this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2026
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When it comes to old handhelds, do you replace the batteries? At one point in time I had a PSP battery swell up like a balloon, scary.
Chinese knockoff replacement batteries are always sketchy as hell. Often lying outright about battery specs, and theres always the potential for them to go full samsung.
years ago, ifixit claimed to test their replacement batteries for quality and safety, i dont know if thats still true.. but if you're gonna get a replacement psp battery, I'd get it from there before anywhere else, even if its marginally more expensive.
There are companies that sell parts to repair and sometimes upgrade old devices. Sometimes local retro game stores will service your devices for you.
Retro consoles aren't my thing, but i have replaced batteries for all kinds of devices, and it's usually fairly easy to do. Aliexpress et al. have all the batteries you could want, and a little fiddling with some screw drivers and you cam usually get the job done. Fairly safe with some basic common sense as well.
I really need to replace my 3DS XL battery...
...and PS3 controllers actually. Another fire hazard I've ignored lol.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nintendo+3DS+XL+Battery+Replacement/25068 - Looks easy, barely needs a guide.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/DualShock+3+Battery+Replacement/3255 - Definitely doable, although I will say that you should be careful with game controllers, they are often full of springs that will escape and be a complete pain to find and reinstall.
Nice, thanks for the links.
Depends on the handheld, but most of the older handhelds have easily replaceable batteries.