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The repair journal

Swollen phone battery: warning signs and what to do

A lifting screen or bulging back cover can mean the battery inside is swelling. This is a safety issue, and it is worth acting on straight away.

1 min readBy the Wepairs team

Tweezers removing a small screw near a phone battery on a motherboard

Lithium-ion batteries can swell as they age or if they have been damaged, overheated or charged with poor-quality accessories. Gas builds up inside the battery pouch and it slowly expands, pushing against everything around it.

Warning signs

  • The screen is lifting away from the frame at one edge
  • The back cover is bulging or has popped open
  • The phone rocks when laid flat on a table
  • The touchscreen behaves oddly where pressure builds
  • The phone gets unusually hot

What to do now

  • Stop charging the phone
  • Do not press on the swelling or try to flatten it
  • Never puncture the battery
  • Keep it away from heat and flammable materials
  • Back up your data if the phone still works, then book a repair

Why a professional replacement

A swollen battery is under pressure and can be damaged further while opening the phone. We remove it with the right tools and dispose of it responsibly. In many cases the screen can be saved if the swelling is caught early, so do not wait for it to get worse.

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