Friday, November 28, 2025 3:39:00 PM
To my mates in the UK: as you know, we can’t buy the ActiPatch in the UK any more. The company says “get it from South Africa,” but shipping is expensive. Good news though: you can still get the KT Tape Recovery+ Wave on AmazonUK. KT Tape is closing out so they won’t last forever, but when that disappears, here are instructions for adding a battery holder to your device when the battery dies instead of tossing it in the bin.
No worries about a warranty because when the battery’s dead you have nothing to lose, and no worries about violating KT Tape’s rights because they’re out of the game.
Thanks to GetSeriousOK and srinsocal for making this possible with their discussion on this message board!
Things you will need:
• 2032 battery
• 2032 battery holder (pack of five costs about 4 quid on Amazon)
• Epoxy
• Solder and soldering skills
• voltmeter
1. Identify the battery terminals (first pic) and cut away the plastic over these terminals second pic). I used a box cutter and a tiny flat screwdriver. You need to scrape away enough plastic to expose the two metal tabs – when they are shiny, you’ve done it! Take your time – this is the most tedious step.
2. Use a voltmeter to identify positive and negative. The battery still has a charge of about 2.5 volts DC. Use a sharpie and mark which is positive and which is negative.
3. Pry away the negative lead and break it. Special thanks to srinsocal for pointing out the important fact that you must disconnect the old battery!
This lead is thin and will break easily. In the picture, you can see it broke at the solder joint on the circuit board. If you’re tempted to use a Dremel cutoff wheel, DON’T! the battery is too close. I used the boxcutter and tiny screwdriver.
4. Cut off this metal lead, and then tin the battery terminals with a small amount of solder. Just a wee dab!
5. Cut the leads on the battery holder and tin those leads. In this example, I cut the red one to about 5cm and the black one to about 8cm
6. Solder the leads to the device. I taped down the leads to the bench first. You don’t need much solder!
7. Test it before continuing. If it worked, you’ll see the green light!
8. Mix some epoxy and coat the leads where you soldered AND apply a generous dollop to the center of the device. I used gray plastic epoxy here, but clear 5-minute epoxy will work just fine. Notice that I’m gluing the battery case to the TOP of the device. Make sure you don’t get any glue on the green light!
9. Rotate the battery holder and hold the battery case to the device, and apply tape to hold it in place while the epoxy sets.
10. After the epoxy dries, remove the tape, and Bob’s your uncle!
The battery holder I used has its own ON/OFF switch but it’s cheap. If it fails, remove that little lever switch and hard-wire the leads inside the battery case.
Cheers!
No worries about a warranty because when the battery’s dead you have nothing to lose, and no worries about violating KT Tape’s rights because they’re out of the game.
Thanks to GetSeriousOK and srinsocal for making this possible with their discussion on this message board!
Things you will need:
• 2032 battery
• 2032 battery holder (pack of five costs about 4 quid on Amazon)
• Epoxy
• Solder and soldering skills
• voltmeter
1. Identify the battery terminals (first pic) and cut away the plastic over these terminals second pic). I used a box cutter and a tiny flat screwdriver. You need to scrape away enough plastic to expose the two metal tabs – when they are shiny, you’ve done it! Take your time – this is the most tedious step.
2. Use a voltmeter to identify positive and negative. The battery still has a charge of about 2.5 volts DC. Use a sharpie and mark which is positive and which is negative.
3. Pry away the negative lead and break it. Special thanks to srinsocal for pointing out the important fact that you must disconnect the old battery!
This lead is thin and will break easily. In the picture, you can see it broke at the solder joint on the circuit board. If you’re tempted to use a Dremel cutoff wheel, DON’T! the battery is too close. I used the boxcutter and tiny screwdriver.
4. Cut off this metal lead, and then tin the battery terminals with a small amount of solder. Just a wee dab!
5. Cut the leads on the battery holder and tin those leads. In this example, I cut the red one to about 5cm and the black one to about 8cm
6. Solder the leads to the device. I taped down the leads to the bench first. You don’t need much solder!
7. Test it before continuing. If it worked, you’ll see the green light!
8. Mix some epoxy and coat the leads where you soldered AND apply a generous dollop to the center of the device. I used gray plastic epoxy here, but clear 5-minute epoxy will work just fine. Notice that I’m gluing the battery case to the TOP of the device. Make sure you don’t get any glue on the green light!
9. Rotate the battery holder and hold the battery case to the device, and apply tape to hold it in place while the epoxy sets.
10. After the epoxy dries, remove the tape, and Bob’s your uncle!
The battery holder I used has its own ON/OFF switch but it’s cheap. If it fails, remove that little lever switch and hard-wire the leads inside the battery case.
Cheers!
