Resound Quattro battery replacement

My two refurbished Qattros differed in runtime when I got them from ReSound.

You could always charge the left HA in the right charger bay if you’re careful with the receivers and the wires to see if that makes a difference. I would predict it won’t.

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Replacing everything but the cases is what Resound did for my Quattros recently that needed new microphones. They were still under warranty, barely, but the warranty on the replacement aids expires when the original 3-year warranty expires, which is way less than six months.

Those prices seem a little high to me, but it may what ReSound charges. I don’t know whether I would pay that or move on, given that choice with four-year-old aids. If I moved on to new aids, it probably wouldn’t be with ReSound. That’s a little unfair IMO, just to get new rechargeable batteries. My audi had told me, at the time I first got the Quattros, in response to my saying that 4-year-old lithium ion batteries are not good at holding charges, so they’re going to have to be replaced, that he didn’t know for sure yet what ReSound would charge to replace the batteries, but he expected it to be about $300. Maybe that’s because he didn’t realize yet that they would have to replace all the electronics, not just the batteries.

Thanks for your thoughts.
I confirmed directly with Resound that their price for the replacement is $250/aid with a 6 month warranty and $350/aid with a 12 month warranty. So, at least, I now know that my audiologist isn’t the one doing the price gouging–if that’s what it is.

I’m still pondering what to do. Since the way forward isn’t clear to me yet, I believe I will wait and see how the current batteries perform for a while longer.

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Geez. It never occurred to me that the “wells” in the charger weren’t a mandatory right and left. I think I’ll give that a try. Thanks.

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I am in a similar situation. After 12hrs (no streaming), left is dead and right is at 4/5 dots.

I.opened the casing and it appears to be a typical button cell (lithium obviously), in a typical battery socket, embedded in a soft grey vinyl like material similar to Hollywood prosthetic skin. It tears easily with a needle, and I suspect digging it all out and removing the cell would not be too difficult.

It’s still functioning properly, and 12hrs is usable, so I won’t futz with it now. Once it gets intolerable, I’ll probably dig in and see if it’s user replaceable.

Interesting that we have such a similar problem.

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Here is a link to a video showing the shell of a Linx Quattro being replaced. At 2:33, you can see the grey “latex” sealant on the battery compartment. You can also see that it looks like a standard replaceable battery compartment, with the grey sealant applied and molded to fill the space.

What I know:
a) Generally, IPx8 ratings are not achieved by sealing the case (and as you can see this one is NOT sealed), but rather by sealing all the electronics with a waterproof/hydrophobic coating and the encasing the physical contact junctions with water tight connectors (such as SureFit 2).

b) The main reason the batteries are not user replaceable in IPxx devices is because the end user cannot do so and ensure the integrity of the IP68 rating. Which makes sense from a manufacturer perspective. If you want the manufacturer guaranteed performance, you use manufacturer certified techs to do the work.

c) The cell under the sealant absolutely looks like a standard button cell.

What I suspect:
The “latex” coating over the battery (described above) exists ONLY to seal the battery/contact interface so the instrument can achieve the IP68 rating.

What this might mean:
If you’re a disposable user, who is used to not having a water resistant instrument, it is quite likely that one can carve out the sealant, drop in a compatible rechargable cell, and repower the RE561-DRW at home much faster and cheaper than sending it back for repair.

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Disclaimer: I am geek/hacker by nature. I void warranties, often on brand new tech. Plus, my HAs did not come with a warranty. Please consider your risk tolerance and the potential expense before following in my footsteps.

Mine worked just fine. And the empty hole is large enough to accommodate the receiver wires backwards without unduly bending them.

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Super interesting to see the video and to read your explanation. Thank you.

I like to think the best of companies, especially health care related–that they’re not lying about totally replacing all the electronics in the HA because the battery is integrated in with the electronics. I guess what they’re saying…assuming it’s true…is that they swap in all new electronics to assure that the hearing aids stay watertight.

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Update: I just carved into the “latex” seal and the battery is spot welded. On a unit this small, unsealing, breaking the weld, replacement, welding, resealing, etc are all labor intensive. i.e. they are probably just throwing it away.

Which speaks to someone’s comment elsewhere in this forum about the true cost if the unit. If they are replacing the entire instrument for $250, the hardware cost (excluding development) is assuredly less than that.


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Thank you so much for the finding. You just saved us lots of time trying to find a way to replace this battery ourself. You are great.

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Update: I started reversing the HAs (L to R and vice-versa) in the charging pod, and the problem seemed to go away. Just last week I stopped wearing my HA for about a week. I opened them on Tuesday to change the RIC/RIE and had a terrible time getting the left to connect to NoahLink. SmartFit would see it, then fail to connect. After a bit of frustration it occurred to me that the left had a dead/dying battery. And that’s when I noticed it. I put the HAs away in their proper charging slot, not reversed. I reversed them and tried 30 min later, no problems.

If the issue does not follow the charging slot (i.e. the issue does not seem to happen to the right HA when it’s charged in the left slot) and it does not follow the HA (i.e. the issue does not seem to persist when the left HA when it’s charged in the right slot), what is happening?

This is what I suspect:
There is an issue with the left charging slot related to the HA position/seating in the slot. Perhaps the Left HA is not positioned close enough to the coil, or maybe the HA walks up just enough to reduce conduction. As you can see in This Image, swapping R & L positions flexes the RIC wire and creates a torque that rotates the HAs in their slots and forces them into the opposite wall of the charging well. The tiny change appears to either improve the HA’s proximity to the L coil, prevents it from walking up/away, or both.

SHOULD this be a large enough change to significantly affect charging in a well that small? No.
Has it made a difference in my (admittedly anecdotal) experience? Yes. My runtime disparity (L 25% << R) appears to disappear when L&R are swapped.

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At least for my Quattros, two optical windows are at the bottom of each charging bay. You might check if these windows are both free of debris for the problematic charging bay. Gentle wiping with a cotton swab might clean the windows if anything is blocking them. I have theorized that the windows are to optically detect when a HA has been placed in the bay to charge.

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@jim_lewis - Good info, I had not noticed that. And I concur with your assessment of their purpose. It is certainly possible that the RIC wire is lifting the HA just enough to allow enough light to pass to suppress charging (perhaps even intermittently). Why it appears to affect L more than R is anybody’s guess.

If so, perhaps the lateral pressure on the wire created by installing them reversed offsets this lifting force. Or the rotational moment applied on the HA creates enough friction to offset the lifting force. Or the position of the HA in the well relative to the sensors is allowing some light to pass in one situation and not another.

Whatever the case, it seems quite obvious that the position of the HA in the well has an impact on charging. And that those experiencing unilateral battery issues (without an obviously different audio profile) should look there first.

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Thanks for this info! Unfortunately, a few days ago I took my Quatros in for battery replacement and to have them checked out to secure a 1-yr warranty. Although ReSound and an audiologist told me the cost would be a total of $700US for both aids, the second audiologist I consulted told me the cost will be a total of $600. With that, I decided to move forward.

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Baterry this was not?
You show how to replace it with a video

I disassembled mine to demonstrate what is involved, but the battery is spot welded and non replaceable.

Short version:
Replacing a cell is difficult, but not impossible

Long version:
This weekend I learned how to replace a spot welded battery. I was working with a cell 18mmx75mm, so I hearing aid will definitely require more finesse.

To make matters more complicated, the removal process requires using a tiny Dremel bit (about 1mm) to grind out the weld spots. This generates microfine metal dust. On a large cell/circuit this creates the possibility of short circuits, but that can usually be avoided by using compressed air after the service is complete.

With a hearing aid, which contains microcircuitry in very close proximity to the battery, the metal dust is a serious problem. And compressed air may not be a viable option because the hearing aid contains a very tiny pressure transducer (the mic) that would probably be damaged by high pressure air.

I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m going see if the metal used in the contacts is magnetic. If so, I may try performing the work in the field of a very strong magnet so that metal particles thrown from the bit would be pulled away from the hearing aid.

Note: LiPo cells can catch fire when damaged. If you decide to try this please educate yourself and understand the risks before you begin.

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Hello,
I ready your contribution about Resound Linx Quattro Li-Ion rechargeable battery replacement.
I webt through the same issue and bought a spot welder for microelectronics. Can you give an update about your process of changing the battery? I am very interested. Thank you…

Unfortunately, no updates yet.

Just want to mention that one way (probably the best way) to remove grinding dust in situations like this is via suction. I have done a large amount of SMD reworking and we have specialized small vacuums for this kind of thing, but one could easily use a standard home vacuum attachment, or, for even more suction a shop vac. As you’re grinding, the particles will be pulled into the vacuum and away from the work area thus eliminating the problem mentioned above.