Battery Replace - Wireless Pro

WD External Drives My Passport Wireless
1

Hello,
Does anyone knows where can I Buy a new battery for My Passport Wireless Pro?

Thanks,

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2

I am also looking for a new battery for a wireless pro. The device is 3,5yers and looks like, the battery of it had an internal shortage. Now the measured voltage is 0 flat. Anyone, can You help please, as I can’t find anything on the Internet?!

3

Here’s the ridiculous answer from Western Digital support:
"I would like to inform you that the battery of the My Passport Wireless Pro cannot be replaced, only the entire product can be replaced. "

It’s possible to replace battery’s from Laptop’s, Smartphones,… but from a portable disk is not possible?

Now i’m waiting new battery’s and I will try to replace.
Let’s see if it works.

It’s a Samsung battery.

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1 Like
4

Hi,

I also want to change my battery’s .
It would be very kind of you to explain how you did and if you had any trouble.

Thanks !

5

I got the same problem recently. Please advise if you have already found the replacement battery. It seems that it is just 2 ICR18650 3.7V battery joint in parallel. However, I wonder why the battery pack is linking with 6 wires as it will normally link to 4 wires only in other devices.

6

im glad WD is actively responding to our questions and concerns here, very helpful thanks WD!

/s

1 Like
7

I bought from www.nkon.nl and replace only the batteries.
It’s working like new.

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8

which battery did you buy?

9

Is it possible for you to share which battery it is that you found working? Either like the model name or number and/or a photo? Was it difficult to get inside to replace it?

Thank You,
BC

10

Hi, all

After hours of Web search, my conclusion is that we cannot buy new ready-to-use batteries.

However, if we reuse the circuit board attached to the dead battery (if it is not damaged), we can get a new working battery in two ways: 1) make-to-order or 2) DIY.

When you remove the external film of the battery, you get this (video):

(Do NOT remove the film unless you planned to DIY new battery pack.)

It is a 3.7V 6400mAh 1S2P battery pack made with two 18650 battery cells. You can buy two 3.7V 3200mAh 18650 battery cells, but you can NOT buy the circuit board attached to it.

Look at the close-up photo of the circuit board:

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This circuit board and attached 6pin connector is the unique part of the battery. We MUST reuse it. (Maybe someone with knowledge and skill can find a circuit board with identical function and attach a new connector to it, but I’m not the one.)

Here are your options:

option 1) Make-to-order

Because I didn’t want to DIY, that is, I didn’t want to buy tools and materials (welder, spot welder, nickel strip, fish paper, insulation tape, etc.), and Li-ion battery is dangerous (it EXPLODES!!) to handle if you do not have some skills, I got an order-made one.

Electric bicycles or other electric vehicles are more common these days. Many of these vehicles use battery packs made with several 18650 cells. In Korea (yep, I live in the South Korea), there are tech shops treat things like this (making battery packs for electronics with dead battery, resolving circuit board issues by changing some parts, etc.), so I had visited one with the old, dead battery and requested to make a new battery pack reusing the circuit board. It cost about 27USD.

New battery worked like a charm :slight_smile:

Maybe you can find shops like this in your country.

option 2) DIY

Well, you can make a new battery pack by yourself.
You need some tools and materials in this case.

You can find many Youtube videos on this topic. Watch these videos, understand them and use your circuit board from old battery instead of general BMCs.

First things first. Safety Warning.

  • - YouTube (This video speaks Korean, but you don’t need to understand Korean to get the gist of it. Watch from 1:20. It shows an explosion.)

For general instructions on battery pack making, refer to the following videos:

  • youtu.be/f9hsqDr381o
  • youtu.be/mXxQ3We14BM
  • youtu.be/znljthqAM6o

Select the above url with your mouse, right click and click “Go to …” in the pop menu. I wanted to insert full urls, but I couldn’t because I am a new user :frowning: (New user can insert only two links.)

This can be a start point for further research.

That’s all I’ve figured out.

Good luck guys!

11

For those who does not know how to open the case:

The first one explains how to open the lower part of the case.

The second one gives a clue on separating the upper part of the case: you MUST remove the clips that bind the HDD to the upper part.

12

working with new battery
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This is my device with the new battery.

After 3 hours of streaming several 1080p x264/HEVC Flac/AAC videos with 5Ghz wifi only, in performance first mode, the battery level was 55% :slight_smile:

  • I’ve disabled thumbnail building. It was the main source of performance and reliability degradation for me.
  • I don’t use Plex, Twonky or any other transcoding media server. I’m sharing files with SMB, and I use nPlayer app which is available both in iOS and Android.

Some side note:

  • You can change SMB settings by changing smb.conf, and by doing that, you can control access right according to users.
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13

I’ve had the same problem–bad battery, and even worse customer service. Thanks for nothing, WD! But, I think I’ve found a solution that should work as long as the chip is still good. (If the chip is bad, then I got nothing.)

  1. Remove the blue wrap around the battery pack.
  2. Cut the leads between the battery terminals and the proprietary chip. (leave enough of the metal to solder to)
  3. Get a replacement 3.7V battery pack like this one on Amazon for $20; make sure it will fit in the battery compartment space ( Amazon.com: 3.7V 3600mAh ICR18650 Rechargeable Battery Pack with SM 2P Plug : Health & Household) *This particular battery pack has much less capacity than the original, but I bet I can find one that has more capacity.
  4. Solder red and black wires to the leads on the chips.
  5. Connect the red and black wires to a SM 2-pin female plug (10 pack on Amazon for $8: Amazon.com: Gikfun JST SM 2-Pins 2P Female & Male Plug Connector Wire Cables for Arduino (Pack of 10 Pairs) AE1045 : Electronics)
  6. Connect the new battery pack to the connector on the chip.

If this works, this would effectively separate the chip from the battery pack so that the battery pack is replaceable in the future. Of course, you’ll have to fit the extra wiring and connectors in that space, but I wouldn’t think they would take up too much room.

I haven’t tried this yet, so I can’t confirm it will work, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t.

If it turns out that the solution really is this simple, it begs the question: WHY DIDN"T YOU MAKE IT THIS SIMPLE IN THE FIRST PLACE, WD!!! My kid’s $30 RC car has a replaceable battery pack!!! Good grief.

14

Did you try this out mate?

I have one of these units that won’t charge either, the 1st battery light just flashes a few times.

I came across this battery though, 6000mAh

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005003724308264.html

15

I just discovered this and did it myself.

The batteries, self explanatory: WENSILING 2 Pack 3.7V 20A 3200mAh Flat Top Rechargeable Battery for Camera Doorbell,Flashlight,Headlamp,Electronic Devices. Just search for that on Amazon.

Nickel strips. You can cut away parts of the old ones that are bent on the circuit board and solder together new ones. That’s what I did to extend it. SHONAN Pure Nickel Strip 99.6%… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PQP55CM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Soldering paste. I would recommend this to anyone that’s not tech savvy or has experience using a solder iron. It’s easy to use, you just put on the nickel strip and you heat it up using a torch, I found it easy to use a soldering iron and hold it on top of the metal and it’ll melt into a solid. It’s hard for me to use the actual lead wire from the solder itself. Solder SILVER SOLDER PASTE (1 piece) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001S32FUG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

After you solder everything together, I used electrical tape around the contact points and before assembling it together I did a test charge and it works like new! I’m glad to have found this thread.

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16

Hey Derrso! Thanks for sharing your DIY adventure with us. It’s awesome to see how you tackled the battery replacement issue with such ease. Your detailed breakdown makes it feel achievable even for those of us who might not be too tech-savvy.

I remember a similar situation I had with my old camera doorbell. It started acting up, and I was dreading the thought of having to replace it. But then I stumbled upon a forum where someone shared their experience using batteries from batterypkcell.com. It was a game-changer!

Just like you, I had to get my hands dirty with soldering, but with the right tools and a bit of patience, I managed to breathe new life into my doorbell. Your tips on using soldering paste are super helpful too. It’s reassuring to know there are simple solutions out there for these kinds of problems.