A fiery reminder that phone batteries can be dangerous.

@xguntherc

Nov 18, 2022, 11:15 am EST
| 1 min read

Have you ever wondered what would happen to a phone or laptop battery if you stabbed one or shot it with a nail gun? Well, now you don’t have to attempt the dangerous stunt because the repair specialists at iFixit did it for you.

As many of you know, iFixit is all about helping users fix and replace their devices, and that often includes the scary task of removing the battery from your phone and laptop. And while we’ve seen several examples of battery fires in EVs and the Galaxy Note 7, battery cells are usually pretty safe.

In the fun seven-minute video below, our friends at iFixit perform all sorts of stunts on lithium-ion batteries while sharing some knowledge for viewers to better understand the risks.

Having a battery swell up and expanding inside a phone, laptop, or iPad certainly isn’t a new problem. However, it can certainly be a risk when it gets to that point.

In the video, we see plenty of examples of what happens to a battery when stabbed, damaged, and abused. More importantly, the teardown specialist Arthur Shi mentions always trying and drain the battery to under 25 percent, then disconnecting the battery from the rest of the device. That’s because the more charge it holds, the better chance of “thermal runaway” and dangers.

When disassembling any device, it’s always a good idea to use plastic tools, not metal ones, to prevent short circuits and other potential issues. We also learned that shooting a laptop battery with a nail gun is pretty cool, even if no one should try it at home.

In closing, battery repairs don’t have to be a big deal. However, if you have a damaged battery in any device, it’s a good idea to leave that repair up to the professionals.

Source: iFixit