Logitech K750 Keyboard ML2032 to CR2032 Battery Conversion

Written By: Endrju
  • Comments: 72
Logitech K750 Keyboard ML2032 to CR2032 Battery Conversion

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

12

Time Required

30 minutes - 1 hour

Introduction

NOTE: You can now buy ML2032 batteries online, so you will no longer need to disable the solar panels.

Logitech support will not help you and they do not have ML2032 as a spare part.

Maxell - battery manufacturer answered me this:

Unfortunately ML type batteries are industrial batteries which we sell to OEMs only. Due to strict health and safety purposes we are not allowed to sell this type of batteries to endusers.''"

The claim from Maxell is also the reason why I do not believe buying ML2032 form eBay nor Amazon is save.

So I decided to modify my keyboard. If you disable solar panels, there will not be any charging for the battery and then you can use regular CR2032 battery which is easy to buy and replace.

And since I did not find any guide like this I decided to share the steps with you.

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    • Before you begin, flip the keyboard's power switch into the OFF position.

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    • Flip the entire keyboard over, keys facing down.

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    • The ML2032 rechargeable coin cell battery is located in a tray at the back edge of the keyboard.

    • Insert the flat end of a spudger into the gap between the battery tray and the top surface of the keyboard.

    • Pivot the spudger down, towards the top of the keyboard, to begin to pry the tray out of its cavity.

    A push pin can be used to help wiggle the tabs loose

    CTH -

    I used my 1/4" Ratcheting Screwdriver (which doesn’t appear to be available anymore) to force the battery tray out; I held it at a low angle with my left hand and used it like a chisel, except I used my right palm instead of a hammer to tap it a few times. Note that I didn’t specify a bit size or type to use because they’re completely unnecessary for this purpose.

    Archelon -

    I used a pair of scissors and nearly took my hand off. Note that the battery has a sticker on that says: ‘Do not replace battery’ . I did replace the battery and nothing untoward has happened (so far).

    Andy P -

    Used smallest tip screwdriver to pry the cover away from the keyboard from the topside then flipped it over.

    kron -

    The battery says “DO NOT REPLACE BATTERY” on it? Very difficult to open, by the way.

    Don Koboldt -

    WHY would they say “Do NOT REPLACE BATTERY” essentially making it a disposable keyboard??? Anyone had anything bad happen if they did replace?

    nbhaile -

    This is not hard to pull out. Once you get it out far enough to see the pry slot on top do not use that like the article says. Yes the pry tool on the left and the right side in an upwards-towards your motion similar to the way you got it started. This will release the pins and then you can just pull it out. it does not take much to release the pins.

    jprice2 -

    I followed your directions using a small (3/16") flathead screw driver. The keyboard is upside down. I got the battery out far enough to see the pry slot and even the clips holding the battery tray in. I put the screwdriver in one side of the battery tray opening. It took a bit of pressure while rocking my hand holding the screwdriver side to side (one end of the screwdriver head is up when the other side is down), then the same action on the other side of the battery trays slot. Good luck.

    Gayle MacBride -

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    • Use the flat end of the spudger to push the battery tray out and away from the keyboard.

    • The tray is held in by small "ears" and may take a significant amount of force to dislodge.

    • Remove the battery tray.

    • During reassembly, firmly push the battery tray into its slot until it clicks into place.

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    • Push the battery out of the tray to remove it.

    • Note the battery orientation—it can only go in one way. Set the battery into the tray with side with the text and the "+" sign facing down.

    • Use only a rechargeable ML2032 coin cell battery as a replacement. Although it's the same size and shape as the more common CR2032, CR2032s are not rechargeable.

    Thank you ! Great Job!

    osusieq74 -

    Battery is available from

    Amazon

    Don Dodge -

    easy enough to do. Newegg charges $7 for 2 of these.

    wind bourne -

    Thank you. It was easy enough to do. Also can be bought at newegg for $7.00 for 2 of them.

    wind bourne -

    Great tip! Everything worked fine. It was quite hard to get the battery tray out (was not designed to be user-maintained! I did cut off the “ears” for next time).

    Very happy to keep this keyboard going; very happy not to purchase a new one (money saved); very happy that a (still usable) keyboard did not go in the trash (save the planet). Thanks!

    gpetersen01 -

    This may sound odd but I found that the best tool for getting the tray out is to use a LEGO tool, if you happen to have one handy. It’s shaped perfectly for the job,

    Many thanks to the author for posting this.

    nipa_hut -

    This step by step guide is awesome. I was planing to get a new one but thanks to your guide my logitech k750 is still usable.

    Thank you

    Theodor -

    My K750 just started having problems about a month ago. It went dead today. Just saw this article to replace the ML2032 battery. I will get replacements from Amazon. Overall, like one commented above, I will now be able to continue using my keyboard without trashing it into a landfill somewhere. Although I guess I will deprive the sacred economy and Logitech of the purchase of a replacement Keyboard.

    Aetius -

    I bought my Mac Keyboard, Logitech K 750, in May 2016. For the first time ever, the keyboard shut down at the end of 2019, totally dead. To keep it alive, I kept charging it daily, and it was hanging in there with about a 30% recharge. We installed the new ML2032 battery last night (amazon), and this morning, keyboard charge is in the Green Zone for first time in months. I'll be putting it in the sun later today for full charge. So far, so good, and we used eyeglasses screwdriver to open the battery slot. Didn’t cut the tabs - figure one change in 3-1/2 years we can deal with it being a little tricky.

    Jennifer -

    This was good info. Unfortunately, on the battery it says, “do not replace.” Now What?

    David G -

    The instructions on the Logitech website itself say “ignore the do not replace tag”. Just don’t try a CR2032. I used a pair of tiny skinny litte screwdrivers.

    Thanks for the awesome instructions, $50 saved.

    Kathleen Thompson -

    Many thanks for this write up-it was very helpful, and my keyboard is back in the land of the living.

    To all the people asking about the “do not replace” sticker on the battery - I assume this is Logitech covering themselves for the people who don’t realize it’s not a standard CR2032. If you know what you’re doing, and have the right rechargeable battery (ML2032) - go right ahead and replace it!

    Dirk Sieber -

    I just replaced my battery and still nothing. The battery health indicator light doesn’t show up red or green. Is the keyboard just dead?

    Amy Everett -

    i would love the answer to this— my keyboard just died as well— no red light not green light and now cant log int omy computer becasue i dont have a keyboard! help!

    m k pen -

    Merci pour la bonne qualité du tutoriel, malheureusement au démontage j ai abimé le support de la batterie, je vais essayé d en fabriqué 1 avec une imprimante 3 D.

    patrick belfort -

    Thank you for the detailed instructions. Just replaced the old battery with a new one bought from Amazon. I was hoping they had some charge so I could test it out, but I turned on the keyboard and nothing lights up. Any idea what the best way to charge it is and how long it should take to charge?

    Ana Papernik -

    Thank you all! It felt like pulling teeth at the beginning, so I looked it up and your directions were perfect! It saved me from potentially breaking the keyboard. My wife thought there was no battery, but I knew there was a cavity... :-) Nice job, thanks for sharing!

    Arcort -

    My keyboard K-750 has a battery that says do not replace battery. What can I do?

    Marie -

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    • You can just simply cover both solar panels with some thick black tape (like electrical tape) and then continue to the step 10. If you decide for this you need to make sure (this is really important!) that your Solar app is showing zero energy received from the solar panels (CL2032 can not be recharged)!

    • Or you decide for 100% working but more complicated solution which involves peeling off keyboards plastic top deck (it covers screws) and desoldering wires form the solar panels. Your keyboard cover might not stick back as good as it was. In this case continue to the next step.

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    • Be careful to not crack the plastic deck. Don't pull it off hard.

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    • Remove the seven black Phillips screws.

    • Remove the 22 silver screws.

    • Your model may only have 21 silver screws.

    • Put the screws somewhere into the bowl to not lose them and try to remember the position of the black ones.

    My K750 only has 21 silver screws. There is no screw or screw hole at the lower right corner of the 'V' key. There is, however, what appears to be the remainder of a sprue from the injection molding process for the part. Just pointing out a potential error in your diagram.

    Josh Harms -

    Yes, on the bottom right side of the “V” key there is no screw hole. But there is one between Space bar and “V” key.

    Endrju -

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    • Unclip the back pannel from the front (keys) pannel.

    • When you flip the (keys) pannel you can notice that both solar panels have a pair of cables.

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    • I have decided to desolder the long cable (red and green one) because they are far away from the logic board so I will not transfer heat to it while desoldering them.

    • Tape desoldered cables so they do not come in contact with anything.

    • Insert fresh CL2032 battery in the battery compartment - check the polarity a close battery tray.

    • Note: your Solar app will be showing zero energy because there is not power coming from the solar panels to the logic board.

Conclusion

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

Author

Endrju

Member since: 11/09/15

599 Reputation

44 comments

How long did the CR2032 battery last in use?

I'm thinking not very long so I'm considering attaching a CR123 (big 3V photo lithium battery) holder to the underside and wiring it in.

Thanks for the guide!

Don Barthel -

Hey... Without turning the keyboard off, its working very well.. Solar App still showing that the capacitiy is High and status is Excelent :-)

Endrju -

Battery still works like a charm without any notice of capacity drop (if Solar App provides correct readings)

Endrju -

Less difficult: I just covered the solar panels with thick 3M black tape. No charging according to the solar app and keyboard working fine with CR2032 (until replacement ML2032 comes in from China...)

Aquadrat -

Hey, thats a pretty good tip - I'll use that when battery in my mum's K750 keyboard goes away.

I would just ensure that Solar App is showing zero in under a direct light of your desk lamp.

Endrju -

Thanks. This tip helped me out of a jam.

stevesmail99 -

Can you tell me if anything bad happened to it while you used it that way? I am thinking of doing the same.

Keyser Söze -

Interesting. I just bought one of these keyboards, and in reviewing the ML2032 spec sheet, I can see why the battery would fail in about a year or two: 1000 cycles at 10% depth of discharge, and only 300 cycles at 20% DoD, and that at a 200 microamp discharge. That's pretty bad. No wonder there's no Caps Lock light! Total energy throughput of the battery ends up being 3900 to 6500 mAh. It would have been better to skip the solar panels and just use either two or four disposable lithium AAs for the same number of mAh in the end! Too bad Apple doesn't make a Bluetooth extended layout keyboard. Thanks for sharing the tutorial. This keyboard is going back. I think I'll just stick to Apple's USB wired keyboard... much better build quality anyway.

Bromeo -

Hi covered just covered the solar panels with thick 3M black tape and buy a ML2032 charger in ebay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Quality-Cha...) and the keyboard working perfect. Regards from Chile / Southamerica

Andres Rubilar -

In Canada where the ML2032 are a pain to find, these might work and they are cheaper by a huge margin. http://www.powerstream.com/p/Lir2032.pdf

Found some online for 2.50$ CAD

JF Dev -

Let us know if that battery works. It has a nominal voltage of 3.6V versus 3.0V for the ML2032. It might not charge well in a system designed for 3V.

grantday -

My keyboard decreases capacity when its off? Any suggestions what to do? I replaced 2 times the original ml2032.

fiedlerflorian -

When you switch off the keyboard with the on/off button you should really turn it off and therefore no battery drain should occur.

If I was you, I would check if the LEDs lights up When you press the button above to the Num-Lock button. If yes, tha maybe check if you have some dirt in the on/off switch that can cause it not working.

Or your ML2032 is some cheep fake battery :-).. Or it is in the end of its life..

Endrju -

Can you not achieve the result of disabling the solar panels by covering them with duct tape? Just curious.

In addition, I am curious about replacing the ML2032 with a couple of rechargeable AA batteries.

john -

I think that it can work. Just be sure that not light is delivered to the solar panels, because CR2032 can not be charged. Shorting the leads is 100% safe.

Side note: I didnt replaced my CR2032 yet since I posted this guide... :-). I am pretty satisfied

Endrju -

A quick Google-izing shows multiple vendors of ML2032 batteries including Walmart. Are there different flavors of ML2032 that make this more difficult to secure than you've indicated?

Riley Casey -

I am not sure If I understand you question. When I was chating with the manufacturer of the ML2032 they said that this battery could be dangerous so they are not shipping it to the end customers.

Endrju -

Please tell me: "What happen if putting in K750 CR2032?"

I can't find ML2032 in my country.

dangvq -

Hey, if you short out the leads from solar panels or stick some realy dark tape, which will prevents that no light is delivered to solar panels (you have to be sure, because CR2032 can not be charged), than you should be safe.

I am running K750 with CR2032, but I have shorted the leads to solar panels.

Endrju -

Something must have changed. These ML2032 batteries seem to be readily available: https://www.amazon.com/Maxell-Rechargabl.... Even cheaper on ebay.

rickstone5 -

Cheerio !!! After replacement of the ML2032 - supplied by Amazon within one day - my keyboard is working smoothly again.

Dietmar Hencke -

My Logitech K750 is the best of the 15 or 20 keyboards I've used in my life. I bought it 3 years and 2 months ago & was very disappointed when it went dead very suddenly yesterday. Replacement battery is approx. $18 locally (Canada), $12 from the US & about $6 on eBay from China.

So glad to find this post. I have a few dozen CR2032, non Maxell, batteries that were given to me to run some LED candles. I used Endrju's technique to remove the battery drawer, trimmed the ears so that taking the drawer in and out now is easy and covered the solar windows with black duct tape.

Works perfectly with the free CR2032's. I used a strong flashlight all around the black tape and the solar app showed no charging.

I'll order a ML2032 from China just because the keyboard looks better without the tape, but this tape alteration seems like a permanent solution.

Tks guys.

Rob Cheply -

A year later & I just changed the CR2032 battery. This has become a permanent solution. No need for a rechargeable.

Rob Cheply -

While it does seem easier to get the ML2032 now, for those wishing to just do the tape mod... you can get electrical tape in black or white (depending on the color of your keyboard) so it aesthetically blends better.

I would also not recommend duct tape, it's not necessarily light-proof against strong sunlight or even some bright indoor lighting, and as it ages it leaves an awful residue. Electrical tape leaves a residue too, but nothing that can't be cleaned up with a paper towel and rubbing alcohol (that WILL work on duct tape residue, but will take a lot more elbow grease to remove).

binarywanderer -

i found a rechargeable cr2032 for $8.99 at battery source. my local shop can have it to me in two day free shipping. any idea if the rechargeable cr2032 is compareable to the ml2032?

dwise@southeasterncu.com

DeWayne Wise -

My local dealer told me that sometimes CR2032 and ML2032 is the same (rechargeable) accu. But do not take this for granted, she was just some honk on the phone.

tomasio reicht -

turned out that they printed CR2032 on the enclosing but ML2032 was etched into the battery.

tomasio reicht -

I found the ML2032 batteries on this Dutch site, generally they have good prices all around. I have another problem, though, with my Logitech Solar Keyboard. My Solar App would not recognize the keyboard anymore. It is properly connected through a Unifying Receiver, the Logitech SetPoint app recognized the keyboard, but when I start Solar App it says No Solar Keyboard detected. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the app, to no avail. Any Suggestions?

cdpalcus -

Sorry, I forgot to post the link above:

https://eu.nkon.nl/ml2032.html

cdpalcus -

Great tutorial! I replaced my ML2032 with CR2032, and for the first time since long got 100% of charge in the Solar App.

The problem of K750 is its internal solar charger has never managed to bring the original lithium cell back to full charge. 85% was the maximum, regardless of the brightness of the light source. I guess this keyboard would be better off if it had no solar panels at all and was powered by a replaceable non-rechargeable cell.

A few hints on this keyboard:

- The top glossy cover is probably redundant, I decided not to glue it back and actually found the keyboard more convenient to use (less prone to dust, better feel of the matte surface).

- The white screws are redundant too :) Just used a few black ones over the edges, and that will do.

- You may want to apply a few long stripes of thick duct tape over the back of the keyboard, this would act as noise reduction - gets a softer feeling while typing, prevents the keyboard from kicking against the table when pressing keys.

Andy -

Update 3 months later: the battery is still at 100% after a decent amount of casual typing and coding!

Andy -

Thank you all so much. The the tutorial is great and I got so much help from the comments too. I ended up going with electrical tape over the solar panel while I wait for a replacement rechargeable battery. I have two of these - both died at the same time. Unfortunately I broke the battery holder on one the first try getting the battery out but at least I have one useable keyboard.

Pam

Pamela Shultz -

LOL!!! these corrupt corporate sharks. Replacement rechargeable battery dangerous? How? Why? What utter nonsense. Just buy the ML2032 from eBay or Amazon and install it. I can't believe people are so stupid that they would destroy a $75 keyboard because some greedy fool told them the replacement battery is dangerous. *facepalm*

Ping Pong -

I can used cr2032 voltage 3.6v?

Pablo Henrique -

I just bought a ML2032 battery from Amazon for 8 bucks. It took two days to get to me. I used a putty knife to pop out the tray and a pair of pliers to pull it all the way out. I then replaced the old battery with the new one, recharged it in the sun (note that the battery comes uncharged), and GOOD TO GO! Took me all of five minutes to replace the battery, stuck the keyboard in the full sun all day, and done.

Jim Marx -

The battery can be replaced with a LIR2032H.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rechargeable-Ch...

Works a treat.

Eric Warmington -

I used this guide to replace my Logitech battery with the CR2032. It immediately reconnected. Then put the old rechargeable back in and the keyboard continued to work. Also said the battery was charged to 85%. Now I’m wondering why it wouldn’t sync before,. I’m trying to cancel the order for the ML2032 from Amazon. I put in the cancel order about 10 min. or less after ordering and Amazon said it was already preparing the order and may not be able to cancel. Do the experts out there really think it is OK to use the CR2032 with the solar panels taped, or could there still be some problem with the battery starting fire? Sure don’t want that!

JoRene Anderson -

I bought a replacement ML2032 from eBay. Popped it in and the keyboard came back to life.

Unfortunately, it will not charge. After 1 hr I was down to 85% and by the next morning it was dead. The solar app does show there is enough light, but the red/green indicators to the right of the solar app button are dead and won’t flash at all. They didn’t work yesterday when the keyboard had power, which is probably a red flag.

My receipt shows my warranty expired two weeks ago. Sigh.

Yuuk -

Logitech auf ihrer Homepage empfiehlt nun sinniger Weise auch den eigenständigen Wechsel der ML2032 Akku Knopfzelle. Den gelben Gefahren-Kleber könne man entfernen und entsorgen, ist dort zu lesen. Ersatzzellen des Types ML2032 verkauft der Conrad Online-Shop, oder verschiedene Anbieter auf Amazon, Ebay oder Aliexpress. Einziger Markenhersteller scheint Hitachi Maxell. Ich habe eine solche vor gut einem Jahr eingesetzt und bin seiter permanent auf 100% Ladung. Der Wechsel lohnt sich also. Den Umbau auf CR2032 würde ich nur machen, falls das Laden des Akkus nicht mehr funktioniert.

Marc Wyss -

Thanks, this was an excellent fix! Works great and using my K750 Mac to type this now. The test light only flashes red instead of green even with a fresh battery now that the wires to the solar panels have been cut but that’s a small difference. Obviously the battery will be dead when I don’t see a red light.

As a benefit, my shaded office (where I do image retouching) rarely saw enough light to keep the keyboard charged for routine use without always storing it on the windowsill even when it was new. Changing it to use regular batteries has improved its utility.

sgregh -

Hey,

Got replacement ML2032 from nkon.nl, and after almost wrecking the battery holder on one of my two K750, the other slid out much easier. Both work fine now. Thanks for the instructions.

Logitech also has this available now: https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/articl...

Z C -

Possibly dumb question: why cover the solar panels if replacing with a CR2032?

Jennifer Bowyer -

Well, you don't want things to go "ka-boom" :-)... By that I mean to explode.

CR batteries are not rechargeable and solar panels are charging whatever battery you have in this keyboard.

By shielding the light to solar panels (with black tape for example), the solar panels will not charge the battery inside anymore (you can check afterwards whether you have shielded the panels from the light enough with the Solar app if you hold the keyboard directly under some strong light source like a desk lamp).

But nowadays you can usually buy the ML2032 so if you have this option, I suggest to buy this one.

Endrju -