The Data Frog SF2000 is a small and cheap handheld that’s been popular because of its low price. It can emulate NES, Game Boy, and Game Boy Color games just fine but it struggles with anything above that. After recent firmware updates, Game Boy Advance and SNES games seem to perform much better.
There is one small flaw that does cause some concern however. There’s a nice post summarizing the concern by Reddit user zzap129 in this post.
Apparently the Data Frog SF2000 when left on will continue to discharge the battery even when the battery is depleted. This is pretty dangerous as recharging an over discharged lithium ion battery can cause it to catch on fire and/or explode.
There is a hardware mod someone made to prevent the DataFrog from doing this but I can’t seem to find the post anymore. There is a much simpler fix and that is to buy a protected 18650 cell. A protected cell has circuitry built into the cell to prevent over charging, over discharging, over heating, and more.
Now swapping the battery isn’t 100% necessary because replacing these batteries are on the expensive side and in some cases can be around the same cost as the console itself. All you have to do is to remember to always, and I mean always, turn the device off when not in use. If you gave the device to a young child, I would recommend swapping out the battery as soon as possible.
There is a guide from Reddit user parametrek listing out reputable sellers of 18650 cells. The basic advice is to avoid buying anything on Amazon, Ebay, Aliexpress, Temu, and to avoid buying any cells that claim they are above 3600mAh. This is due to the large amount of counterfeit cells that can also present a fire hazard. You can visit this post to see if there are any reputable resellers near you. If there are none, visiting a vape shop or a specialty store are other options.
*Important Note* If you do plan on buying a new 18650 cell, make sure you pay attention to the size of the battery. Often times, protected cells with have tiny circuitry that makes the battery a tiny bit longer or some batteries will have a new wrapping that makes it a tiny bit thicker or both. The new battery may not fit in the Data Frog in these cases. Always double check the dimensions before purchasing! Apologies for not mentioning this sooner as some people bought replacement cells that did not fit.
R35s Battery Flaw
As a side note, some users have reported their R35s consoles designed in such a way where the screws are impacting the lithium ion battery over time as it expands and almost puncturing the battery. That’s a spicy pillow indeed. This is also a fire hazard. Retrohandheld enjoyers are definitely living life on the edge.
This post comes from Reddit user DystopiaXP and it’s a very welcome post. If you guys have a r35s or a collection of older handhelds just sitting in a drawer somewhere, I would recommend taking a look at the batteries and removing them from devices you don’t use anymore. I would also take them to a facility that properly disposes these batteries because these things are just a fire waiting to happen.
Now I don’t think these devices are catching on fire and exploding frequently because otherwise you would hear of such things all the time. Even if the risk of catching on fire is relatively low, you’re essentially spending a few minutes of your time to remove batteries from unused devices and at most spending a few dollars to replace a battery. At worst you wasted a few minutes of your time and some money that wouldn’t have been enough to buy a so-called value meal at McDonald’s at this point, and at best you prevented a fire from starting.
Take this information as you will. Obviously everything can be faked on the internet but this information seems to be reliable enough.
Hope this helped and catch you guys next time. Avoid those spicy pillows.
Changelog
02-29-24 – My apologies, I forgot to mention that some protected 18650 cells are taller than the original and may not fit in the Data Frog SF2000. The article has been updated to reflect this possibility.
Ducky Obrien 