The biggest problem with handling an electronic toothbrush is that they require batteries to function and batteries, as you know, tend to run out. Sadly, this is the case with Oral B Toothbrushes as well. So we’re faced with the dilemma, should we just buy a new one toothbrush, or can we replace the battery on our Oral B toothbrush?
The official answer from Oral B, sadly, is that you cannot change the batteries of your Oral B Toothbrush. This is because they try to ensure that their casing is waterproof. the battery which is contained within the electronics of the toothbrush are sealed in such a way that water cannot access its insides and ruin the circuitry. It is for those reasons that Oral B does not provide you the ability to replace your toothbrush’s battery.
However, there is a way that specific types of Oral B toothbrushes can be opened and then have their batteries changed. Through this article we’ll go into the entire details of that process, but it is possible on Oral B type 3766 and 3767 Toothbrush. Unfortunately, for other types we recommend alternatives such as buying an official charger for your toothbrush from Oral B or just buying a new toothbrush after the battery-life for your brush completely gives out.
We know how much it matters to be able to at least change the batteries of one’s toothbrush. This is because companies have been making constantly making it harder to repair their products. I mean, of course, they would, it forces us to buy new ones or find alternatives. Luckily, we’re ready to give some push back and we’ll highlight just how you can do so.
Related: These are the Best Heads for Your Oral B Toothbrush
Why does Oral B not let us change the batteries?
Before we can take a deep dive into the process of replacing those pesky batteries, we first need to understand why Oral B, and any brand, makes it so difficult to replace the batteries of their electronic toothbrush. The logic is purely a functional one on the side of Oral B, that is for them to secure the electronic aspects of the toothbrush they must make the entire casing of the toothbrush water-resistant. This means that they cannot leave the usual gaps provided in the plastic by other products to switch out the battery.
The obvious reason for this is that if they make the casing lose enough to be easily accessible then there is a very high likelihood that water will slowly, but surely, begin to seep into the internal circuitry. This could be disastrous to the internal structure and can cause short-circuiting of the systems and depleting of the internal hardware. But, the real question would be, why is this an issue in the first place? Could the batteries not be separate from the internal circuitry?
Well, the answer to that question is that Oral B made sure that the circuitry functioned as responsively as possible. By doing so they had to make sure that the circuitry was placed as close to the batteries as possible for the fastest, most responsive, initiation time. Because of this, the batteries are close to this internal circuitry, which is further defended by a waterproof seal.
The only way inside is if the waterproof casing is removed thus largely degrading the overall structural integrity of the toothbrush. This is why they don’t let us change the batteries so easily.
Guide to replacing your Oral B toothbrush batteries
So now that we’ve given you the reasons why Oral B makes it so difficult to replace the batteries of their toothbrush let’s discuss how we can stick it to the man and go about replacing them anyway. One of the major points you need to know before you can get started replacing your toothbrushes batteries, whipping out the soldering iron, or fetching the hammer, is that this guide is only meant for a few specific types of Oral B toothbrushes and, sadly, cannot be generally applied to all of them.
So we apologize we can’t provide a guide for everyone, however, the good that we can do is to provide information for those that have these types and versions available. And at least those people can enjoy placing fresh batteries to use in their toothbrush.
Types of Oral B Toothbrushes
There are quite a few different kinds of builds of Oral B toothbrushes, however, the ones upon which this guide will work are the 3766 and 3767 types of electronic toothbrushes from Oral B. These types are the particular ones chosen because they allow for the easiest access to the circuitry without compromising the entirety of the structure.
It’s interesting how with so many versions of the electronic toothbrush out there there is a constant need to test, retest, and attempt to open new types of toothbrushes. No methods are absolute because companies continuously change their models, designs, and build molds. This makes it harder for anyone that wants to be able to repair their products by themselves, but ultimately, we have to apply our knowledge to only those versions we have a clear understanding of.
You might also be interested in: Are All Oral B Brush Heads Interchangeable?
How to replace the batteries?
In order to replace the batteries of your type 3766 and type 3767 Oral B toothbrush make sure to carry out the following steps:
- Remove the brush head from the toothbrush itself.
- Stand the brush in a cup of hot water to soften the plastic ring
- Utilize a large flat-headed screwdriver or a knife to pry off the plastic ring from the toothbrush shaft.
- Make sure you don’t lose this ring that we just removed.
- Stand the brush in hot water for 5 minutes to soften the seal and various clips.
- Wipe the handle, ensuring no drop of water remains.
- Place the toothbrush on top of its charger.
- Carefully bend the toothbrush backwards, this opens up the bottom base from the front.
- Make sure you safely secure the spring and the base cap of the toothbrush.
- Push the innards outside by placing pressure on the top of the toothbrush
- Remove the switch plates by unclipping them one side at a time.
- You will require a soldering iron, so plug it in and get it warm.
- Desolder the negative terminal
- Desolder the two pressure warning light wires
- Desolder the Pressure switch connection
- Desolder the two motor connections
- Desodler the positive battery terminal
- Release the clips holding the coil
- Lift the PCB off the battery carrier
- Compare the battery with your Li-ion replacement
- Slide the new battery into the carrier, make sure to remember the positive and negative terminals.
- Clip the PCB back onto the battery carrier
- Cut the positive and Negative pins to the same level as the PCB
- Slide the assembly back onto the metal frame
- Clip everything back as it was before.
- Test the brush by putting pressure on the power button.
- If it doesn’t turn on immediately then try charging it first.
- Slide the innards back into the casing and place the plastic rings back on their respective positions.
And that’s all you need to do. It is quite a handful. The use of a soldering iron particularly has many people feeling sheepish when it comes to repairs of this nature. But we believe that such basic life skills should be something everyone eventually picks up. And it won’t hurt to try. If you fail you only need to go out and get yourself a new toothbrush, but if you succeed you obtain a new skill for the rest of your life.
We hope this article has been helpful to anyone looking to change the batteries on their Oral B toothbrush. We know that the instruction list can be daunting, however, it’s not something that you should be afraid of. We advise the use of safety equipment to ensure that you or your loved ones are not at harm when you’re using such appliances.
Nonetheless, we believe this skill can be learned and such projects should be undertaken to incentivize corporations into making their products more user-friendly, repairable, and accessible.