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Ember’s (ember.com) original 10oz. mug is awesome! When I first got it it kept my drink hot for so long.
Now, a few years later, the battery dies after just 10–20 minutes. Unfortunately, the company does not offer a battery replacement service for the built-in rechargeable battery.
Has anyone successfully replaced the battery in an Ember mug? How did you do it? Where did you get a replacement from?
Is this a good question?
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The ember coffee mug (not travel mug) has a EVE B0664-LF 7.2 volt Li-ion Battry. To replace the battery you simply* twist the mug base 15 degrees clockwise looking at the bottom and pull it away from the cup body. There is a ribbon cable that connects the base to the body that you need to remove. Once fully seperated from the body four screws secure a battery shield and once removed the circuit and battery can be removed.
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It’s a pain to turn the bottom of the mug. Once off, you will see the battery pack. It is a 2s lithium ion battery using two 18650 cells in series with a proprietary bms. If you don’t know about lithium batteries and how to connect them properly, don’t bother. You run the risk of serious injury, property damage, and possibly death. The bms will need to be soldered to the new cells. Again, if you don’t know how then you shouldn’t.
@propellerh71814 - Your method worked great to get to the battery on the Ember Mug 2 (not the travel mug). See the pics in my 15 Jan 2024 post.
I used a strip of neoprene rubber to grip the base as I twisted it clockwise (it should twist about 15 degrees and it will stop when it hits the right spot). I also used the neoprene rubber to help pull the base off the mug. The ribbon cable is attached to a connector, but I had to remove 4 Torx screws (T6) to remove the battery shield to allow the ribbon cable connector to be pulled straight up from the board. The board can be pulled straight out (you will probably need to pop off the black light-pipe cover before you can pull the board out. The light pipe seems to be snapped in). The battery pack may be glued to the board. I haven't tried to separate it yet. The battery part number on my mug is INR18650 MH1-2S1P made by BYD. I can't find that part number online but I may be able to replace the individual cells.
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The @propellerh71814 answer worked great. I commented on his answer with some additional detail on how I got the base off the mug using his answer but wasn't able to add photos to the comment. Here are some pictures.
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Nice work. You should make a guide for this.
I found that using a nitrile gloves worked perfectly for me to get enough grip with my hand. It was easier than removing my oil filter from my car. Now if I could source a new ribbon cable that fried itself.
Where did you get replacement battery?
@mikefreema14301 Over on my Destructive Teardown page I've placed a link to a battery supplier one of our other users found for that battery. Here's a link to it.
https://batteryclerk.com/products/ember-...
Rather pricey, but still cheaper than a new mug, assuming you can get it open, which has been problematic for some people.
Screw these guys. Mine came with a dead battery (full charge was about 6% after 5 min). I wanted to fix it but I’m going to send it back and never give them a dime because they are the cancer of tech innovation companies.
I really like the product. No reason to sell a coffee mug for 150, call the batteries ‘consumables’ in your warranty, and not allow you to replace them making the entire product… consumable.
Someone should make one of these with the same quality that has a replaceable battery and help put ember out of business.
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Hi @rulily
Here's a video that shows how to access the battery so that it can be replaced. There doesn't seem to be a "Part 2" video that shows the actual replacement/reassembly but it seems straightforward enough once you have the replacement batteries.
Here's a supplier of the batteries. There may be others I didn't look too hard but some of the others I did find are battery manufacturers who have minimum order requirements of more than just 4. Just search for 604134 LiPO battery, as you may find some that I missed.
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Just as a note here, the mug that jayeff is referring to is the Travel Mug, which is a different critter than the coffee/Ember mug the OP was talking about.
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I ran across a post on Reddit that seems to contradict @propellerh71814's information.
Looking to replace the battery. I took apart my Ember mug. : r/Embermug
Their photo shows a completely different battery from the one previously described.
That picture shows another Eve battery, but this one is part number P0686-LF and is marked as a 15.2V battery.
Unfortunately, I had just as much luck locating one of those batteries as I did finding a B0664-LF battery; i.e., none whatsoever.
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which mug 'version'/year is this taken from?
@charliehumble The last comment on the Reddit thread says this battery is from a travel mug, but no other information. You can check the post yourself; the link is in my answer.
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About 6 months ago I destructively disassembled a 10oz mug and took photos during the process. I created a 3D Printer STL file for the destroyed portion of the plastic base and will be happy to supply to any interested party. On the 10oz mug there is a locking tab installed to prevent brute force rotation of the plastic base. This anti-tamper tab could be disengaged by drilling a small 2mm hole at an acute 10 degree angle about 30mm clockwise from the right edge of the inverted mug handle, then pushing the tab out of the way. This tab does not appear in 14oz mug photos. I have more photos and the STL file for the mug bottom if anyone is interested. Don't know how put that file into this post.
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Nice job! Bookmarking this.
@alankirk50251 i'm interested in your 3D Printer STL file for the destroyed portion of the plastic base. How can i get this? Thanks in Advance and happy Easter!
@alankirk50251 I too am interested in the STL. I am new to ifixit and could not figure out how to DM. Can you please maybe put it somewhere where we can download it? Maybe on thingiverse.com? It would be much appreciated.
Someone please tell me how to attach the set of STL files or how to send them to other iFixit users.
Hey, can you tell the battery model wich was used? I want to find a pack as close as posible to the original spec wise. Can the BMS handle higher capacity cells? Thank you
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After about a 18 months of use, my Mug 2 stopped holding a charge at all, dying as soon as it was lifted off the base. After contacting support, the best Ember could do was offer to sell me a replacement mug for $99 dollars.
Not wanting to just buy a new mug which would likely face the same fate eventually, I figured I would at least try to repair my mug myself.
Thanks to the tips in this thread, I was able to get my Mug 2 apart using a couple of strap wrenches: one wrench wrapped around the main body of the mug and the other wrapped as best I could around the base. This allowed me to get enough friction and torque to turn the base the 15 degrees that Propeller Head mentioned. I was then able to carefully pry apart the base from the mug without damaging the ribon cable connecting the two pieces.
As others have mentioned, the 18650 batteries in the battery pack can be replaced if you have the tools and expertise/confidence to weld new batteries to the existing, proprietary BMS board.
I don't have a spot welder so what I ended up doing instead was using 2 high capacity/high discharge 14500 batteries ($9) in a AA battery holder ($5) soldered to the old BMS like so:
The BMS seems to handle the 14500 batteries just fine as long as everything is connected correctly.
With the BMS tucked between the bottom board and the battery holder (with some electrical/conformal tape to prevent any shorts), everything fits snugly underneath the shield and the mug can be reassembled using the strap wrenches.
Even with the highest capacity 14500 batteries, this mod does reduce the battery life of the mug by about 20-30% (compared to new 18650 batteries) but does allow you to (somewhat) easily replace the batteries if they ever start to degrade.
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I'm surprised they were able to fit 2 18650's in there plus all the electronics. Thanks for sharing!
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I found this battery, but I can not confirm that is the right one, I haven't opened my mug yet.
https://batteryclerk.com/products/ember-...
SKU CS-EMB200SL
INFO
Disclaimer: Our products are not affiliated with or authorized by Ember.
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Nice find, Joseph! The specs look right and visually I can't see any difference in the parts that matter, so I'd say you've managed to locate that elusive snipe we've all been hunting for.
Thanks for posting!
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Having this same problem and did some research into trying to replace the Ember Mug internal battery. Another Reddit post I found (https://www.reddit.com/r/JamesHoffmann/c...) states in one of the comments by the OP: "This applies to only the travel mug - the regular mug is molded closed and can't be opened without destroying it" I also found the FCC page for the Ember Mug (https://fccid.io/2AILTCM17/Internal-Phot...) that shows the Battery and other internal electronics but without a way to open the mug and replace it I'm not sure this information is useful... If the Mug ever stops working completely destroying it might be a risk I'm willing to take but for now it seems to be unrepairable.
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@propellerh71814's answer above indicates that the base simply twists off with a 15 degree turn; however, it appears that some sort of special fixture is probably used to provide sufficient torque to overcome the retaining clips but still grip the smooth base of the mug.
I'm thinking about lining the charging base with iPhone battery adhesive as a gripping agent; hopefully the base is sturdy enough to allow enough pressure to be applied to turn the base the required amount.
This applies to the Ember Travel Mug which is not the same product the OP and myself are working with.
I found this and was saddened. However I sent an email to Ember support and they sent me a replacement 10oz cup! Completely free of charge. They even paid the shipping. They didn't ask any questions either. Sweet. I'm currently enjoying a nice warm beverage with said cup. Yay.
I've had very positive experience with Ember customer service. They replaced my 1st gen 14oz mug when the ceramic started to flake off.
How do I recharge my ember mug.?
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Hi Kim,
Generally charging the mug is as simple as placing the mug on the charging coaster. The LED near the bottom of the mug should turn red and blink slowly to indicate it's charging. Here's the quick start guide showing how.
https://support.ember.com/hc/en-us/artic...
If that doesn't work, they also have a troubleshooting section if your mug doesn't turn on or charge.
https://support.ember.com/hc/en-us/artic...
Check out those pages and if it still isn't working, come on back and tell us what you tried and what you found and we'll then be able to help you figure out what's wrong with it.
Check the two contacts on the charging base. They should be spring-loaded. After about 10 months, one of my springs broke and didn't make contact with the cup. Ember sent me a new base at no charge.
Incredibly non electronically minded girl here. Anyone want to fix my mugs…yes two of them for a fee less than the 100 for a new mug? I LOVE my ember mugs and have spent countless hours trying to understand why it’s not hot anymore. I’ll mail them and pay for whatever is done. You guys are insane with drilling holes and making special tools. Amazing. I live in AZ.
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My money is on the charger base contacts. Any spilled coffee quickly finds it's way into them.
Try for a replacement from Ember.
Touch the top of each contact and push it down. It should move about a 1/8 of an inch. If you sense no movement then that is your problem. Pick at the stuck one with your fingernail to try and get it up.
I will replace the pair for $10 if you pay for shipping.
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One more thing. There is a soft push-push switch inside the gold rings on the cup base. Maybe it got pushed by accident!
Push it once carefully and try to recharge for an hour.
For reference, you can get replacement spring pins that the base uses at Digi-key. The Digi-key part number is "952-3127-1-ND. Naturally, you'd want to replace both of them.
Taking the base apart is quite simple: Pull back the pad on the bottom to remove just one screw in the middle. The top and bottom will separate easily once that screw it out.
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I did this on a 14 oz mug and made a guide. Ember Mug Battery (14 oz model) Replacement
Annoying but possible.
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You do not need to cut. You can twist the bottom. But only to an angle of about 10 degree, so not very far. You will not be able to twist any further due to the constuction of the locking mechanism. It is diffcult to twist, but it does twist. You can check the alignment of the light and the ember logo, to see if you twisted it. Once twisted you need to seperate the bottom. I used i fixit tools to pry it open. This takes some time and force due to a watertight sealing.
Thanks everyone for their contributions to this thread. I've just successfully replaced the battery on my 14oz Mug 2. The bottom came off by twisting with a rubber glove to gain traction. My bad battery was taped with double sided tape to the circuit board. I used a hairdryer to loosen the tape and remove the battery.
I used this battery https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCG34HWP?ref... as it was slightly cheaper and arrived much faster than other options I could find. The battery is very slightly larger than the original but just barely fits in with a little force. It seems to work roughly as well as the original battery, but I haven't used it enough to really say yet.
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7 Comments
I am unable to find a B0664-LF replacement battery
by Splint
The Ember mug cannot be serviced as there is an anti-tamper locking pin on the metal base lip. The pin could be released by drilling a 2 mm hole at a very acute angle that intercepts the pin. Then pushing the pin out of the way and rotating the bottom section 10 degrees. I have photos 1agkirk2@gmail.com
by Alan Kirk
@alankirk50251 That is something that I was concerned about when doing my teardown; I noted that pin but couldn't be sure of its function due to the head damage to the plastic. If that's the case, they deserve some major negative points for deliberately booby trapping the base so the battery can't be replaced.
by Jerry Wheeler
@alankirk50251 Can you create an answer to this question and post your pictures? I'm sure we'd all love to see what you found.
Adding images to an existing question
by Jerry Wheeler
I've had this problem too. Bought this cup for my wife for Christmas in Dec 2017. Still have original cup. She drinks two cups in the morning every morning. About half the time the cup will glow steady red by the end of the second cup, otherwise it will still pulse white. When done, she then charges the cup. When charged, we take it off the charger and wash the inside and then place it on the dish rack until the next day.
If you think you have a dead cup, first, be sure the problem is not the charger as I've had to replace a copper pin twice over the past seven years.
by Mark Ennes
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