UPDATED: The RIGHT Way to Replace Gameboy Cart Batteries

Since it has been almost 2 years, I figured it's time that I address some things in my original Gameboy cart save battery replacement tutorial. I've studied, learned, and practiced quite a bit since then, and my soldering skills now are worlds apart from how they used to be. That said, in this video I show you the PROPER and CORRECT way to solder and replace game cartridge save batteries. Enjoy!
(NOTE: This is a fixed re-upload. Sorry for all of the video release confusion!)
Watch my original tutorial:
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[@agibby5]

Mad respect for someone who publicly and openly admits they made mistakes. Shows humility goes a long way. And good job on the new video. Good techniques too! Some people take this information for granted, but it takes a while to learn and implement these concepts and everyone is different.

[@tedcruz1774]

Shame we can say the same about Biden :(

[@leeartlee915]

I know right? I almost died of shock.

[@leeartlee915]

@@tedcruz1774 What in the name of sweet Jesus are you doing bringing politics into a video game battery replacement tutorial? That is the saddest thing I’ve seen in a looooooong time. Go find someone to give you a hug. You obviously need it.

[@tedcruz1774]

@@leeartlee915 Are you offering a hug? I'm available on Tuesday from 3-6pm. I can schedule you in?

[@leeartlee915]

@@tedcruz1774 If you really don’t know anyone else and you live nearby, I’d be happy to give you a hug. Though, without passing judgment, I am concerned that you don’t know a single person who could do that for you… but it would explain a lot.

[@SimpleComplicity]

Damn, people of the internet aren't usually kind when they see a hack job of something so I respect you for taking them in stride and learning to be better.

[@makho]

Nicely done, looks great! Thank you for addressing the issues with the previous video(s). It takes a lot to own up to a mistake and it really reflects on one's character when they do so.

[@robertdrew875]

I appreciate a more laymans view of this. I haven't used a soldering kit for quite a few years and getting a "good vs bad" practices view of it was more helpful than I would have expected. Thank you for your time in making this!

[@Cherokie89]

I've been tinkering, building, fixing, and wiring for over a decade and have never seen desoldering braid. Glad I watched this. I'll be adding that to the toolkit. Looks easier and less finicky than a suction desolderer.

[@KyleAwsm]

Glad to help! Yup, it certainly has its uses! I've got a Hakko FR-301, but I still often find myself using braid instead for some things. Cheers! 🙂👍🏻

[@OneWithoutSin]

@@KyleAwsmwhat kind of desoldering braid do you use do you have a link to one you would recommend there’s so many

[@troyragnor919]

thanks to your tutorial I was just able to replace my silver battery, which has been in my possession ever since it was released, and could restore my nostalgia. thank you

[@ssvishnov]

I replaced the battery on my GBA SP eagerly looking to play my silver version again, only to find the save file was gone and my only options now are "New Game" and "Options". I'm sad that all that data is gone

[@aaronphilips2780]

@@ssvishnov that’s really unfortunate… such a letdown when you don’t see that “Continue” option. I would highly recommend a gameboy mega memory card. You can use it to backup and restore GB & GBC game data. That way, you can backup your precious save files and when a game’s battery dies, you can restore the data after replacing the battery. This has helped me avoid losing save data multiple times.

[@damienyuhas3257]

I was wondering why i hadn't seen this video last week when i looked up the process then i saw this was uploaded only 6 hours ago. Great redo, you fixed everything i wasn't too sure i would want to agree with.

[@bradybourgeois9819]

Late comment but very happy with this video. Showing the mistakes you made helps me not make those mistakes because I am new. Some things more experienced people take for granted because they do not think about them anymore, and seeing you explain why some of the things you did in your previous video were bad helped me learn a ton. Thanks!

[@CarsonsVids]

Much better techniques used in this video compared to your old one!

[@KyleAwsm]

Thank you! 🙂 Glad to see you came over from the other one. 👍🏻 Cheers!

[@jimbomctimbo1610]

Nice job on the soldering this time around. I solder guitar electronics and it would surprise people how even people who have been working on stuff like this for years still aren't good at it. Well done!

[@ATSaale]

lol, just commented what to do on the old one before I notice this one. Great job. As you said, a smaller tip needs higher temps, so for larger things like battery tabs a chisel tip works better since you can get more heat to a larger area without the high temps that can scorch pcbs and lift traces. Unless I'm soldering small components next to each other I almost always go with a chisel tip, it just seems to get the heat into the components quicker, which usually helps not overheat things.

[@brutalhonesty07]

Your effort is noticed in your videos. I just discovered your channel and hope the level of videography, and narration (audio quality too) is maintained for DIY content. I wish your channel well!

[@KyleAwsm]

Thank you so very much! 😊

[@brutalhonesty07]

KyleAwsm You gained a sub, for the quick reply. I hope to see more video game content, 3rd party accessories for saving retro games, and top 10 lists for such topics once you aggregate long product review buildup. Thanks.

[@panikrev175]

1:48 Moments like that just wrench my heart, can’t stand the sight of lost saves.... I’m reminded every time I boot up Sonic 3...

[@samusranzer]

I know that pain. My very first videogame was Pokemon Silver for GBC when it came out, and I had almost every single pokemon, I used a link cable to my gba and traded pokemons from red/blue/yellow/gold/crystal, had like 247 pokemons, like 15 or more in level 100, and a few years ago I tried to play that game again and I lost the game save. I haven't tested my red/blue/yellow in a while, and now I'm scared xD

[@neonreign2988]

This video inspired me to solder (and successfully, I might add), so I just wanted to say thanks and kudos for making such an explicitly straight forward tutorial to follow. I ended up replacing 3 batteries in my old GBC game cartridges, some that I have had for over 2 decades (1 Silver version and 2 Gold version).

[@craigselder]

This video is brilliant and guided me (soldering for the first time) through a job I would have never have taken on otherwise. Thank you!

[@kiyoaki1985]

Nice to see a bit more detail about how to solder retro game stuff. I'm not an experienced solderer, so I always just eyeball the temperature. On my last mod, I learned that a smaller tip isn't always better and a slightly stubbier tip actually helps a lot with getting the solder to transfer to the board cleanly

[@ArchToAchilles]

I am brand new to soldering and I learned quite a bit from you explaining your mistakes. Thank you!

[@gamesyncc4831]

I followed these exact steps and my Metroid 2 can now save!! I bought all the tools you showed as well. Thank you for the video!!!

[@emmettturner9452]

If your iron isn’t hot enough to melt the solder then it isn’t hot enough to start the 3-second countdown. :) Also, that guideline doesn’t really apply to high thermal masses like battery tabs on power and heavy/thick ground planes. That said, your iron was hot enough in that first video, it just didn’t have a digital temperature control so it couldn’t recover its temperature very fast. You can overcome this limitation with technique. You needed to dwell longer without moving so much. Moving the way you were makes it appear like you are spreading the heat around but the real reason it looks like that is because the old solder doesn’t bead when heated until you add fresh solder/flux. While a bit of a swirl can help get heat transfer going, moving with strokes interrupts the heat transfer and generally makes it take longer. My tips: Always use leaded solder with rosin flux for these because Game Boy games were never lead-free. There is no good reason to mix solder chemistries and raise the melting temperature. Tin your tip with excess solder and wait for the temperature to recover before melting existing solder. This has more to do with thermal mass than adding fresh solder, since the flux core will have already spent before you touch the old solder. Having the bulk of the solder already molten and at temperature allows it to instantly merge with the old solder for maximum heat transfer immediately. Even if it re-freezes due to tip heat sinking into the ground plane/battery tab, the heat from your iron will saturate and liquify again much sooner than if you started with a dry tip. You can add fresh solder to get the heat transfer going, but save some until just before removing heat. Leave it wet. This is how you avoid spending the flux too early and having dull joints with wisps and pointy bits. Just a tiny kiss of fresh flux core solder as you remove the iron is all it takes. There’s little reason to waste braid flattening both sides. If you want to make sure the battery is perfectly flat, remove all the solder from one side and then solder the other side first. The molten solder won’t hold it up off the PCB and the other side won’t either since it’s the one you flattened removing solder.

[@hezaroseli]

Thank you for the video! I'm looking into replacing my batteries in my games, and this is wonderful. :D

[@biomek100]

I know this might be a little late, but you can make it easier by adding fresh solder to the pads before placing the battery. But this is the best video about battery replacement I've seen.

[@Kolvert]

This video, is worth many praises for two different reasons: First and most important, owning your mistakes humblely (it may not mean much to you coming from a stranger but you've earned my deepest respect); Second, and comming from an electronics technitian with over 20 years of experience soldering, great technique, very nice job. Keep it up. Lot's of love from Spain.

[@eli77721]

This is awesome 👍, I wished I knew when I was younger. But then again little kids shouldn't be playing with soldering iron.

[@brettbarnickel2985]

Great followup and love your work my friend! Awesome to see somebody in the community addressing the importance of safe practices

[@NinjaXagor]

Thank you for making this; I've done soldering before, but it's nice to see how someone does the whole process. I especially appreciated the tips at the end for how to avoid causing issues as you do it.

[@Itsbearbuster1]

Just watched this and your old vide bought all the proper materials needed to replace all my gba and gbc Pokémon game batteries. Had all 5 run out. Thanks man.

[@collinausbury]

Great video thank you. I realized the battery prongs on my new battery stick out pretty high so pushing the plastic cart back together bent them a little. But it works. Appreciate you being humble for the sake of your viewers brother.

[@mannimaulwurf9496]

Now THATS some great soldering!

[@feral_shade]

I didn't see the first version, but I'm definitely saving this video for later...i love the detailed instruction and the tips i didn't realize soldering required so much equipment--it seems like it'll cost a fortune to get a few games back up and running :P

[@Golirarin]

Thanks for the great tutorial! It was the first time I ever used a soldering iron and it was a great help getting my Wario Land 2 and Pokémon Crystal to save again. It's such a joy to see them working properly like they used to. Time to play!

[@feral_shade]

don't forget....the clock is ticking....as i understand it, you have about 3 years until the battery dies again ;)

[@leipzigergnom]

I've been playing Pokemon Crystal for 4 hours, knowing that as soon as I turn off my GBA all the save data will be lost . . . I need to learn how to solder I guess

[@iyekski]

Really liked the part where you explain the mistakes you did from the first video. U earned a sub. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@TheInstinctWithinV2]

Just seeing you hold the gameboy brought back some serious memories

[@spicy_fiona]

I'm starting out my journey to learn how to solder correctly so thank you greatly for sharing what you would do differently 😃

[@lgeiger]

Thank you for this video and listing those possible mistakes. I would 100% have made some of those if I didn't watch this video. I am going to replace some batteries this weekend. I hope the soldering iron I ordered will work. It wasn't very expensive. I haven't soldered a lot myself, but I know how it should look like at least. That soldering on that Zelda game looked great.

[@TRJ2241987]

I started a new job this year that uses all of these supplies and have gotten skilled in soldering, so now I can start bringing Nintendo games in when I need a battery swap 😄

[@thefifthdoctor6780]

Cheers finally did mine. The ‘proper’ way.

[@jackeyboy92]

Watching this video helped me repair my copy of Pokémon crystal. Thank you very much

[@OXFKhan]

Thanks for the video, I will get the tools I require, then give it a go & replace the battery on my Zelda game.

[@KyleAwsm]

Best of luck to you! 🙂👍🏻 Hope it goes well, and thanks for watching!

[@Ivy_Writer]

Thank you for this! I just replaced my battery in my copy of Pokemon Red.

[@rhys406]

Great video, I just watched the previous one and found this one after. Definetly alot higher quality work and some good tips too, thank you.

[@rare_huntertenebrae1589]

Repaired my old pokemon crystal with this video. My first time using a soldering kit but it works! Hopefully I did everything right.

[@myanimeroom9350]

Thank you for sharing. Now I know how to replace the dead batteries from my game boy games in order for the save function to work again.

[@shezgill]

I have a pokemon red game that has never had the ability to save since my brother bought it when we were kids. I want to attempt to fix it, and this really helped me understand the steps to do so. I've also never used a soldering iron before, so wish me luck!

[@tokaiju]

great work, you don't need to use so much flux though, especially that thick stuff you just need a tiny dot

[@FelixGonzalezM]

Thanks so much for the detailed video this saved me a lot of time and got it right on the first try.

[@gitjeg3655]

Awesome man! I like this new video better, since I did see the older one first and quite frankly this final result is a very clean solder! And I kept looking for more videos, because I saw the of the guy prying those flaps open and it really gave me the creeps. So now I will go get the of the necessary tools to change all the batteries from my Pokemon collection, from GB to GBA. Thank you so much for the effort!

[@blurry9744]

This has inspired me to restore old broken nintendo games, what parts should I look for when investing in tools? I saw: Multimeter, soldering iron, flux, and some screwdriver things, would you be so kind to post which stuff I need to do this myself? Thanks alot, and I appreciate the video a bunch!

[@TheBilliardCorner]

Doing this on my Pokemon silver, thanks for the great video!

[@VideoGameJNPoop]

Looks like I’ve got great news for you all here: I’ve found a video on KZbin where instead of replacing a battery on the Game Boy or Game Boy Color cartridge, the user replaces the SRAM chip with an FRAM chip, that way it will save without a battery. The video is in German though unfortunately, but it does show and prove that FRAM saves are possible on original Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges. Though I believe the user does an additional step where he adds something else (I don’t know what it is but) with the FRAM chip. I don’t know if the chip has to be a specific one though and the video only tests it on Pokémon Red & Blue (German Versions), so I can’t confirm if every game (with saves) can do this too.

[@troppopotente9075]

U have touch all the interesting point of the discussion,now i know all the errors i have do trying to repair my ps4 controller ✌️that is a good help have a good time

[@hawkfeather6802]

Nice tutorial! I'm going to need to do this on some gbc games I just got and I've only soldered twice before. Oracle of seasons is pretty fun!

[@DC_Cha_Cha_Cha]

Now I’ve just watched this updated video. Great improvements!

[@emmettturner9452]

Battery spot welders are pretty cheap. I got one with the nickel strips for building my own Lithium Ion 18650 packs. I mentioned in your previous video that I put a copy of Ken Griffey Jr, Present Major League Baseball in the freezer to make some adhesive labels brittle and it somehow popped all the spot welds (battery rattling around inside). I wasn’t able to duplicate this with my Game Boy games but it might be useful somewhere. :)

[@Alexandra-Rex]

Thanks for showing how it's done!

[@KYBlueJedi]

1:57 I suggest adding another step before soldering. Backup GB cart data first. The Retrode2 + GB plugin works well in this instance. That way you do not have to worry about losing saved data.

[@wojtekpolska1013]

the whole reason you would replace a battery is to make it save data you cant backup save data, if there is no save data (it gets deleted after turning off the console due to lack of power) so what you are saying is simply impossible

[@larrychilders6599]

Or do the following unscrew the cartridge's game bit. Take the front off. Put the cartridge without the front on it into a Gameboy Advance. Turn on the GBA ( you can use GBC but it will be trickier) then do the steps shown in this video to replace the save battery. Then save the game and put the face back on

[@Victor-xs7gf]

lmao "or ill smack you." xD cool vid. will have to try it on my copies of PKMN Gold and Silver

[@finnholtz7129]

This is going to be really useful when I get my gameboy cartridges and I’m going to get a 12 pack of those batteries and before I use the cartridges I’ll change the batterie just in case

[@xenomorph2056]

LOVED this!! Made replacing mine easy as pie. Many thanks!!

[@senecafallsjb]

Something I want to add here. When I went to boot up my copy of Oracle of Seasons, the save files were all corrupted. I wasn’t able to load any of the profiles. I suspect the game was hacked at one point with a game genie. To fix this, I ran my soldering iron over the contacts of the SRAM chip, and it booted up fine! So, if anyone has similar issues, start there.

[@KyleAwsm]

Actually, it sounds like you had aged (and some cracked) solder joints on the SRAM pins, which can cause corrupted (or wiped) memory and can be fixed by reflowing this way - Good job! 🙂👍🏻

[@Spawnholio]

Great video. I'm wanting to replace the batteries in 2 GBA Carts and was wondering if it's pretty much the same method?

[@KyleAwsm]

Yup, video on exactly this coming next Friday! 😉 Thanks for watching!

[@Spawnholio]

@@KyleAwsm looking forward to it 👍

[@aaronphilips2780]

Great video, thank you! Do you by chance have a specific brand of CR1616 battery that you would recommend for a Pokémon Yellow replacement? They seem readily available, but I want to try and match the OEM battery as best as possible. Thanks again!

[@thebigboss7268]

Thanks for the updated tutorial :)

[@EvahDestruction]

AMAZING tutorials thank you so much!

[@plmason12]

I’m brand new to this so thanks for this awesome video! I think I’ll pass on a cheap pen and get the Hakko like you did.

[@dan.bergman]

Hi, Great video! But I noticed a possible issue that I don't see anyone mentioned. The new battery is "reversed" from the original, meaning when you install it, you must bring the negative pin from the outside ring of the board flush into contact with the positive center of the board. All it takes is a scratch in the green solder mask beneath the battery to make a complete short circuit! Any thoughts on the risk of this? Thanks

[@MarianMetanoia]

I've never soldered anything, but I'm decently handy with tools, I can follow instructions, and my brother has a soldering iron I can borrow. Would you recommend that someone who's never used a soldering iron try this tutorial? After watching your original video, I can't decide whether I should attempt this without practice. I just don't want to fuck up my old games lol.

[@KyleAwsm]

If you are confident enough, I'd give it a try. But if not and you need this repair work done, let me know via a DM on my Instagram and I can either help guide you or make arrangements with you to perform the repairs myself (for a small fee). Cheers!

[@Crackerbarrelkid55_]

What brand of 60/40 and which watt solder kit would you recommend for working with these sp’s? Great videos

[@diefordethklok3711]

This is so cool. Thanks for doing this Kyle. Will check out your other video. Keep them coming brother. Usually I’m soldering copper pipe with a torch (plumber), what is that tool called to melt the solder?

[@diefordethklok3711]

And you said it I. Your original tutorial. My bad

[@KyleAwsm]

Thanks for watching, and I appreciate the compliment! 🙂

[@girthquake2390]

I have never soldered before so please humor me a moment here as I have a couple of questions. 1. What does flux actually do? 2. When the flux melts doesn't it run the risk of damaging the game board? As it seems to spread quite far when melting.

[@Steezybruhh94]

Get rosin core solder wire won’t need flux then as it’s in it’s core, worked fine for me

[@Greeniemean1]

What kind of solder did you use? 50 tin 50 lead? 60 tin 40 lead? Also did you use a full face respirator? I think I should use full face protection when soldering the batteries for my gold, silver, and crystal games.

[@dead_speedrunner]

Kyle, you're awesome bro

[@grantjoslin3637]

Can also use one of the de soldering tools that “extracts” the solder with suction. But that braid seems to do well!

[@udontneedtoremember4840]

Do you have any recommended solder flux? I've got a cheap container of Chinese soldering paste, but I'm not sure if it's what I need. It's colored like a tan/creamy bar of soap, and the English on it is bad, so that only adds to my confusion.

[@Mangled_Spirit]

Thanks for the great video! I'll have to give this a try

[@lookingforwhiteprivilege9330]

You’re actually not supposed to touch the solder to the iron when you’re placing it on the connection. But that’s probably a minor issue and this is a very helpful video.

[@HiddenleafHashira]

Do you possibly have a link to the battery tester & the proper soldering iron with temp control? I wanna find the right one, but I also don't wanna break the bank. Would a budget of around 250/300 bucks be okay?

[@edgarsoto5126]

Great tutorial? Could you put the link of the batteries that you bought with the tabs on them? Thanks!

[@anthsilk1]

Solder suckers like the Soldapult make this job radically easier. Also take something small and wood and make a little stick with it, you can push down the SMD contacts while they cool without your push tool getting attached.

[@Tsigarinho]

Great tutorial! Thanks for sharing!!!

[@Xalusc]

Great tutorial! In your reddit post, I saw someone say that you can safely solder tabbed CR2032 batteries on any cart, even those which originally use CR1616s. Is this true? Because other reddit posts say the shell can crack because of the extra width of the 2032 battery.

[@KyleAwsm]

Thanks! And no, they can't be used in "any" cart, and I think that use of the 2032 should be limited if at all. Check my latest GBA battery tutorial for more details on exactly this. Thanks for watching!

[@wardogdauwdd3020]

Could you do a video on what each chip on a gameboy cart is and where to buy them

[@silver5liter]

Sometimes you have to pull the cart out and put it back in. Ive had a DMG hold a save on a zelda cart before for a while with a dry battery. Once you pull it out and put it back in, the save is gone.

[@Marios_Rp]

Greetings from Greece! How many mm is your solder and your disoldering braid?? Thanks in advance

[@jesseclark1206]

Hello! In your first video you said to make sure you don't have residual power when you turn off the game. If I do, what do I do or what did I do wrong? Thanks

[@KyleAwsm]

I think what I was referring to is to just leave your system turned-off long enough for capacitors to discharge and to clear out internal RAM in case your save data is still loaded into some part of system memory. I believe this wouldn't cause an issue anyways, but better to be safe than sorry. This goes for any electronics. Hope this helps!

[@samusranzer]

I don't have much experience with a soldering iron, aside that I installed pickups in one of my guitars and I fixed a guitar effect pedal. How could I learn more about using a soldering iron? I'm afraid of damaging an original gbc game and a (I think replica) gba cartridge. I've got the tools and I've got the batteries, I just don't have much experience with soldering iron.

[@MarianMetanoia]

I'm in the same boat.

[@_SYDGAMING_]

So far I've not had to do this with any of my carts but I did recently have to swap out the battery on my Sega Saturn for saves

[@CosmotecXD]

is there a certain type of soldering flux you would recommend to use for this? I'm going to replace the battery in a wario land cartridge i got and have never done something like this before.

[@Hitokiri2000]

Would you do a toturial where you use a keystone type batter holder for easy battery swap?

[@pleasemane]

I’m debating about doing this myself or have my game store do it for me for 25 bucks? Is that a better deal or just I just DYI.

[@Harkren]

Is the additional flux necessary if you're using a solder wire that has 2% flux in the core? I was asking an electrician friend of mine and they said the flux used to be separate in older times but most of the time nowadays it is part of the wire?

[@KyleAwsm]

From experience, additional flux never hurts, and it promotes the formation of really nice welds/solder joints and "fillets". It also helps with heat conduction and can prevent cold joints. So I would highly recommend using additional flux. Just know that, for some reason, my advice here is considered highly controversial by some; Go figure. Thanks for watching!

[@KyleAwsm]

Also, yes: "Flux core" means that your solder has microscopic pores/channels with flux store internally, which comes out as the solder is melted. For some applications it's sufficient. But if you want to really rise above the rest, just take my word for it and use additional rosin core flux as well. You won't be sorry.

[@thestarwarsfan5826]

Very nice video. Thanks!

[@Krankie_V]

I've never really removed the old solder from the board when replacing those batteries. It never caused a problem. I'm sure it's still a good practice to remove it, but I just wanted to say I've never experienced any negative effect.

[@Nytrusdeathcyde]

what light mod is that for your gbc cant seem to find it also good tutorial

[@AviciisGhost]

The little circular plastic peice popped out which way does it go back on and I’m scared to over tightening it

[@fernandolomas6635]

If you do this on a pokemon game will all your data be lost? Because on the previous video when you turned it on the game was at the very beginning. I really hope not because I've beaten both Lance and Red in Pokemon Gold.

[@samusranzer]

I pretty much have all the materials needed, except for the soldering braid, which I cannot find in any stores, except for Amazon online. Is there any alternative to using a soldering braid to remove all the remains of the old soldering?

[@KyleAwsm]

You could strip the braided insulation out of a junk coaxial cable and use that as a cheap alternative, but it would completely destroy the cable. I know of people using this cheap trick though! 👍🏻

[@ssvishnov]

Doing this only allows the game to be played right? Changing the battery won't restore the previous save file that existed?

[@jackiefannin8616]

Im very tempting to fix my battery in couple of my pokemon games

[@blurry9744]

Ive got my old pokemon blue game which I tried opening up, I removed the screw on the back with ease, but separating the two halves of the plastic cover seemed to be difficult somehow, and I didnt wanna put too much force on it, is there a possibilty that its glued together? I bought the game like 20 years ago, and Im 99% sure its not a fake copy. Do you guys have troubles separating your plastic covers in other gameboy games? Im not sure what to do in my case