpener. I had some success but then used too much force and cracked the screen. My advice is to take you time and use the iOpener often on the very edge of the screen. Use the suction cups or iSclack as your primary tools to separate the glass form the frame. And a second set of hands is very helpful to hold the metal part of the screen onto your table. The glass will come off with patience and perseverance.

standurlacher - 05/08/21

Use heat, be patience don’t rush, go slow to prevent breaking screen like I did. I also damage the antenna to the wireless onboard adapter. The antenna is glued between the screen and the enclosure and is easy to damage. I didn’t realize this until after the repair was complete and my surface book no longer recognized its WiFi device. I have to use a usb/Bluetooth adapter. Good luck.

Nyaniso Rahotep -

This is vital information - I also destroyed the antenna in the process, because the pick does not discriminate between layers of adhesive. . Microsoft did a horrible design job on this.

Manuka -

The WiFi antenna is not physically connected to anything. It has a capacitive interaction with a small brick below the plastic so you can build it by yourself with a 0.2mm foil of copper or aluminum, cut the same geometry and tape it . It works. iFixit guide is pretty incomplete about that point, without mentioning all the screws forgotten to mark.

Gian Paolo -

Best place of entry for the pick is by the speaker on the right and left side. Heat up that area and then get the pick through there. I found that pretty easy and sliding the pick around the bottom (where the tablet attaches to keyboard). Unfortunately, I broke the screen up top where the webcam is. Not sure if that area is more brittle than the others due to webcam, but word of advice is to be careful there. Using a hair dryer worked best and getting this very toasty; the iOpener was useless.

Quan Thai - 17/09/22

Both sides of the central block “camera-Mic” there are three FSP antennas. They are easy to cut off while using an opener tool because a part can stick to the LCD and a part on the shell. So pay attention! I did cut one! You can clearly see the three antennas position in the first picture of the step 11.

Gian Paolo -

Screen also broke on me when doing the repair. Got about halfway down the side of the Surface when the screen cracked in half. I wasn't planning on replacing the screen while replacing the battery and was pretty upset when it cracked. But as someone else said the screen is a "cost" of replacing the battery.

meh -

Step 9

The next three steps demonstrate the Anti-Clamp, a tool we designed to make the opening procedure easier. If you aren't using the Anti-Clamp, skip down three steps for an alternate method.
For complete instructions on how to use the Anti-Clamp, check out this guide.
Pull the blue handle backwards to unlock the Anti-Clamp's arms.
Place an object under your Surface Book so it rests level between the suction cups.
Position the suction cups near the middle of the bottom edge—one on the front, and one on the back.
Hold the bottom of the Anti-Clamp steady and firmly press down on the top cup to apply suction.
If you find that the surface of your device is too slippery for the Anti-Clamp to hold onto, use tape to create a grippier surface.

Step 10

Pull the blue handle forward to lock the arms.
Turn the handle clockwise 360 degrees or until the cups start to stretch.
Make sure the suction cups remain aligned with each other. If they begin to slip out of alignment, loosen the suction cups slightly and realign the arms.

Step 11

Wait one minute to give the adhesive a chance to release and present an opening gap.
If your screen isn't getting hot enough, you can use a hair dryer to heat along the bottom edge.
For complete instructions on how to use a hair dryer, check out this guide.
Insert an opening pick under the screen when the Anti-Clamp creates a large enough gap.
If the Anti-Clamp doesn't create a sufficient gap, apply more heat to the area and rotate the handle clockwise half a turn.
Don't crank more than a half a turn at a time, and wait one minute between turns. Let the Anti-Clamp and time do the work for you.
Skip the next step.

Didn't worked for me. And the top suction cup is now broken where the anti-clamp and the suction cup unites. Even though, it was extermely difficult to keep the anti-clamp in place. The top suction cup will begin to move around and the anti-clamp will not stay vertical, going sideways or tilted. I ended up using a standard suction cup and finally could move forward. Also the anti-clamp gets very hot when used with a hair dryer, and touching it is almost impossible.

Andrés Vettori -

going from middle didn't work for me, works better from one of the bottom corners.

me160 -

Step 12

The adhesive securing the screen is very strong. This step may take significant force and multiple attempts.
Apply a suction handle to the screen, as close to the center of the bottom edge as possible.
Pull up on the suction cup with strong, steady force to create a gap between the screen and the frame.
If you have trouble creating a gap, apply more heat to further soften the adhesive. Follow the iOpener instructions to avoid overheating.
Insert an opening pick into the gap.

The glass is extremely brittle, so do not keep applying too much upward force while clearing the adhesive, or it will shatter and make you yell at your dog!

Mark Yeager -

Step 13

Use the pick to slice all the way around the perimeter of the screen to separate the glue.
Do not insert the opening pick too far into the screen or you may cause damage to internal components.
Gently raise the screen but don't fully detach it until the cables underneath are disconnected.

Be carful around the power switch and volume buttons when separating as the WiFi Arial is attached to the casing under the adhesive strip, second Arial is located further along the case about the same distance away from edge of cases as the power and volume button .

steve Brock -

This^^^

Use heat, be patience don’t rush, go slow to prevent breaking screen like I did. I also damage the antenna to the wireless onboard adapter. The antenna is glued between the screen and the plastic strip protecting camera and is easy to damage. I didn’t realize this until after the repair was complete and my surface book no longer recognized its WiFi device. I have to use a usb/Bluetooth adapter. Good luck.

Nyaniso Rahotep -

how to remove WiFi antenna im stucked at this step.

Marko Kolar -

Not just only around the power switch and volume button, but the whole top. There are three antennas in the left, middle and right top of the display

seddosenpai -

Not just only around the power switch and volume button, but the whole top. There are three antennas in the left, middle and right top of the display

seddosenpai -

Don't just be careful around the power switch and volume button, but the whole top. There are three antennas in the left, middle and right top of the display

seddosenpai -

There are three antennas in the left, middle and right top of the display.

seddosenpai -

Be aware that the glue at the top is about 3-4 times deeper than it is at the sides and bottom.

Ben -

You can use the replacement adhesive strips as a guide to how deep to go with your pick (you did get replacement adhesive strips, right? - iFixit store IF412-035-1).

Be careful when removing the old glue from the back side of the screen. The black color is on that surface, and if you scrape it, you'll scrape through the paint leaving unsightly scratches that will show through the bezel when you're done.

Ben -

Step 14

Begin by removing the ribbon on the right. With the curved tweezers, carefully remove the metal bracket to expose the end of the ribbon. Remove ribbon.

Metal plates are difficult to remove. Must pry them off.

Tommy - 28/06/20

I was not able to pry off the metal bracket, so I just propped up the screen with the ribbon cables attached while I carefully worked on the laptop

Jeff How -

I was able to pull the plate off with my thumb nail. It comes off easily if you get the right angle.

Marvin -

I used a blue tool with small scoop on the side opposite the tines to leverage the bracket off. Easily popped off that way, after a few attempts with the curved tweezers filed.

Mark Kizilos -

This blue tool seemed to work best for me, as well as knowing the pry point is opposite of the tines.

mavzerb -

Step 15

Next, remove the metal shield covering the other ribbon. Then remove the ribbon.
Remove the screen.

Remove only the plug to the far right leave the ribbon cables and the clips alone What was confusing in this photo it looked like he removed the large ribbon clip, he did not. I did and busted the clip that secured the cable. I had to buy a new touch sensor board.

Don’t make this mistake, look carefully before you do. Stop before going to far.

James Foley - 24/08/20

I managed to bust my connector as well, despite trying like !&&* not to - awful design on microsoft's part, but the instructions really need to call out just how exactly one needs to remove these without destroying other components

Manuka -

James Foley, I've just done the same: busted the clip on the wide connector (had to detach the ribbon cables to replace a broken screen with a new one). Where and how did you find a replacement board?

Dan Guralnik -

I assume your talking about step 8. I removed all 3 ribbons easily. 2 had latches that need to be opened. I had the whole sensor out and seperated.

More McCormack -

I think I could have done this in less than 30 minutes since the computer back was bulging with the batteries swelling. To my surprise, the batteries were stuck to the back with black adhesive so the connector popped loose. Fearing that I had screwed up the connector, I plugged the computer into the new battery pack and found everything was working and the battery showed a full charge. TaDa. With my wife’s help holding the back, I used a hair dryer and wooden spatula to remove the old battery pack. Rather than trying to apply more adhesive to the edges of the back I used black electrical tape to keep it in place.

Tom Strothers - 06/09/20

I did the screen and battery. Battery swelled and cracked the screen. Scariest part was heating the battery. Reading all the labels about possibility of fire. I heated the back and the old battery slipped right out. adhesive was still good so I put the new battery right in on top of it.

More McCormack -

If you are replacing the screen, you will need to transfer the square/triangular board from the old screen to the new screen. This step/detail is missing.

meh -

Step 16

Use a T4 Torx driver to remove the 24 screws. The two tiny screws on the ends of the WiFi board/Camera bracket are T3 Torx.
You don't need to remove the screw along the plastic piece that contains the camera lenses. Remove the two screws at either end of the keyboard connector.

It was not 3mm hex, but torx.

We only need T3 and T4 driver in the whole processes to replace the battery.

小坂井拳吾 - 27/01/19

Missed a couple tiny screws on either end of the plastic bar at the bottom of the picture. Also, I don’t think this step is even necessary.

david alexis - 17/06/20

Why do you say this step is not necessary? Is it possible to remove and replace the battery without lifting the motherboard?

Scott Bassett - 11/10/20

Original image is missing several screws which I circled in yellow in a new image.

Tommy - 28/06/20

Which screws go where they are not all the same size

Rebecca Moore - 22/04/21

I was able to slide the battery out without removing the screws along the bottom of the picture (top of the laptop screen if you’re looking at it normally).

Jeff How -

Same, you do not need to remove the two screws that hold the main connector in place.

meh -

Still missing a circled screw (you can see the empty hole in the image) — there are four along the motherboard under the battery cells. One at each inner corner of the battery, and one towards the middle of the cell inside copper tracing. The photo does not have the right-side one circled; additionally, this one is initially hidden under a piece of foam strip, so be sure not to miss this one!

D.G. -

The fan seems to not have screws holding it down, although it has 2 screw holes. Just foam isolators. Was the omission to not transfer vibrations elsewhere, or am I missing 2 screws?

Joe Pacheco - 24/10/21

You don't need to remove the strip along the top where the cameras are at all. You can lift the motherboard enough without removing any of the screws that hold the camera strip.

MikeR -

Step 17

Next, using a metal spudger, disconnect the ribbon from the charging port.
Ensure that you gently remove the ribbon.
This should be optional and only necessary if the battery has swollen to the point that more clearance from the motherboard is needed to remove.

Etape non nécessaire et faiblement recommandée, très risqué !! Faites-le uniquement si votre batterie est trop gonflée pour passer sous la carte mère même en la soulevant légèrement. Cependant si vous ne faites pas cette étape, faites attention en faisant glisser la batterie aux trous pour les vis qui ressortent.

Roméo Laurent - 13/02/21

This is only necessary if your battery is very swollen and you cannot slide it out to the side of the tablet by slightly lifting the motherboard. IF you have to lift the motherboard higher to remove an extremely swollen battery then you need to remove the keyboard ribbon. Use extreme caution while doing this AND remove the small metal plate glued to the exterior of the tablet keyboard connector before attempting to pull it out. If you don’t you will likely remove the bracket from the pins on the keyboard connector cable….which is very hard to replace without ruining the pins.

Jeffrey Hicks - 23/06/21

NOT A NECESSARY STEP! Even with a fairly swollen battery, it can be carefully worked out from the right or left side. You will have to remove all of the motherboard screws to be able to lift it enough to do this, though.

D.G. -

Make sure you are pulling the plastic portion out as well as the metal housing (you may need to push from the connector side). If you only pull the metal sleeve back, it can damage the wires.

Ben -

DO NOT DO THIS STEP unless you absolutely have to in order to get the battery out (you probably won't need to). Pulling out that connector can easily make the computer fail to connect to the keyboard and trackpad.

MikeR -

Step 18

Remove the black plastic strip.
Then use a metal spudger to remove the ribbon under the black strip.
Make sure that you gently remove the ribbon.

The gold rectangle being held at right is the forward facing camera. Remove the plug to the ribbon wire, the gold rectangle to the left only. There is no need to mess with the camera. The only reason I can see for removing the plug at all as it hides the last screw that holds the motherboard down. Be gentle if you insist on removing the forward facing camera like the picture, the back can come off and you have more trouble. This battery fix is plenty enough trouble.

James Foley - 24/08/20

It is easiest to just remove the forward-facing camera board by taking out its two screws, after unplugging the ribbon cable. Trying to hold back the ribbon cable out of the way enough to lever up the motherboard later risks damage to said ribbon cable, and makes moving that corner of the motherboard more difficult.

D.G. -

Be very careful before removing that ribbon cable. You can’t see it in the pictures but there is a screw holding that down and without removing that you can bust the camera on the back of the unit (On the side with the Windows logo). Ended up tossing due diligence out the window and went for it causing the rear camera to bust. Not an expensive part but for sure an annoyance.

andrew.j.nieto -

Step 19

Gently raise the motherboard slightly.
Don't manhandle the motherboard.
Use a plastic spudger to gently pry the battery. The battery runs underneath the motherboard. Pull free to the right.

How do you glue the screen back on? Right now i’m imagining you just heat the glue back up as was done in the disassembly and then let it cool after placing the screen back where it should be.

Please advise

Devin McCubbins - 02/08/19

You can buy a replacement for few buck. If you cannot I suggest to use a 3M double tape and place over the old tape. The problem is, the old tape got damaged and his shape is not flat anymore. I did remove it all and apply a new one.

Gian Paolo -

Sometimes that’s enough! I haven’t tried with this particular device. If needed, clean all the old glue off the display and chassis carefully, and clean the areas underneath with 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol. Then apply a strong double-sided tape such as Tesa 61395 to re-assemble.

Jeff Suovanen - 09/08/19

It look‘s like you lose this small black peace’s of Power/Volume Button‘s too

A Z - 13/12/19

How can we get the small black pieces back into it? They are so tiny. This is frustrating!

aaron Moore -

Used glue tape made for this kind of thing https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K4V... . Doesn’t stick anywhere as well as the original glue, but that could be a good thing. Makes opening up the machine easier the next time.

david alexis - 17/06/20

Be prepared for spending a long time getting the battery loose from the unreasonably strong glue holding it on.

david alexis - 17/06/20

Amen! And we chose to loosen it before undoing EVERY screw from the camera strip region, in the hopes of being able to avoid taking apart more stuff. With 2 people, we could slide out a ‘puffy’ battery after removing what I think was most, but not all, screws.

We loosened it with heat (a hair dryer from the back side) and a credit card (which we broke - use an old one!).

Jamie Adler -

What if u cut the battery between the two halves and rewire one side after installation?

That may be faster…. and u risk only a battery….

Nils Dankersson - 16/07/20

If the battery is discharged this may work. Otherwise a short circuit may occur.

Andreas - 29/12/20

This takes much less time if you gently warm the back of the case. Then using a couple of old credit cards with raised letters and numbers pry, pull and then isolate the glue, numbers down, the numbers limit the amount of sticky the credit cards have to the old battery glue. My new battery had a removable piece of plastic over new adhesive. Your going to want to pre cut the plastic (NOT THE BATTERY FOR GOD SAKE) in half, removing the center section. After you position the battery and are ready to stick it down. Remove the plastic covering the Adhesive on one side, remove the credit card, stick it down and do the other side.

The heat gun is key to this step. This step took me less than 5 minutes.

James Foley - 24/08/20

The screws along the top edge of the screen can be left along with the top plastic strip securing the cameras. The motherboard will flex enough to remove the batteries.

Use popsicle sticks to keep the new batteries from sticking until they are in position. No need for a heat gun to remove the batteries. Use a large flat blade screwdriver to separate the old batteries.

Careful of the fan mount as the rubber grommets are sticky.

How can I submit photos?

andrew - 18/01/21

I would caution against EVER using a metal tool around the Li Ion batteries for any reason due to risk of puncturing the battery and causing a fire…! I replaced the performance base batteries in the keyboard section which had similar adhesive, and the flat plastic cards that come in the iOpener kit (much like credit cards but much stiffer) worked great for separating the back sides of the batteries from the black adhesive. The key is to keep the heat levels up as you separate from the glue.

Steve Bordewick - 05/02/21

N’utilisez surtout pas de spatule métallique, au risque de percer la batterie. La colle à l’arrière est très collante pour le coup, utilisez un sèche-cheveux et chauffez l’arrière de l’écran. Ensuite à l’aide d’une carte essayer de passer en dessous de la batterie, veillez à faire en sorte que la colle soit bien chaude, ça se décollera plus simplement, si vous avez les petites spatules bleus d’IfixIt, faire levier sous la carte pour décoller la batterie. Faire pareil des 2 côtés.

Roméo Laurent - 13/02/21

My screen is already half off due to the bulging battery. I still use it with an external monitor and it still gets hot so, think I will just turn it off and separate the rest of the screen.

Anyone know if it will work without the battery when plugged in with the power cord?

Larry Stevens - 21/04/21

Not sure if it will work without battery, my screen was the same bulging with gap so decided to change battery and it went like clockwork following the instructions although I did keep the connecting cable to screen connected and just propped the screen up.

took about 2hrs to complete and now battery life is about 6 hrs :)

steve Brock -

Yes it does. I just removed the battery from the tablet, because it puffed up and actually cracked my screen. I'm not replacing the battery, since I'll decommission the laptop next year when windows 10 support runs out. Fortunately it runs fine with just the keyboard battery in place.

Erik -

Be careful of the skinny ribbon cable on the left (connects the motherboard to the 3.5mm audio jack board). It doesn’t have a lot of slack and is hidden under a piece of foam strip, and if you lever the motherboard too high when trying to pull the battery out, you could damage it or the ZIF connector.

D.G. -

I’m having a very weird issue in comparison. My screen was unsticking so I searched for problems and everything pointed to a battery issue.

Now I opened the thing and the battery looks absolutely perfect.

In my case it seems the fan was pushing the screen slightly up and the glue couldn’t hold it anymore. Now I’m trying to find a glue to put it back together.

Rafael Boszko -

Hi, I've changed out the battery but the new battery won't charge beyond 55% and the laptop won't fully boot into windows unless it's plugged into the mains power

R J -

Be very careful on this step. Once you have the battery free of the glue, be especially careful when you slide it out the side. There is a protruding connector with pins on the backside of the motherboard that presses into the battery. If you don't have the motherboard lifted up far enough, the battery can scrape across that and damage the pins, and that is next to impossible to repair.

If you have a bulging battery or are having trouble with the glue, I would actually recommend completely removing the motherboard. You should already have all the screws out. The only thing holding it down now is the two cameras. These are glued in place - use the spudger to gently pry them up, and they'll lift straight out. Disconnect the four cables for the speakers and lock actuators, and carefully fold the motherboard all the way over (you can leave the ribbon connected to the headphone jack, or pop up the white back tab and gently pull out the ribbon to completely separate them).

Ben -

The adhesive strips sold by iFixit (part IF412-035-1) work perfectly to reattach the screen.

Ben -

This step does not make sense. In the first picture, he is lifting the motherboard from the base. Then in all subsequent steps is lifting the motherboard from the top. Removing the keyboard/base connector is completely unnecessary unless you have an extremely swollen battery and need the clearance.

meh -

Conclusion

Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.

To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.

Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.

Repair didn’t go as planned? Check out our Answers community for troubleshooting help.

Author

Wesley Kendrick

Member since: 15/02/17

2191 Reputation

85 comments

Good day, Where would you purchase the batteries. Both are swollen and need changing.

Shavaun - 13/02/18

I got mine off ebay, just do a search, it was like 20 bucks.

sjsmith801 - 19/06/18

First thing’s first, MS will send you a new SurfaceBook Pro if your battery is swollen. They just replaced my 3yo SBP; I did not have an extended warranty and was definitely out of warranty support. Contact them before you attempt the repair on your own.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-ie/help...

Raymond Piller - 08/06/18

They only replace machine under 3yo. They want 600USD after that

Colin Liew - 16/06/19

Hello I am overseas how do I contact MS

Francis Bassey - 07/01/20

Hello Francis, I’m in France and I used this support page: https://support.microsoft.com/fr-fr/hub/...

I had the Surface Book replaced for free (1 month before the 3 years support for this issue)

Vincent Martineau - 02/03/20

Unfortunately, I'm living in Saudi Arabia and MS said that because there is no replacement center in Saudi Arabia, they can't replace it :(

What a shame

Sari - 28/07/20

Just had my Surface Book replaced by Microsoft, upgraded to Surface Book 2 within a week. My device was out of warranty and they originally quoted £455 to replace, but it has been replaced without charge

Steve Wedge - 30/10/20

Hey I are you, I've contacted them and they told me that I have to pay 500 $. What did you do to get it for free?

ROMY -

The motherboard screws are a star pattern, not a hex, and definitely much, much smaller than 3mm. Anyone know what size tool, and what toolhead pattern? Torx maybe?

sjsmith801 - 19/06/18

I used a T03 Torx bit. However, I had to remove far more than 18 screws.

Joel Harris - 28/11/18

I recommend updating this to clarify that it refers to replacement of the battery in the screen, and not the one in the keyboard/base.

charles.verrier - 21/06/18

Yep. The base is a piece of cake compared to this.

HALDi - 29/09/19

The required drivers are not T3 and T5, but T3 and T4.

小坂井拳吾 - 09/02/19

First timer here.

So i got a Surfacebook 2 with battery issue. Got a replacement from ebay and should get started on replacing the same.

Going to remove the screen with Hair dryer. Question is, how is it going to stick back? Just re-heating and pressing into its place works? Or should i buy any specific glue? Please let me know. Any suggestion is going to be helpful!

Satyanand - 21/04/19

Answering for my self. I need to buy something similar to Tesa 2mm tape or glue.

Satyanand - 15/05/19

“First thing’s first, MS will send you a new SurfaceBook Pro if your battery is swollen. They just replaced my 3yo SBP; I did not have an extended warranty and was definitely out of warranty support. Contact them before you attempt the repair on your own.”

Not true at all. I tried MS support and was told to throw away the device or pay them $599 to repair it.

Brian Black - 10/05/19

I too got my replacement. though its out of warranty. True

Satyanand - 15/05/19

I think the problem is that you cannot keep the screen “slightly too hot to touch” with an iOpener Definitely need a heat gun for that.

Keming Su - 25/05/19

Which time of glue can I use to put the parts back?

Luca Vicini - 24/07/19

i used this: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/40000707...

HALDi - 29/09/19

Managed to replace both screen and battery with spare parts purchased from Aliexpress.

Thank you Wesley!

CaptainDrone - 30/07/19

Anyone have links to a replacement battery for the 1st gen Surface Book?

tenpin288 - 20/08/19

I got the battery from here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32849305...

HALDi - 29/09/19

Just replaced my swollen battery using this guide. The author misses 6 screws and one is circled in the wrong place, but use common sense and you'll get them all. Also, I found no use for a torx T5 bit at any point - nor does the guide mention where this is needed, despite listing it as a requirement. After the repair I just placed the screen back in place and the old tape/glue was plenty strong enough to hold it in place. I bought my replacement battery from amazon US for $25. Didn't face any issues using a freight forwarder to ship it into the middle east. Like others have mentioned, Microsoft only offers to replace free of charge if it's 3 years old or less, once it's over that then they'll ask you for $600 and you have to send your damaged laptop back first.

Adam Whitnall - 01/09/19

I got the battery from here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32849305...

Btw: Be REALLY careful when detaching the top of the screen, left and right of the camera. the wifi antennas stuck to the screen and i ended ripping them of. Had to order replacements - another 25$ down the drain.

HALDi - 29/09/19

Do you need new adhesive when reassembling? If so, what replacement adhesive do you use?

Samir Giri - 04/10/19

Any suggestion on where to buy a new screen if that happens to break? asking for a friend…

Adam Black - 03/01/20

ebay, amazon, alibaba

Froz - 22/07/20

I am overseas how do I contact MS

Francis Bassey - 07/01/20

Vielen Dank für die gute Anleitung. Konnte den defekten Akku (aufgebläht und Bildschirm hat sich schon oben gelöst) hinter meinem Bildschirm problemlos ersetzen dank der Anleitung. Ja die Schraubenanzahl stimmt nicht, T3 und T4 benötigt. Bildschirm vorsichtig heiß machen und dann Stück für Stück lösen. Oben neben der Kamera sitzen die Antennen für das WLan. Die klebten bei mir dann am Bildschirm. Ich habe sie dann wieder vom Kleber gelöst und wieder auf der Leiste angebracht. Dadurch ist auch mein Empfang deutlich besser geworden.

Die Pins der Ladebuchse hätte ich nicht ziehen müssen, da sich das Motherboard bei mir auch nicht so hoch anheben lies. War vielleicht zu vorsichtig oder irgendwo war noch mehr verklebt. Ein Magnet für die Stifthalterung war mir rausgefallen. Hab den leider falsch herum wieder eingesetzt. Jetzt hängt der Stift schief. Aber dafür öffne ich das Ding nicht wieder. Also Achtung sollte euch das auch passieren. Verklebt mit M3 3mm doppelseitigem Klebeband.

Stefan Endtmann - 29/01/20

When assemining, which glue is used. You should stick it again.

Roland - 26/03/20

I used this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K4V.... You might want to shop around, though. This one doesn’t stick very well (but that might be a good thing if you need to open the machine again).

david alexis - 17/06/20

hi, my battery in the scren part is swollen, is it possible to simply remove the battery and not put another one in (and only use the base batter, and never detach the screen) ?

sam - 06/05/20

Whatever you do, DO NOT DO STEP 6! You do NOT need to remove that part to replace the battery. The consequences for removing that are the destruction of your Surface Book. If you pull it out, you will pull out the charging port pins, if they don’t line back up exactly you will bend them and you will no longer be able to charge your Surface Book.

The guide is also missing some additional screws on the top the of the device that need to be removed that are hidden under foam tape.

In addition, glue covers the entire bottom of both halves of the batteries that is VERY strong. You’ll need to heat the back to get it free. Be very careful, especially if you have the swollen battery problem. The glue is strong enough to rip the packaging of the battery. Also, when you slide it out, the swollen battery will catch on the screw holes and also rip the battery packaging.

The MODERATE label is not accurate on this fix. It should be hard, to very hard since it is very easy to make a catastrophic mistake.

Brenton Klik - 14/06/20

%#*!^@! I wish I had read this comment before doing the work! Now the tablet is not recognizing the base! I also agree that the instruction for removing the battery with a splunger is a bad idea. I actually ruptured the battery and the gas escaped. No explosion, though.

david alexis - 17/06/20

good call, thanks for the heads up!

Leandro Chavarria -

Did they fix it now? Step 6 is to remove the keyboard right now. I don't see how that would be bad.

Gus M -

Brenton, I am confused...are you suggesting NOT to remove the base/keyboard for this repair?

John Doe -

This guide covers like every third step…

Chris Martin - 15/06/20

The instructions missed a few screws. Step 7 is unnecessary. And as Brentin Klik commented, absolutely do not do step 6! The tablet now does not recognize the base because of it.

david alexis - 17/06/20

Hi! I got the swollen battery issue. I couldn’t lift the glass using the iOpener to soften the adhesive. For those who we’re successful, did you use a heat gun?

Also, was it difficult to unglue the battery?

thank you!

Joe Hby - 13/07/20

your hair dryer is enough if you heat it up gradually, ideally heat it up to the limit that you can still touch it, only heat up the edge of the screen and take it easy. check you the youtube videos for help :)

Froz - 22/07/20

I got it with a heat gun set at 200F.

Joe Hby - 27/07/20

Hello, I have a surface book 1, i see online many batteries for CR7-00001 to CR7-00007 how to i know which one I need and what CR7 version i have ? Does the battery even change in those versions? Are they backwards compatible ?

Froz - 22/07/20

Hi, how do I take out battery without step 6? On the other side there are cameras attached to the motherboard. Thank you!

Joe Hby - 27/07/20

Hi everyone, I am in the process of trying to claim after 3 year warranty using European 6 year electrical guarantee. This is not a sure thing and I will have to see how it goes. I do not feel comfortable taking mine apart but I am hoping that as it is a fault on their own hardware, and no fault of my own for swollen batteries, they should replace it. I am going to trading standards and financial ombudsman should they still not agree to fix or replace free of charge. I am using a surface book 1, what is everyone else using? I would only pay £600 if they replaced my surface 1 with a surface 3, and that is begrudgingly. as the replacement for both is the same price. Cant believe their flag ship computer only lasts 3 years, £technically £800 a year if buying the top of the raneg model (like I did), when a mac can easily go 6,7,8 years no problem. VERY tempted to get rid of all microsoft stuff eg xbox, desktop computer and use PlayStation and Mac products.

Scott - 03/09/20

Any updates Scott? Am very interested in how you are getting on

John O'Neill - 18/10/20

To follow… Same problem with my Surface Book 1 in France.

annesemay - 08/12/20

I wish this would have said something about the wifi antennae that you can't see until you lift up the glass, by which point it's too late

jared hyde - 05/12/20

Where is it???

John Doe -

Thank you for the introduction. I have removed the display battery. Can I use the SurfaceBook without the display battery?

Anahita Hamidi - 12/01/21

Hello I’m also wondering if we can make it work without a battery in the display, do you manage to make it work ? Thank you

Roméo Laurent - 05/02/21

I know this is late to the party, but it's probably more relevant now these are older. I couldn't justify a new battery, so just removed to swollen batteries and it works fine without the screen battery. Obviously needs to be either directly attached to a charger or the run off the keyboard battery. Can't remove the screen from the keyboard without using the manual eject method because you can't remove the screen with the eject button when it doesn't have charge. Happy with the outcome, getting the screen off is clearly the hardest part of this process. Be really careful of the ribbons on the bottom right of the screen, they are really easy to damage.

BloatedBattery -

Hello, I’ve had the swollen battery syndrom of my Surface Book … i’ve reached out to microsoft, they told me you are 2 months after your 3 years, you have to pay 600$ for extended warranty…..

i want to attempt removing the battery, is there a way i can use the surface without a battery? like a desktop, straight power?

Maher Haddad -

I’ve repaired dozen of laptops, phones and tablets in my life, and I would definitely consider this a Hard to Impossible level of repair. Out of the two devices attempted, these are just some of the issues encountered: 2 cracked screens; touchscreen cable torn; screen scratched; 2 WIFI antennas ripped, multiple connectors damaged, chassis parts bent, scratched, etc. Basically every single step is full of little gotchas which if you miss will result in more parts needed to be ordered, or cosmetic damage to the device. If you’re doing this for a good deal because you think, as I did, that you can fix it - be prepared for a nearly $200 screen replacement in addition to the battery. If you’re doing this, as I almost did, for a client - be warned: even if you do manage to replace the battery without breaking anything, chances of causing cosmetic damage are high.

Alexander V Trofimuk -

So what recommendations do you have to avoid mistakes??? 🤔

John Doe -

Guide is missing some fairly important information. It also shows images that are not going to fully reflect what the person opening one up is going to see such as the wires being taped down and connected to various connectors. Additional steps for handling that while in the process of removing screws from motherboard would be beneficial. This guide takes the “perfect scenario” route not recognizing that most everyone following this is going to be people with bloated batteries that have no choice but to open or toss the unit. In the event of a bloated battery your likely not going to just slide it out the side and will need to loosen up wires and connectors enough to lift the motherboard bottom (charger port side) up enough to pull the battery off adhesive and slide it forward and out. All in all the guide gives just enough information for a confident DIYer to be dangerous and likely bust a device. If your going to follow it you’ll likely have to get creative.

andrew.j.nieto -

What recommendations do you have to avoid mistakes??? 🤔

John Doe -

Thanks to all who contributed here! The COMMENTS (at end & after each step) are CRITICAL. So glad I read them FIRST (along with watching a couple of YouTube videos).

I was replacing a swollen battery and was able to complete this repair in about 2 hours with the help of my teenager. It definitely helped to have a second set of hands and some young eyes and nimble fingers. There are lots of tiny screws. I found that they were all T3 - which is unfortunately NOT a driver size that comes in the basic iFixIt toolkit I also bought with my new battery :(

This definitely requires a lot of patience and some sort of credit card (you’re willing to break) to detach the old battery. It has a ridiculous amount of tape holding it down. Loosening it with heat and prying is not fun when there’s a risk of puncturing the puffy metal bag and risking fire.

I feel like the biggest unmentioned challenge is in the motherboard’s cables coming lose on both sides, without you even noticing it. They don’t have a very secure connection.

Jamie Adler -

Hi, i have the same issue , replaced the batter, I can see the new batter is 49% but not charging. Do you fixed your battery?

nedi -

Hello,

I was able to run through the steps w/o an issue, however, after replacing the battery, the Tablet portion by itself won’t turn on. The surface book works only if is attached to the base. Detaching the hinges and plugging the power shuts down the computer (I’m guessing battery power switch between base and tablet).

Anyways, I ran the BIOS, nothing there, explored the Control Panel —> Device Manager (removed the battery 1 and re-added it) and checked the Windows Logs (no critical or error hardware events). Still the battery won’t work.

Running the command c:\Powercfg \batteryreport, I see that the battery is somewhat recognized, it displays the charge and manufaturer, but it doesn’t display serial number, name or cycle count. On the task bar, it display the charge left, but it doesn’t take charge when plugged in.

Display works (tactile and pen response, motherboard works, fan works, speakers as well).

Any suggestions?, Thank you.

Yvan -

Hi Yvan,

Did you find a solution to this non-ID of the battery? I have the same exact issues... updated driver etc.

Regards,

Todd

Todd Plaisted -

Any update??

John Doe -

I purchased my 13.5” i7 16GB RAM, 512 SSD SB1 in Oct2015 in the US.

In Nov2018 MS replaced it with a new one as battery swell extends the warranty to 3 years.

In Sep2021 my second SB1 again had swell issues. After providing a video of the S/N and swelled screen, MS replaced it with a 15” i7 16GB RAM 512GB SSD SB2 (Windows 11 compatible too).

The first replacement was organized via MS chat in Oct2018 for pickup at a MS store while I was traveling in the US as the SB1 was not sold in Thailand.

The second one was shipped to me to my home in NE Thailand. MS chat rep told me the old one would not be supported any longer and to take it to an eWaste facility of my choice because shipping the old one from Thailand was not possible. From chat to the new one arriving was about 8 days.

I cannot fault MS customer service, only the crappy glue everywhere design with faulty batteries.

I bought the tablet battery and will try to repair the SB1. If that goes well, I’ll get the base battery too as it also is swelling.

John Davidson -

Several notes from me:

* You do not need to remove the connector to the keyboards. When I tried to remove it, the shield came out and I was afraid that I broke it. I think the better option is to just leave the connector in and flip the motherboard and remove the connections on the motherboards side.

* You do not need to remove the camera facing the outside of the laptop, just remove the connector that hooks it up to the motherboard and you can leave the camera in place.

* You’ll need to remove one of the speakers, the one on the left in the pictures so you can remove the headphone jack.

And yeah, even though it took me one hour and I heated the screen every 1/2 inch I still managed to crack the screen and break its touchpad

Nicolae Mogoreanu -

anyone can give me the part number for the battery?

mine is a 2016 and i’m in south america, battery has swollen A LOT, i don’t know how the screen hasn’t broke yet

i don’t think MS will cover me over here

Leandro Chavarria -

I also recently changed the battery myself. I've run into the problem of where the tablet doesn't detect the battery. Not sure on how to fix this issue, seems like others also had this problem when they replaced the old battery.

Zhen Tang -

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mdfahadrgp -

The battery meter does not work after installing a new battery. Anyone know how to fix this?

Michael Voss -

New battery not recognized so device will only work while plugged in. Does anyone know the solution for this? Also, even when I reinstall the old battery it is not recognized now either.

Demetril ONeal -

Any update on this?

John Doe -

Excellent guide! It helped me in replacing the keyboard battery of my Surface Book. I decided to make my own tutorial video on how to do it making a Spanish version with captions in English so others can also benefit from the experience. This is the link of the video I did: https://youtu.be/4U2qcK9oR3s Thank you!

Armando Izquierdo -

Hallo, ich habe eine Frage, und zwar möchte ich bei meinem Surface Book 2 den Akku tauschen. Dieser lädt nicht mehr. Zunächst einmal die Frage, das Gerät hat ja im Display den Akku, ist bei diesem Modell auch unter der Tastatur ein Akku? Wenn ja, dieser wird ja kaum dafür verantwortlich sein, dass das Gerät ohne Netzteil nicht mehr läuft, oder? Mein Gerät hat aber keine Belüftlungsschlitze an den Seiten wie das Gerät oben. Seriennumer ist: 013988674457. System-UUID ist CCAA38F0-CA22-D965-3DA7-E209FAA9F0FD

Würde dieser Akku --> Akku

für hinter das Display passen? Falls das Display beschädigt wird, würde dieses passen --> https://www.ebay.de/itm/133088283689?var...

Ich bitte um Rückmeldung. DANKE!!!

Anonym0us2023 -

Can I just replace the battery for the screen or do I need to replace for both the screen and the keyboard? Does it matter?

David Garcia -

How easy is it to break the screen while doing this?

John Doe -

I was able to use a heat gun and remove the screen without any issues (ex: No screen cracks or wifi antenna detachment etc). Then I was able to lift motherboard and replace the battery. However, after putting everything back, the right latch fails to open up. If I manually open it, then it works once or twice with the eject button, then again it fails to open up. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

eternalgod -

Pretty decent guide. Some more info on removing the shields for the display cable and touch panel would be really nice. I ended up skipping that part. Also you drastically underrepresented the tenacity of the display adhesive and the battery adhesive. I thought I was going to start a lithium fire trying to get that out.

Go4 Peanut -

Can someone recomend a concrete battery replacement (ebay or else link), who is aktually working?

blauluchs -

Took a replacemt battery from ifixit last week (2023). They sendet me a battery from 2018 with a load of 28%

But this battery still isn't loading!!

(I have the performance base).

In microsoft tech community someone spoke of reverse connection between computer and battery, but i don't know how you would change a reversed connection...?

Andreas Hofmann - 19/09/23

Im looking for surface book 3 screen battery 15"

bades Prods -

I changed the battery successfully but the device recognizes it as 54%, it doesn't charge and it doesn't even turn on with it, it only works plugged or with the keyboard, can it be a software thing or did i get a faulty battery?

Joaquin -

This guide was fantastic, but in my experience, a corner is a better place to start prying the screen from the frame, than the middle.

Seth Misenhimer -

I followed the instructions and purchased the battery directly from this website, but the replaced battery won’t charge past 74% ☹️

Seth Misenhimer -

@sjsmith801 Do you happen to remember the brand or model for the battery for a Surface Book Pro? Thank you

Mauro Briceno -