MSI motherboard CMOS battery obsolescence

MSI motherboard CMOS battery obsolescence

Basic Information
Release Year	2025-Current
Product Type	PC Motherboards
In Production	Yes
Official Website	https://us.msi.com/Motherboards/Products

MSI Manual Citation

Consumer-impact summary

Mainboard CMOS CR2032 battery is no longer contained within a standard easily accessible clip-mount holder. Instead the CMOS battery is hidden beneath the Voltage Regulator Module (VRM) heatsink assembly, and is affixed to the mainboard via a lead, and mounted with adhesives and shrink-wrap plastic. All current models (2025-2026) of motherboard have a line of text in the user manual that states the following:

● This product contains an irreplaceable battery.

This is False. The battery is a standard CR2032 battery. It is not rechargeable, or unique, and is replaceable, with some extended effort.

While the battery remains a standard CR2032 coin battery, and the mounting mechanism is not completely inaccessible, due to this misleading language in the manual and obfuscated location of the battery, it is a blatant attempt to make the mainboard obsolete when the battery dies. Replacement requires service from an experienced technician, leading to more device turnover. For 40 years, replacing a CMOS battery has required locating the battery on the face of the mainboard, pressing a clearly marked tab and removing the old battery out of the standardized component clip slot, and putting a replacement one in its place. There is no reason to have changed this.

Workarounds

If your CMOS battery dies and needs replacing, here are some steps to follow to replace your 'unreplacable' battery.

• Obtain a new standard CR2032 battery.
• Un-mount your mainboard from your computer case and look for several screws on the reverse side of the board. Removing these allows you to remove the VRM heatsink.
• Be mindful of the exposed thermal pads, and keep them clean while performing this process. Cover exposed pads with plastic wrap if your work environment is not clean.
• If your model contains an RGB lighting assembly on the VRM heatsink watch for the cable that is attached to the mainboard to enable this. Remove that cable if present.
• Locate the CMOS battery and unplug the leads. The leads should be a pair of black and red wires leading to a miniature mainboard plug. Unplug the connector.
• Dismantle the wrapping on the battery unit itself and use a tackwelder or some electricians tape to re-anchor leads to the terminals and replace the battery. Low thermal tack welding with nickle strips is preferred for longevity purposes, absent the tools to do that, tape will suffice.
• Encase the new battery with electrical tape and re-mount it near the original location. Standard double sided foam tape should function nicely for this.
• Replace the VRM heatsink, ensuring good contact across all thermal pads, and reconnecting the RGB lighting connector if it is present.
• Re-Anchor the screws on the opposing side of the PCB.

Congratulations. Your battery has now been changed.

Products

MSI Motherboards 2025-2026(Current)

References

https://consumerrights.wiki/w/File:CSWiki-MainboardBatteryMSI_IrreplaceableBatt.png

https://consumerrights.wiki/w/File:CSWiki_MSIZ890Assembled.jpg

https://consumerrights.wiki/w/File:CSWiki-MainboardBatteryMSI.png