Bose SoundLink Mini II Battery Replacement

Written By: Devon
  • Comments: 68
Bose SoundLink Mini II Battery Replacement

Difficulty

Very difficult

Steps

5

Time Required

30 minutes - 3 hours

Introduction

WARNING: This device has a hardwired battery motherboard connection. To replace a battery you need access to the technicians manual and a proprietary software called 'Polycomm'. Do not attempt replacement without already having the software. See the image from step five for advisement.

Speaker not turning on? This guide will help you replace the battery of the Bose Soundlink Mini II.

Note: Removing and reinstalling the battery requires the use of a soldering iron and a lot of careful disassembly. It is also necessary to download a specific type of proprietary software called 'Polycomm' and to follow the Bose technician's repair instructions provided to them by the company. Extremely difficult to source such software, let alone the instructions.

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    • Flip the speaker over onto its back.

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    • Gently remove the rubber base from speaker by pulling around the edges.

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    • Remove the four 6mm T9 Torx bit screws from the corners of the battery.

    Not sure what’s going on here but T9 is the wrong size—too big—for the screws on my SoundLink Mini II. Maybe T8? Perhaps my model is more recent and they’ve changed sizes? I bought the screwdriver from IFIXIT following these instructions, so I’m a *bit* annoyed…

    David Whitley -

    That’s really frustrating. I’ve seen this before, where manufacturers swap screws and other components without changing the model number. I have a 64 bit driver set from iFixit, but I don’t recall which bit I used for this. The screws in my one are different lengths to the ones in the original instructions.

    Kate Morris -

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    • Carefully lift the battery from the side nearest the four gold contact pins, but don't try to fully remove it yet.

    • At this point, the battery remains connected via four wires to the power supply board.

    • Carefully desolder the four wires from the power supply board in order to completely detach the battery. There is very little room for the soldering iron without damaging the case or the board; you may want to remove the board first.

    • For help with soldering, see the soldering guide.

    • Alternatively, you may remove the battery and power supply board together, without any soldering, but access requires some additional disassembly while carefully leaving the battery connected via the wires the entire time.

    cuanto tiempo dura la bateria original ?

    Marcelo Lastra -

    the mini 2 battery is soldered to a smaller board, either u desolder it or buy it with the small board, but with that it is even harder to replace

    user user -

    Yeah this guide is just like the original Bose Mini which looked like that model had a way to replace the batter easily. I purchased a battery off Amazon thinking it was the same. This is not the same. The Bose Mini II has a battery hard-wired directly to the board. Might be too late but read this guide’s comments first to get the low down. The guide is very misleading. The BOSE SOUNDLINK MINI II **DOES NOT HAVE A REPLACEABLE BATTERY**

    Ian Lucero -

    yess, got the same problem. Purchased an substitute which had as Replacement No. the original Bose-No. on its description. Bose’s accu has 4 strings, the replacement has 5 strings (where to put the fifth then?!).

    Original we had to CUT OFF, because it is firmly soldered and glued with foam! No chance to replace it!! Nearly 60.- Swiss Francs as we say “for the foxes”.

    Maranathatalitha -

    DO NOT buy a replacement battery until you understand that the battery is HARD WIRED to the circuit board and is NOT designed to be replaceable. If you are not an electronics specialist, the only option is to send to Bose for battery replacement.

    Even if you are an electronics specialist, finding a replacement battery may not be possible.

    ldthom65 -

    I am very glad I took the time to review everything and all the comments before I started this procedure on my Soundlink Mini 2.

    I have to say, the author of this procedure is a pathetic jerk for posting this and not distinguishing the between the 1 and 2 versions. It is also highly suspect that there is no clear picture of the top of the unit, which would indicate which version is being used due to the fact that the 2 has no mute button.

    trmsd -

    Hey du hole Frucht, die Bose Soundlink 1 hat keine Kabel an der Batterie, nur die Soundlink Mini 2 hat Kabel die auf die Platine gelötet werden muss!

    Ihr Affen habt doch keine Ahnung!

    Und den Bose Schriftzug muss der Autor nicht zeigen, wegen der Rechtlichen Lage in Deutschland!

    r.janda -

    It’s disappointing, for sure. But to call the author, who’s been kind enough to post this without getting anything in return, a pathetic jerk is waaay over the top! Come on. If anyone deserves abuse, then it’s Bose for producing a speaker with a battery that’s totally and easily replaceable except they decided to solder it onto the circuit board for some unfathomable reason. Argh!

    B. J. -

    I suspect that the soldering the battery directly to the power board is a way to enhance revenue because most people will either send it in to be replaced or throw it away and buy another speaker. Of course Bose hopes that the replacement will be another Bose, but that is not likely for anyone who is frustrated by the idea that Bose would not make the battery easily replaceable.

    wannabagolfer -

    Absolutely. Great I checked up first. I will not buy any other rechageable battery operated Bose product. It is clear customer abuse. The same should go to companies like Samsung which produces cellular phones with practically embedded impossible to replace without risking breaking the cristal. Customer protection in this country unfortunately has gone away with lobby. (Legalization Of Bureaucratic BriberY) Same with Apple and then Microsoft when they do updates and then no longer support an OS that could be still useful for the needs of certain people or businesses

    Dario Grisales -

    ………..just bought a replacement battery based upon ifixit’s original post. This is neither a 5 minute two wire push fit job NOR one for an amateur to attempt. I now have a box of BOSE bits and spare unsuable battery.

    Thanks pal.

    Beware of internet advice

    Richard Brickwood -

    ……..just bought (£30) a replacement battery based up ifixit’s orginal post that it was a)simple and b)took 5 minutes only to discover that a) there are four wires involved hard solderied to a pcb. Spent an hour undoing torc screws to dismantel the whole thing. It is not possible.

    I now have abox of BOSE bits and a brand new unuseable battery. And no speaker.

    Shame on both BOSE and ifixit - the latter for being so misleading .

    Richard Brickwood -

    I’m pretty disappointed with ifixit on this one! I feel bad giving you guys a bad review but this one is just bad! It’s Missing steps, it’s labelled as easy when it certainly shouldn’t be. iPhone battery’s are easy. This requires awkward desoldering/soldering. In a tight spot. There’s not even a mention of that in this guide? Maybe someone could rewrite this so others don’t go and purchase a battery thinking it’s easy!

    Wiebie -

    The instructions are not complete, and I needed extra information to replace the battery on my soundlink mini 2. I successfully completed the battery replacement using instructions I found by searching for SLminiII_SM.pdf. That document describes the steps Bose technicians take. With that, it took about 30 minutes to replace the battery. I removed the board the battery is soldered to, which made it an easy soldering job (four through-hole wires, no SMT). I carefully saved and replaced the foam tape because the last thing you want in a speaker is buzzing sounds due to the wiring rubbing against the speaker. If you’ve already bought the parts, and have access to a soldering iron. I’d recommend searching for the instructions I used.

    Kate Morris -

    I was not able to find that document. Do you have any tips for finding it and I was wondering if you bought your replacement battery from ifixit or if you have any recommendations for where you bought yours.

    Michael Calaiaro -

    The instructions are at https://riverparkinc.com/wp-content/uplo... . I bought this battery from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FHX... (not an affiliate link). The speaker is working fine and charging, a few months later.

    Kate Morris -

    Thank you very much

    daniel -

    I tried to follow these instructions. I cannot find where to download the 'Polycomm' software necessary to reset the hardwire between chip and battery. I've trawled all over the internet and Bose's own websites. Could some one please advise?

    Christie Dunne Murphy -

    I would like to measure the voltage of the battery before replacing it, does anyone know which one of the 4 wires is power or ground?

    Akash Arora -

    Playing with a soldering iron and live li-on battery leads ?

    A good way to burn the place to the ground !

    cricri -

    I have a box of SoundLink parts.

    That Polycomm software has got to be out there somewhere! Anybody?

    Does anyone have a copy of this software tool.

    Aaron V. -

    You don't need the Polycomm software, you just need to reinstall the Firmware even if it's up-to-date. Got to https://btu.bose.com/ and plug the speaker in and update. It may say it's up to date, but if you type A, D, V, Up Arrow & Down Arrow it lets you into advance mode and you can force the firmware to be reinstalled

    James Pither -

    Kudos James!

    You held the secret to finishing this up! Pressing A, D, V, Up Arrow & Down Arrow in sequence after getting the updater going at https://btu.bose.com/ , then updating the firmware got the job done. Before doing this my power light just blinked red when trying to charge and the speaker The physical replacement was no big deal. I bought a replacement battery from amazon or ebay, I don't remember where, and instead of de-soldering the battery from the power supply board, because I suck a soldering, I cut off the old battery real short and spliced the new battery into the wires still hanging from the power supply. Lots of whining about the hardwired battery but I think I understand the decision Bose made in doing it. This little speaker booms, and the last thing they wanted was a loose battery connector rattling around. The fact that they aren't suing me for fixing it, even thought it takes a little thought and effort to do so, at least keeps them above John Deere, Tesla, etc., in my eyes.

    TMS -

    So, is there anything I can do when even the Bose Updater doesnˋt recognize my Mini 2? Have the Updater installed, cable plugged in but nothing happens. Except for the red blinking.

    Oliver Wiebeck -

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Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Devon

Member since: 15/02/17

539 Reputation

42 comments

3 Contributors and none of them know how to remove the battery, brilliant... Honestly if you want to do this right, do it right from the begining. The battery is connected with a cable to the device, please explain how did you remove it properly.

Timo Bernhard -

Hey Timo,

no, there are just two different battery versions of the Soundlink Mini 2: One without a cable from the battery to the PCB (as shown in this tutorial, i think this is the older version of the Soundlink Mini2) and one with a cable...

I have one here with a cable and I?m desperate to find a new battery for it but can`t find it anywhere on the net... I`m thinking of trying a battery without the cables and try to connect four cables to the battery and then solder them to the PCB...

Christoph Jeschke -

But how do I disconnect the battery having a cable?! - That’s actually the hard part.

Thomas Amsler -

You will have to take out the mesh on front and back. Then take out screws on speakerssside. The smalle print can be taken out then and you have to solder the battery. Just done this, and not a easy job.

Onno -

If you have the Soundlink  Mini 2, you can send the battery to Bose and they will rebuild it for $75. It is not user replaceable, although if you are electronics savvy you can remove it.

Problem is there are no replacements out there, and these batteries have a control board soldered to the battery with a ribbon cable. This will require soldering and unsoldering if there was a battery replacement for it. This also requires taking the entire Soundlink Mini 2 speaker apart to remove the board and battery.

If you send the battery to Bose expect a 3 to 6 week turn around for a return, which includes about 10 business days of shipping both ways as its a Lithium battery and can only travel ground. Plus the $75 for the repair as mentioned earlier.

They really did a wonderful job in limiting your options on this item.

Bose Hold this L for us as in Losers!

Bronx -

Tutorila is good for opening, but when it is welded to the battery board, there are no option for tying it apart…

Good product altrough this is badly serviceable for this kind of price

Rémy Breguet -

What part model number for that battery ? …. there not all same battery

andydanganan -

Be aware that there is a circuit board attached to the battery on some models and this cannot be replaced by yourself. I would suggest checking your current battery to see if this is the case before ordering. I am trying to return my battery to ifixit and haven’t received instructions for the return yet.

Greg Guy -

I looked at this tutorial before ordering a battery, thinking that sub board pulled out fairly easily in order to resolder it. Unfortuantely, you have to remove the back screen, remove the 8 screws, pry out the charging circuit, and then pry out the large black plastic piece holding the passive speaker. You can then remove another board, which allows you to get to the board that holds the battery in place and replace it by soldering. Defintiely not easy.

Ryan Galvan -

So Bose decided that making a unit with a replaceable battery was too user friendly so they made it impossible. Nice company!!

william jens -

This has definitely deterred me from purchasing the big Bose surround sound system I was considering. If they make a relatively simple thing like changing a battery so difficult, imagine what they can do with a big system. I will buy something else. There is nothing wrong with my battery, but the “protection” system Bose put in their software suddenly stopped the unit working. Their software updater does not work, and my speaker is useless. I have tried everything suggested on various websites, and as a last resort decided to remove the battery. It appears to require total disassembly, and unsoldering the battery. I’m simply not going to do that, I will just throw it away and buy something else - better!

Colin Sheen -

It is good process to Battery replacement and Its corner will be cover with wire or should other part should be careful recheck related sound devices

Whaskince -

Bose basically don't to make it easy for you to replace the battery, hoping you'll give up and go and buy another of their fecking speakers, well they're right, I have given up, but I'm not buying another fecking Bose speaker. Your loss Bose!

Kopiteboy Trebor -

Well you have company because I also won’t buy another Bose product after this experience.

Easy Einstein -

I have 3 failed Sound Link Mini’s. Bose should repair for free every unit sold with a reliable and replaceable batter. For the price of these speakers the battery failure rate is unacceptable. Rather than spend $100+ on a repair it’s makes sense to just take the loss and buy from a better manufacturer, a manufacturer that doesn’t intentionally build a non consumer repairable failure into the product. Too many of these units have failed to not call this an intentional move by Bose.

Easy Einstein -

very disheartening after reading these posts… sounds like an apple product…

i will buy something else instead of repairing…too bad i loved bose but will stay away

qwerty12345 -

Way to go, Bose!! You built a $160-some-odd product with built-in obsolescence (maybe 3-4yrs), requiring the owner to undertake difficult disassembly and ‘de-soldering,’ only to then have to spend $40 for new battery, or even better, $75.00 to have Bose fix it. Here was my solution: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010OY.... Hello, e-cycle - Buh-bye Bose.

paularmstrong4 -

Arghh wish I’d found this thread before I ordered a new battery. Now found I have the cable connected version so more or less impossible to change it.

jgrogan -

I agree it’s frustrating. Most people don’t have access to the tools needed - without the tools, the job is impossible. Because it’s through-hole soldering, you don’t need an expensive soldering iron. You do need spludgers, screwdrivers, patience, and a solder sucker / remover in addition to the soldering iron. Maybe you have a friend or neighbor who could help? Is there a maker space near you where you could borrow tools?

Kate Morris -

Spricht hier noch jemand die deutsche Sprache ??

H. BUHR -

To make this a bit easier, I just carefully cut (one by one so as not to short anything) the cables to the existing battery and then soldered the ones on the new battery to those. Used some heat shrink to protect the ends. Plenty of room in there for the extra cable and seems to work. Didn’t have the time or patience to take the board out and do it properly.

Julian Brown -

This must sound like a stupid question to some of you, I don’t get it, is the public expected to just throw away this device when it needs a new battery because the battery is not like the replaceable kind in a cell phone? So then, obviously do not buy a 2nd hand or refurbished one of these —-like I was about to do for $109 —-because you don’t know its battery history and you might only have 3or 4 months of useful battery life left? I’m old and not plugged in—is THiS what manufacturers are doing now? I never heard of such bull pucky in my entire life! If this is true, this practice needs to be DENOUNCED BY THE BUYING PUBLIC! Respond please, if this is true, I’m going put this truth on every retail bulletin board. I’m not buying this piece of crap now!

V15Venable -

Agreed that if you are not willing / able to replace the battery, buying a used Soundlink 2 Mini is not a good idea. Bose will (maybe) replace the battery for $75. They are not the only ones.

This is why we are seeing Right To Repair bills with bipartisan support in the US house and senate - farmers want to be able to fix their own tractors, many of us want to fix our own electronics. My first car (a 1962 VW bug), my father and I pulled the engine apart completely and reassembled it (it worked!). We want that kind of experience for our kids, let’s not see electronics and other devices as magical black boxes that must be sent back to be repaired or become landfill. There’s good reasons why Apple backed down and are offering (expensive) parts and tools for people to fix their own recent-model iPhones. The EU are pushing hard for right to repair, and the manufacturers will be forced to respond. So, let your local representatives tell them you care about the issue.

That’s enough soap-box for me :).

Kate Morris -

After replacement and amateur soldering all leds are lit and bose doesnt respond, have to find what went wrong. any ideas?

Matej Fanco -

You could use a multimeter to check the connections? Otherwise maybe it needs charging.

Kate Morris -

Ściągamy tylną siatkę ,wykręcamy (osiem wkrętów) odpinamy taśmę od zasilania, wyciągamy plastikową przegrodę, odpinamy płytkę drukowaną razem z baterią i mamy dostęp do swobodnego lutowania.

Andrzej Nalepa -

Glad that worked for you! It seems there are variations in how easy / difficult this repair is based on the specific model.

Kate Morris -

Bez oprogramowania polycomm glosnik zadziała bez problemu? Wystarczy przelutować baterie?

Nicoerone1 -

Are there longer lasting batteries than OE for this device, including circuit board?

Or would further soldering be required?

Thanks

Cheers

David Tobey -

Is there a stronger battery upgrade for this system over the OE strength battery, can attach the circuit board?

David Tobey -

I replaced the battery using a generic.

Now it don't turn off.

Any one knows what to do. ?

Anibal Dao -

Check the specifications of the generic battery against the original. If it produced too much voltage, you could be overloading the circuit.

Check that you haven’t bridged any pads while soldering, or left a blob of solder on the board where it shouldn’t be. You may have added some solder that bridges the off switch.

Kate Morris -

Simple thing avoid buying Bose products

Albert Benjohar -

I replaced my battery (yes correct one ) but all the lights come on right away and I can't shut off the power or lights , any ideas guys

Allan Hurst -

Hello, you can charge the battery with a laboratory power voltage on 9v and a max 1ampere or with a small 9v battery directly and then after the sounlink will star and answer to the computer ( but always with red blink) and then make a reload of system and that will be ok

Pascal Delezenne -

Has anyone found the polycomm software?

Greg-n-Houston -

I have found a solution if the speaker goes into battery protection mode after changing the battery.

Go to https://btu.bose.com, download and run the software.

Plug in the speaker and check for updates.

If no new update is found, press "A, D, V, Up arrow, and Down arrow" on the keyboard to switch the page to "Expert mode". Then I installed the same firmware again.

After that, everything worked again and the battery is charging again.

I hope this has helped someone.

Hen-Hei -

J’ai fait la manip avec le démontage globale : c’est pas facile ! Ce que j,ai observé c’est que la batterie que j’ai mise était aussi déchargée et de ce fait j,avais le voyant rouge clignotant quant je branchais le port USB C j’ai donc connecté une alimentation continue de laboratoire en dérivation sur le + et le - de la batterie avec une limitation d’intensité a environ 1ampere sous 9v de façon à charger la batterie pendant environ 5mn, ceci fait , la sounlink a démarrée en mode rouge clignotant et produisait les deux tonalités lorsque je branchait ou débranchait le port USB du coup j’ai téléchargé le logiciel et j’ai forcé la mise à jour même si la sounlink était à jour et cela a provoqué le reset de la soundlink qui fonctionne à présent !

Conclusion je pense qu’en cas de voyant rouge clignotant il faut simplement brancher une alimentation en dérivation sur la batterie et poursuivre la manip !!! Et à l’avenir éviter de descendre sous les 30% de batterie.

Pascal Delezenne -

Can someone explain why exactly we need that polycomm software? The Technicians Instruction Manual ******didn't specify the reason either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Zach Kirk -

I didn’t use the polycomm software, so I don’t know why you’d need it.

Kate Morris -

I asked because the main post said you must have polycomm before replacing the battery. If just replacing the battery worked for you, then great! I'm ordering a battery right now.

Zach Kirk -

I just replaced the old battery. The soldered-battery is indeed a silly design.

I got a bunch of JST-XH connectors to ease the pain.

Zach Kirk -