Hi Stooby, There's no panel to get at the battery. I'm not sure if it is soldered in. It looks like there are some screws on the back (under the rubber feet) but I've not got my screwdriver out to look at the battery. Even if the batter was reduced from 8,000 pages to 800, that's more than enough for most novels. Alternatively, you can use it while it's charging. T