How to replace finger batteries with pinky batteries: a simple trick that really works

If you accidentally discovered on a weekend that the AA batteries for your TV remote control are dead and you don't have any spare ones at home, don't panic. You don't need to rush to the store to buy new batteries or sit in front of the TV switching buttons on the case. Ordinary AAA pinky batteries will come in handy.

OBOZREVATEL tells you about an effective method, the reality of which is confirmed by experts.

Of course, an ordinary little finger battery cannot be used instead of its larger "sister" for the simple reason that it will not fit the size and will not be able to close the contacts. But here a piece of aluminium foil will come in handy, which you need to crumple and insert between the battery and the spring.

After that, you can only wonder why you didn't know about this trick before.

This is an ideal solution if you need to replace an AA battery with an AAA battery in a watch, TV remote control, gamepad or other device powered by finger batteries.

Yes, it may seem that this is one of the many online life hacks that only work on viral videos, but in reality are useless. But it's not!

How it works

Arthur Shi, a technical expert at iFixIt, says that "it's definitely a trick that works". He explains that, aside from the different sizes, AA and AAAA batteries are not really that different.

He said that alkaline batteries from size AAAA to size D have the same operating voltage of 1.5 volts, so they can be safely interchanged. The only problem is that the batteries have different sizes and shapes.

The foil, as Shi explained to Popsci, allows the battery to fit into the wrong socket and conduct current. Despite the fact that aluminium foil is not the best conductor, the expert claims that "for low-power devices powered by AA batteries, it will work just fine."

The trick is not without its drawbacks

But don't think that the foil trick will allow you to forget about the need to buy AA batteries.

In addition to the fact that foil is not very durable in this application and should be seen as a temporary solution, pinky batteries also have a lower power than AAA batteries. Therefore, replacing them with pinky batteries is a good solution, but they will not last as long as finger batteries.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL told how to create an "eternal" flashlight from LEDs and a battery.

Subscribe to OBOZREVATEL's Telegram and Viber channels to keep up with the latest news.