Tamagotchi battery challenges

- This is not the correct way to change the battery -

Our beloved little extraterrestrials cannot live without batteries. On the back of our little eggs therefore, are screws (mostly) which one can unscrew to remove and replace one or more batteries, depending on the type of Tamagotchi. Simple you say? Nay!

A few weeks ago I decided to hatch two of my beloved V's (V2 and V4). After many years of being in a drawer, obviously, the batteries had died as well as the Tamagotchi. The V's I own require these types of batteries:

I searched high and low, but most stores did not sell these types of batteries. I tried grocery stores, pharmacy and a bike store; but they were nowhere to be bought. A friend gave me a tip to go to a jeweler, since these batteries are often used for watches. Off I was to the closest jeweler. After searching for 20 (!!) minutes, the shopkeeper emerged and proudly presented me with a CR2032, unknown brand battery. "How much do they cost?" I asked. He answered (straight faced) with: "15 euro's per battery" (that's about 20 USD). I nearly choked and ran out of the store thinking to myself: "You've got to be kidding me!". Across the street from the jeweler was my favorite gamestore. What the heck, I thought, and asked there for the same battery. They told me that a general goods store a little further up the street should be selling them. Off to the general store I went.

I asked the clerk for the battery I needed. She calmly turned around to a shelve. Picked up a pack with 5 batteries of a well known brand and said: "That'll be 1 euro please." I couldn't believe it. One euro for 5 batteries whilst the jeweler just straight faced told me they were 15 euro's a piece???

It took me two days to get the batteries I needed and I nearly hugely overpaid for them as well. Just to get my sweet Tamagotchi's to beep and be happy again.

But then I got my new iDL. This one needs AAA's. Easy enough. I stack a whole bunch of those at home. Stress free you'd think.

- The back of my iDL e -

I had allready kept my trusted screwdriver I used for my V's at hand. Ready to start the challenge, when I noticed there was no screw to unscrew. There was a little press button. Even easier! I got my Nintendo DS stylus and started fiddling. ..... Uhm.... nothing's happening. Shouldn't it pop open or something??? After resorting to more drastic measures (a pen, as you can see unfortunately) and more fiddling I eventually managed to get it open and replace the batteries.

Another battery challenge victory!

Soon I will get my new Morino. This one requires the same batteries the old P1 and 2 needed. Which are these:

I have read on Tamatalk that these batteries can leak. Destroying your Tamagotchi without you being able to see this when you're buying it (when still in the box). I am holding my breath and praying to the TamaGods that mine will be fine. This is what that horror looks like:

 - A very scary sight for Tamagotchi owners -

Not a pretty sight. The first thing I need to do when the Morino arrives therefore is replace the batteries. However, one cannot use their trusted screwdrivers like the one we use for our V's. We'll need to resort to more specialized tools such as these:

Not only do I need to get these tiny batteries (which don't come cheap at 13 USD per pair), but I also need to buy a toolset of tiny screwdrivers just to open the back up. This Morino is getting costly!

Not only can the battery leak, you can also damage the Tamagotchi yourself. I have heard stories of people unscrewing their Tama and destroying the little screw by using too much force or the screw being so soft it just got all mangled up. When I told my boyfriend (who does a lot of mechanical work) about this, he advised me to put a little thin piece of cloth over the screw before unscrewing. This would protect to screw from getting destroyed. Handy tip for those of you who did not know!

I haven't received the Morino yet. But I have my old P1 and P2 which I will also release from their empty batteries as soon as my new toolkit arrives. I'm just hoping all my Tamagotchi's will be leak-free and beep at me again after replacing the batteries.

Pff.... battery challenges!