This was so fun to watch and listen to. Your a great dad and its awesome how well you speak to her. She is definitely a techs kid and going to do wonders later.
Thanks for posting this. After a long back and forth with Sphero support, I was informed that "all electronics eventually die". I then went to the googles, and found your video, ordered the parts and fixed it in less time than I spent corresponding with Sphero support. I just taped the ball closed, incase it breaks. Doesn't seem like the christmas ornament is going to hold up as well as the original poly carbonate shell did, but that's to be expected. Also, you can get the orginal cracked open pretty easily with a dremel and a cutting wheel. Just make sure to rotate as you cut and make sure you're not cutting the robot inside.
Hi. I can’t access the hobby lobby website outside the US. Do you have another reference for the same clear sphere? Maybe on Amazon? Or the dimensions. Appreciate much!
I'd think that the ball would, but you'd probably want to measure the BB-8 ball to be sure. As far as the batteries go, Check BB-8's batteries to make sure that they are the same specs to avoid a fire or anything like that.
@@JuliansRandomProject cool, well just ordered some 802035's that say they are 800mah. would be nice if they are but wouldnt be surprised if they arent. we'll see. fortunately i contacted sphero when mine stopped working and they are sending me a coupon to buy a new one. not that great that its a coupon for their american store and i have to pay shipping and taxes to the uk but think i'll use that to get a bolt and try fix the broken one. did you try contacting sphero when yours broke?
@@ge2719 Nice folks at Sphero! It had been a number of years old so I didn't bother with planed obsolescence being what it is. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
@@emilhares it fit depth wise, but the length of the battery was a bit too long and i had to hack some plastic off and reroute some wires. was a pain but i got it to fit. probably easier to find a shorter battery but the depth was okay.
thanks man. im a tech working at a school and i have 12 of these that died and we have spent thousands on the case. good to know i can fix all these for under 100$ : )
How did you deal with connecting the batteries to the pin header? Which colors align which which? The batteries came with red and white wires; the Sphero has red, white, black, and blue wires.
If memory serves... I desoldered the old cells after removing the protective Kapton tape and moved the original wires over to the new cells. Re-applied some kapton tape and done.
Any idea where to get the batteries now? Amazon no longer has them. I bought a different brand and it doesn't fit. I just want to fix this for my son :(
I have a whole class set of dead sphero sprk+ robots. I managed to get the batteries replaced, but the shell from this video description doesn't fit. It is too tigjht for Sphero to turn. Beware!!! The shell doesn't fit right. Now I have 20 shells that won't work with SPRK+.
Hello there, this video its awesome. I've replaced my Sphero 2.0 batteries with no issue at all. But now Bluetooth doesn't seem to work properly. I can't connect it with a phone
Hey there, thanks a lot for this video. I think it's the only one about that sphero battery issue, I read the internet twice to be sure. I just cut my BB8 in half and fortunately that the same mechanism as yours. I haven't much knowledge in batteries, could you please tell me what the difference between the 350mAh and the 380mAh ? Won't the difference of power damage the internal motors ? Will it be longer to charge or need more powerful charger ? Although, I think I read these battery don't like powerful charger (like the iPad charger as exemple) nor to be constantly on its charging platform plugged, is this true ? Once again for this video it helps a lot :)
Extra mAh in the battery (provided it'll fit will only benefit you. No change to the charger needed. More just means more play time. And yes, for best battery life, do not leave on charger all the time. Good luck! Have fun
Handy Ndy hello, I did succeed, but I had still the same issue, either I did something wrong or the problem was somewhere else. My BB8 still doesn’t work
Nosho7 sorry to hear that. So problem is not the 🔋 ? My bb8 prob is definitely the 🔋, but i dont want to damage the look of it Wondering if someone sell bb8 empy shell so we can fix the inside, and keep the outside look
I must be SUPER blessed to chance upon your clip! I'm going to try this project out. Just curious, it's been 1 yr plus since u swapped the batt. How's the batteries going? Are they still going strong?
I just watched this after spending way too much time today trying to figure out why my 2.0 wouldn't run for more than ten seconds. Seeing this video was created a while ago, I wonder if anyone has up to date information for replacement batteries and shell.
would your shell be the same for the SPRK edition? my SPRK edition died recently due to battery not holding the charge as well. will definitely try your method soon! thanks for the video!!!
Rishi Tomar thin application of super glue. Not confident it’ll hold but if not I’ve got more clear ornaments and I’ll try the two part epoxy next in thin amount.
yeah, one of the rubber tyres you can put them in should hold the two halves together. but if you wanted to glue them might something like a solvent melt them? ive used mek for glueing lego togehter. not sure if it would do anything for the plastic the shell is made off btut if it does it will literally melt the two halves together.
Thanks for the inspiration...and posting the battery availability in Amazon. I carefully split the ball apart. I am reusing it. I will use CA glue thick to put back together and then get a cover for the ball
I bought one of those in a garage sale ($15.00). But the batteries were not holding charge. So I went ahead and followed this tutorial. Now I know why you skipped the part of replacing the batteries. wow, it was hard. The wires of the new batteries are thicker, so I had to break and remove some plastic from the Sphero to place the new ones. But it`s charging now... Lets see in 3 hours.
Ettore Semeghini I ended up cutting the original wires from the harness and soldering the wires from the new batteries when it became apparent the new pins wouldn’t fit the old plug.
Thanks for the info. I just replace mine today and it works great. I just found out the new Sphero Play app can adjust the brightness, so I don’t have to use tape. :)
Loved this video! I too had a dead Sphero that I wanted to give new life (who knew cats would be so obsessed with this thing). One question though, I did exactly as you did, but the ornament case seems too tight... I can't get it to drive straight. Did you have any issues with this?
They could have predicted that the butteries will need replacement at some point, and create a detachable case. But why sacrifice the companies revenue? Right?
you can buy the batteries cheaply at allie express. Just plan on it taking a long time to get the batteries. I bought 40 500ma batteries for $1.60/piece. If anyone knows of a good shell replacement, please post.
Hey Brian! Sorry your shell is on the snug side. may want to check the spring loaded mechanism on top for fouling. It's possible the shells dimensions have shifted over time or supplier. It was originally an ornament so they 're probably ok with +/- a few millimeters. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
First off JuliansRandomProject, your battery and case recommendations were spot on. I used a variable speed Dremel with a flex shaft and Gyros 82-11015 saw blade clamped in a small vise to only go ~2mm around the original case. I also used this blade to take off the ornament tabs when needed. I'm not a huge fan of soldering near/on LiPos, so I opted for using the original plugs that came with the batteries. I shaved the 'bottoms' of each plug (see images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61O5OyJu9vL._AC_SL1500_.jpg), again with the saw, and super-glued them together. Since the positives for both batteries are on one side, you have to unlock and switch the polarity of the pins on one of the plugs. This puts the tolerances of the plugs within the pins range nicely. There is also a flange at the wire-side of each of the plugs you may need to shave off. Next, fit the plug into the space where the pins will insert to it within the casing, note where the positives should be. (I want to say they are 'away' from the multi-pin recepticle on the same side) Then route the (thicker) wires through each of the wire guides. Carefully lay the wire into the battery space with the batteries to follow, gently pressing foil corners into place. The original plug retention clip thingy will not fit again, unless you want to x-acto it, etc... but I doubt it will, and you'll find it's really not needed. Now everything is laying somewhat flat in the case. With a small screwdriver, guide the plug where you kinda want it to sit when you align the pins. It will be easier if you position the plug higher than everything else, but make sure it will actually sit down when pressed for re-assembly...again, these wires are thicker. Carefully guide these four pins first into the plug recepticle you made. Press and guide the rest of the pins/board into place and re-assemble and test with your new ball and some masking tape. Once you're satisfied that it charges and works, let it charge for awhile...the batteries come with little charge. I used thin CA to seal the ball like you did. Thanks and kudos for getting all the spec parts lined up for us!
This was so fun to watch and listen to. Your a great dad and its awesome how well you speak to her. She is definitely a techs kid and going to do wonders later.
agreed. I could learn a lot from your patience with your kiddo!
Whattt?
Great video, great duo you and the kiddo make and great music choices!
Thanks for posting this. After a long back and forth with Sphero support, I was informed that "all electronics eventually die". I then went to the googles, and found your video, ordered the parts and fixed it in less time than I spent corresponding with Sphero support. I just taped the ball closed, incase it breaks. Doesn't seem like the christmas ornament is going to hold up as well as the original poly carbonate shell did, but that's to be expected. Also, you can get the orginal cracked open pretty easily with a dremel and a cutting wheel. Just make sure to rotate as you cut and make sure you're not cutting the robot inside.
Michael, You just made the whole effort of recoding this and posting it worth it! Good luck with your Sphero and its new lease on life :)
Would a heat gun release the glue?
my sphero mini stopped working for some reason. it lights up and everything but it just wont move. do you have any tips?
Reset it
Press a button on the charger welp its charging
Hi. I can’t access the hobby lobby website outside the US. Do you have another reference for the same clear sphere? Maybe on Amazon? Or the dimensions.
Appreciate much!
Is there any way you could help to indicate what pins get the positive leads and which pins the negative leads go to ?
Hi!! Any idea where to get the batteries and the clear ball now?
Your helper picked up a lot more than I did, Thanks great video.
Does these exact parts also work for the Sphero BB-8?
I'd think that the ball would, but you'd probably want to measure the BB-8 ball to be sure. As far as the batteries go, Check BB-8's batteries to make sure that they are the same specs to avoid a fire or anything like that.
Is it the same battery for the sprk
I have a sphero bb8 it turn on leds and make the bluetooth connection with the app, but it doesn't move, how can I fix it? T-T
I have the same issue, the Sphero its not detected by any phone or device.
do you think an 8mm thick battery could fit? seems you can get a decent step up in capacity with an 802035
Yeah. 8mm would prob fit.
@@JuliansRandomProject cool, well just ordered some 802035's that say they are 800mah. would be nice if they are but wouldnt be surprised if they arent. we'll see.
fortunately i contacted sphero when mine stopped working and they are sending me a coupon to buy a new one. not that great that its a coupon for their american store and i have to pay shipping and taxes to the uk but think i'll use that to get a bolt and try fix the broken one. did you try contacting sphero when yours broke?
@@ge2719 Nice folks at Sphero! It had been a number of years old so I didn't bother with planed obsolescence being what it is. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
@@ge2719 Did it work? With the 8mm battery??
@@emilhares it fit depth wise, but the length of the battery was a bit too long and i had to hack some plastic off and reroute some wires. was a pain but i got it to fit. probably easier to find a shorter battery but the depth was okay.
thanks man. im a tech working at a school and i have 12 of these that died and we have spent thousands on the case. good to know i can fix all these for under 100$ : )
I have a bb8 replaced the batteries but now motors dont move
How did you deal with connecting the batteries to the pin header? Which colors align which which? The batteries came with red and white wires; the Sphero has red, white, black, and blue wires.
If memory serves... I desoldered the old cells after removing the protective Kapton tape and moved the original wires over to the new cells. Re-applied some kapton tape and done.
@@JuliansRandomProject Thanks. I'll give that a shot.
How did you put in the batteries since they have such thick wires???
will these batteries work for a sphero 2.0 as well? or is this just for the original?
Well done dad. Brilliant job on many levels
Why couldn't you guys just dissolve the glue on between the shells?
Nice video! What are the dimensions of the clear ball ornament? The link you provided doesn't work.
Any idea where to get the batteries now? Amazon no longer has them. I bought a different brand and it doesn't fit. I just want to fix this for my son :(
Bobby Z mee too, but mine is bb8
Batteries are available again
I have a whole class set of dead sphero sprk+ robots. I managed to get the batteries replaced, but the shell from this video description doesn't fit. It is too tigjht for Sphero to turn. Beware!!! The shell doesn't fit right. Now I have 20 shells that won't work with SPRK+.
WHAT IS SPRK + ended the ball
You are an MVP! Thank you for doing the hard work fornus, and congratulations on the beautiful video with your daugther!
Hello there, this video its awesome. I've replaced my Sphero 2.0 batteries with no issue at all. But now Bluetooth doesn't seem to work properly. I can't connect it with a phone
Try with your phone so close it can touch the Sphero. It’s possible you accidentally disconnected the antenna.
for some reason I cannot seem to access the link for the shell. What is the correct size please ?
"Ball Ornament" 2 3/4" (two and three quarters inch)
Hey there, thanks a lot for this video. I think it's the only one about that sphero battery issue, I read the internet twice to be sure. I just cut my BB8 in half and fortunately that the same mechanism as yours. I haven't much knowledge in batteries, could you please tell me what the difference between the 350mAh and the 380mAh ? Won't the difference of power damage the internal motors ? Will it be longer to charge or need more powerful charger ? Although, I think I read these battery don't like powerful charger (like the iPad charger as exemple) nor to be constantly on its charging platform plugged, is this true ? Once again for this video it helps a lot :)
Extra mAh in the battery (provided it'll fit will only benefit you. No change to the charger needed. More just means more play time. And yes, for best battery life, do not leave on charger all the time. Good luck! Have fun
Nosho7 hi my bb8 died too.
did you successfully replace the battery ?
Handy Ndy hello, I did succeed, but I had still the same issue, either I did something wrong or the problem was somewhere else. My BB8 still doesn’t work
Nosho7 sorry to hear that. So problem is not the 🔋 ?
My bb8 prob is definitely the 🔋, but i dont want to damage the look of it
Wondering if someone sell bb8 empy shell so we can fix the inside, and keep the outside look
Handy Ndy I did managed to open it quite cleanly it’s not that difficult I can send you pictures and more précisions if you want
I must be SUPER blessed to chance upon your clip! I'm going to try this project out. Just curious, it's been 1 yr plus since u swapped the batt. How's the batteries going? Are they still going strong?
I just watched this after spending way too much time today trying to figure out why my 2.0 wouldn't run for more than ten seconds. Seeing this video was created a while ago, I wonder if anyone has up to date information for replacement batteries and shell.
would your shell be the same for the SPRK edition?
my SPRK edition died recently due to battery not holding the charge as well. will definitely try your method soon! thanks for the video!!!
SPRK and sphero are both the same exept sprk is clear, so it should work.
Awesome! What type of glue did you end up using? I was thinking two part epoxy.
Rishi Tomar thin application of super glue. Not confident it’ll hold but if not I’ve got more clear ornaments and I’ll try the two part epoxy next in thin amount.
buy a sphero case. much easier to install. no need to glue. so you can repair or replace the battery in the future easily.
yeah, one of the rubber tyres you can put them in should hold the two halves together.
but if you wanted to glue them might something like a solvent melt them? ive used mek for glueing lego togehter. not sure if it would do anything for the plastic the shell is made off btut if it does it will literally melt the two halves together.
@@dablet Where is a "sphero case" (shell) available for purchase, please? I haven't found any.
JuliansRandomProject How did you put in the batteries since they have such thick wires???
How long did you have it before you had to do that?
A couple of years of non-use.
Can you please do a part two??
Are you aloud to bring sphero mini on an airplane?
Yes, but because it's Bluetooth, you shouldn't use it on the flight.
Thanks for the inspiration...and posting the battery availability in Amazon. I carefully split the ball apart. I am reusing it. I will use CA glue thick to put back together and then get a cover for the ball
How do I desolder?
@@AndresSanchez-io1oi need a soldering iron with a fine tip
bill black I'm confused. Is there a way you can record yourself doing it?
@@AndresSanchez-io1oi I wish I could but I have already done the battery swap.
bill black ok, so did you ever cut the cables?
I bought one of those in a garage sale ($15.00). But the batteries were not holding charge. So I went ahead and followed this tutorial. Now I know why you skipped the part of replacing the batteries. wow, it was hard. The wires of the new batteries are thicker, so I had to break and remove some plastic from the Sphero to place the new ones. But it`s charging now... Lets see in 3 hours.
Ettore Semeghini I ended up cutting the original wires from the harness and soldering the wires from the new batteries when it became apparent the new pins wouldn’t fit the old plug.
Awesome co-host!
Thanks for the info. I just replace mine today and it works great. I just found out the new Sphero Play app can adjust the brightness, so I don’t have to use tape. :)
Score!
Directions could’ve been a little more thorough but were adequate. I was able to breathe new life into my daughter’s Sphero.
Loved this video! I too had a dead Sphero that I wanted to give new life (who knew cats would be so obsessed with this thing). One question though, I did exactly as you did, but the ornament case seems too tight... I can't get it to drive straight. Did you have any issues with this?
no issues with the ornament case I used. Maybe try another brand/size or adjust the spring tension?
They could have predicted that the butteries will need replacement at some point, and create a detachable case. But why sacrifice the companies revenue? Right?
you can buy the batteries cheaply at allie express. Just plan on it taking a long time to get the batteries. I bought 40 500ma batteries for $1.60/piece. If anyone knows of a good shell replacement, please post.
Hey Brian! Sorry your shell is on the snug side. may want to check the spring loaded mechanism on top for fouling. It's possible the shells dimensions have shifted over time or supplier. It was originally an ornament so they 're probably ok with +/- a few millimeters. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
First off JuliansRandomProject, your battery and case recommendations were spot on. I used a variable speed Dremel with a flex shaft and Gyros 82-11015 saw blade clamped in a small vise to only go ~2mm around the original case. I also used this blade to take off the ornament tabs when needed. I'm not a huge fan of soldering near/on LiPos, so I opted for using the original plugs that came with the batteries. I shaved the 'bottoms' of each plug (see images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61O5OyJu9vL._AC_SL1500_.jpg), again with the saw, and super-glued them together. Since the positives for both batteries are on one side, you have to unlock and switch the polarity of the pins on one of the plugs. This puts the tolerances of the plugs within the pins range nicely. There is also a flange at the wire-side of each of the plugs you may need to shave off. Next, fit the plug into the space where the pins will insert to it within the casing, note where the positives should be. (I want to say they are 'away' from the multi-pin recepticle on the same side) Then route the (thicker) wires through each of the wire guides. Carefully lay the wire into the battery space with the batteries to follow, gently pressing foil corners into place. The original plug retention clip thingy will not fit again, unless you want to x-acto it, etc... but I doubt it will, and you'll find it's really not needed. Now everything is laying somewhat flat in the case. With a small screwdriver, guide the plug where you kinda want it to sit when you align the pins. It will be easier if you position the plug higher than everything else, but make sure it will actually sit down when pressed for re-assembly...again, these wires are thicker. Carefully guide these four pins first into the plug recepticle you made. Press and guide the rest of the pins/board into place and re-assemble and test with your new ball and some masking tape. Once you're satisfied that it charges and works, let it charge for awhile...the batteries come with little charge. I used thin CA to seal the ball like you did. Thanks and kudos for getting all the spec parts lined up for us!
So that's what's inside
If I knew this was possible, I would’ve kept my spheros and paid for an upgrade job.
Thx. Share Video!
Congratulations on teaching your daughter to not be dumb and helpless. Good job!! Honestly.
It’s No Use On The Sphero BOLT Cuz The Plastic Is Stronger
The ball is too small.
OMG - This is young Rick......... with his daughter ( Rick and Morty ) . Go to timestamp 4:46 and listen him burp ...... Rick is real folks !!!!!!
I think My sphero battery death too.
Pop it open and replace/upgrade that thing! :)
JuliansRandomProject is it still waterproof???
@@AndresSanchez-io1oi Not mine but I suppose it could be if you got the right kind of glue
JuliansRandomProject oh ok thanks
First!
How did you put in the batteries since they have such thick wires
@@AndresSanchez-io1oi very carefully desolder the new battery cables and then solder back the sphero cables
the beginning music is not asmr
asmr was a joke to point out the different audio quality/setup from my usual videos. Hope I haven't broken some un-written ASMR rule :)