How to Change UPS Battery Yourself [DIY Steps]

Can we change the battery of a UPS ourselves at home? We often call a computer technician for jobs that we can do ourselves by following the step-by-step instructions with little care. Changing the internal battery is no big deal and we can easily change it. There are two types of UPS that include Offline and Online UPS. Among the two, it is the off-line UPS that we use at home or at our office and is easy to open. There is only one battery of wattage 500 or 650 VA in the UPS and is of 12 Volts and 7 AH rating. You can easily get the battery from a local computer store or order it from an online store like Amazon (check Price).

When is the Right Time to Change the Battery:

In normal conditions, when the Mains supply is cut, your equipment still works for some time due to the battery of the UPS. If your equipment gets OFF when the Mains power is cut, it means your battery is exhausted, and it’s time to change the battery. The normal life of a battery is around 1 – 2 years depending on brand to brand. We will teach you how to change the battery yourself at home and there is no need to call a service engineer.

Steps to Replace UPS Battery

For illustration purposes, we are using APC brand 500 VA offline UPS. The steps needed to change the battery will be more or less the same in other similar UPS systems.

Step 1: Open the screws from the back side.

Step 2: After opening the cover, you will see the inner view.

Step 3: You will notice that battery is held on to its position by a clamp so open this clamp by removing the screws on both sides.

Step 4: Open the RED and BLACK cables from their thimbles as shown below:

Step 5: Take out the battery from UPS.

Step 6: Insert New Battery, connect Black (ground) and Red(+12 V ) cables onto battery terminals, and re-mount the battery holding clamp.

image showing opening screws with screw-driver

Final Step: Close the cover and install the screws opened in step 1.

Restore Battery Backup of UPS

So now you are familiar with the internal components of the UPS and know how to change the UPS battery. This will also resolve the problem of not getting battery backup from UPS. In rare cases where the backup problem is not resolved by changing the battery, you need to get the charging circuit in the electronics card to be checked by the authorized service center