Originally published at: RICOH THETA Battery Replacement – RICOH THETA Developer Community
The RICOH THETA V, Z1, and SC2 are not designed to be serviced at home. To replace the battery, you should take it into an authorized service center. However, in order to save cost with a completely dead camera, some people have replaced the battery on RICOH THETA V cameras.
At the current time, there have been no success reports with the Z1.
This procedure is not recommended unless your camera is completely unusable and you are planning to throw it out. It requires disassembly of the camera.
Battery
- DB-110
- 3.6volts
- 1350mAh
- 4.5Wh
I used this battery in my replacement.
The size and shape of the batteries are identical. The original battery from the RICOH THETA V is on the left.
Disassembly
Carefully take the sticker off of the bottom of the camera. Save the sticker on something like a bowl. You want to save the sticker for the reassembly step, so do not stick it to paper or plastic wrap. Take your time with this step. You want to keep the sticker in perfect condition. The sticker has the camera serial number on it. As it is on the bottom of the camera, you will likely look at it every time you plug your camera in.
Remove the four screws at the bottom of the camera.
Keep the screws in a container so that you do not drop the screws. Using a white bowl makes the screws easy to find later.
After the four screws are removed, gently pry apart the edges of the two camera body pieces.
Remove the existing battery.
Reassembly
The new battery fits perfectly with no modifications required. It slips into the battery slot with no problems.
Press the two sides of the body together. It will “click” together.
Replace the four screws at the bottom of the THETA V.
Field Testing New Battery Reliability
I replaced the battery on March 10, 2021. It is no January 19, 2022 and the camera is working great. The new battery has slightly more battery capacity and I think it may even be lasting longer than the original. As I purchased two batteries for $13, I even have a spare battery if the current battery dies. Or, I could use the extra battery for other projects.
The sticker is still attached to the bottom of my camera and I did not need to apply additional glue to the back of the sticker.
The camera charged normally and holds the charge as if it were new.