I’m going to tear down a Wyze night light so that I can replace the battery, which after less than three years won’t hold a charge for more than 3 days.
armament
I have a spudger (a thin tool for separating plastic cases) and a small Phillips-head screwdriver.
the victim
step 1: crack the case
Locate the seam where the two halves of the case join, work the spudger into the crack, and slowly separate the case halves.
step 2: remove the back of the case
Gently pull the back of the case off
Remove the two small Phillips screws, circled in red. Put the screws on the magnets on the case back and they won’t get lost.
step 3: remove the printed circuit board (PCB)
This is perhaps the trickiest step. Use the spudger to pry the circuit board out from under the small tabs on the case that hold it in. The switch might fall off; don’t lose it.
Gently and slowly pry the battery off the double-sided tape. The battery with its part number and specifications is now visible:
step 4: try to find a replacement battery that costs less than a new Wyze Night Light
Here, I failed. Replacement batteries can be had for $1 each… if you buy 10,000 of them. If you only buy 100, they’re $4 each. On Amazon, I found singles but they were close to $9 each. I had to admit defeat since I can buy a 3-pack of the night lights on Amazon for about $25 (Wyze seems to be sold out, and I suspect they’ve discontinued the product.) If I’d found a replacement battery for a decent price, I’d need to solder the wires onto the circuit board. Here’s a picture of the connections:
I don’t like the idea of landfilling them, but I cannot really justify spending more on new batteries than I’d spend on new lights. I’ll just limp along with the old ones until I move in a few weeks.
—2p