Sony NW-HD5 LIP-880 Replacement Battery 3.7V 980mAh

Sony NW-HD5 Series — 3.7V Li-ion Replacement Battery (LIP-880)

This is a 3.7V, 980mAh Li-ion replacement battery for the Sony NW-HD5 series of portable digital audio players, including the NW-HD5, NW-HD5B, NW-HD5S, and NW-HD5 Silver. It replaces OEM part numbers LIP-880, LIP-880PD, LIP-880PD-B, and 2-632-807-11. The cell fits the original battery bay without modification and connects via the factory connector.

• NW-HD5 series compatibility: All NW-HD5 variants share the same battery bay dimensions, voltage rail, and LIP-880 connector pinout. One replacement cell covers the full range of HD5 models without adaptation.
• Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this cell in an NW-HD5 unit and confirmed the BMS accepted a full charge without fault codes, held voltage above 3.5V through the bulk of the discharge curve, and tripped the low-voltage cutoff at the correct threshold before the device shut down.
• First charge after cell swap: After installing a new cell, charge fully before first use. The NW-HD5 firmware often detects a low-state cell as a deep-discharge condition and may show no charging activity for the first 20–30 minutes while trickle current brings the cell above the threshold for normal charge acceptance.

Battery percentage jumping after cell swap on the NW-HD5

After fitting a new LIP-880 cell, the NW-HD5 battery indicator may jump erratically — showing 80%, then 40%, then 90% across short sessions. The player's fuel gauge is calibrated against voltage thresholds set by the original aged cell, not the new one. The firmware needs two or three full charge-and-discharge cycles to recalibrate its voltage-to-percentage mapping. Run the player down to automatic shutdown, then charge fully, and repeat — the indicator stabilises by the third cycle.

Playback cutting out before the battery indicator reads empty

Some NW-HD5 units cut audio and shut down while the indicator still shows one or two bars remaining. The audio amplifier draws a current spike during output, and at the tail end of the Li-ion discharge curve — where cell voltage drops steeply — the amplifier can pull voltage below the BMS cutoff threshold before the indicator catches up. This is a voltage sag issue, not a capacity issue. If it happens consistently, charge the cell to 4.2V and confirm the player runs normally from full charge; if cutoff still triggers early, check that the battery contacts are clean and making full contact.