U550 maintenance

The Samsung SCH-U550 is an older-style flip phone that doesn't see much use today. If you still have an SCH-U550 and you need to replace its battery, here's how.

First it's a good idea to turn the phone off. (You don't have to, but there's less chance of data being corrupted if you do.) Hold down the End button for a couple of seconds until you see the phone start to power down, then the screen will go black.

Once the phone is off, turn it over so you're looking at the back side. Most of the back cover, from the bottom about 2/3 of the way up toward the top, is one piece. To remove the cover, push down on it with your thumb and slide it downward. If you press on it closer to the top it will be easier to slide, but you may have to push firmly.

With the cover off, you should be staring at the battery. It's black and rectangular, and it probably says "Samsung" on it. Remove the battery by sliding your thumb into the groove on the bottom side and lifting it up.

When installing the new battery, slide it in from the bottom up -- towards the three gold pins sticking out of the phone. Those pins should line up with the three gold contacts on the battery itself. The battery will also probably have an arrow on it, in the direction that you should slide it.

With the new battery in, reattach the rear cover. There are three tabs sticking out of the top of the cover that will line up with three notches in the back side of the phone. Insert the tabs about halfway into the notches, then push the cover down (toward the phone) and slide the tabs the rest of the way in to snap the cover into place.

Now just turn your phone on to verify that the new battery works. If your phone doesn't turn on, remove the battery and reinstall it, being certain that the contacts and pins are touching and that everything fits into place.