Easiest Open/Fix Philips Sonicare Toothbrush HX686 HX684 ... 

Well I'm gobsmacked. I thought my toothbrush was a goner but I popped the end off, took the insides out , tightened the screw, perfect fix! Thank you!

The Rat strikes again! Your tip to use the #20 screw to remove the charging port end cap was nothing short of brilliant! Thank you for sharing your passion and knowledge for solving problems. Super stoked my Sonicare can be salvaged.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime"...This quote describes this video perfectly. Thanks for sharing Dave. Your detailed tutorial was the best on RU-vid. I truly appreciate your non-destructive approach to opening the handle base. Plus the Loctite screw thread liquid is a great idea. This has happened a few times before and we just sent it back to Phillips for a replacement. Thanks to your video, l can fix it myself next time this happens. This is truly why RU-vid was created for. Cheers!!

DUDE!!!! You saved me some serious money!! I was literally ready to purchase a new one, having looked at a few other DIY videos about fixing a Sonicare and KNOWING it was above my skill set. You explained this SO well and gave me confidence to get the job done. I'm proud of myself and my wife and I are super appreciative. I think you owe you a beverage of your choice or something. Blessings on you!

I hope you are very proud of yourself. This is an excellent video, but you already know that from all of the positive comments. So instead, I thought it'd be cool to paint you a picture of how awesome you are. Let's assume every person that left a comment fixed their toothbrush after watching. There's 500 comments, but you replied to most, so let's say 250 people. The price for a Sonicare ranges from $30-$90+. So lets just use $50 as a rough guess for an average. That's $12,500 that you collectively saved people. But wait. How many views do you have? 117k. I can't imagine that people are coming here if they don't have one or aren't intending to fix it. So let's grab a safe number, a bit less than half the people that watched the video attempted to fix and were able to fix. 50,000 people. Dude. That's freakin' $2,500,000! Two point five million dollars that you likely saved people!!! Could be more! Who knows! Regardless, whatever the true amount is, you have clearly made a huge impact on people's collective finances. Super cool!

One of the most helpful DIY fix videos EVER. You helped fixed my toothbrush. Every hint/tip or trip was extremely clever and helpful (especially with the bolt to remove the bottom cover). I just passed the warranty period and this saved me big time. Thank you!

WOW!!! Using the bolt to take the end cap off is genius. My post was loose and after watching this video, repairing my toothbrush was a breeze. Keep your sonicare running longer by keeping the water out. Always take the brush head off and wipe the water off the motor unit. If you leave the brush head on and stand the toothbrush upright on the base (like I used to do), the water in the brush will eventually seep into the guts of the motor unit and ruin the electronics inside. My first sonicare lasted me a year before it quit working. Not knowing how to open it up, I used force to push down on the post until the bottom broke out. When I pulled the guts out, there was a lot of green from where the water had worked its magic on the circuit board and copper wiring.

Audio nerd AND proud Sonicare repairman thanks to you! Grateful!

Worked like a charm. You are awesome! The repair took less than the length of this video, thank you!

Perfection!! Easily fixed it using your ingenious methods. I would never have had the confidence to get to those tabs but it was easy once you showed us how. Brilliant way to pull the bottom out with the screw. Nice work, thank you.

Thanks for sharing, Dave! Repaired mine in less than 5 minutes after watching your video! I lubed the bottom cap o-ring before snapping it back in. You are tha man...

Thank you so much, Dave! Using your super accurate tutorial, I managed to fix my toothbrush in 5 mins without causing any damage to it.

Thank you Dave this is by far the best method to open the toothbrush without causing any damage. Just to add on here for newer models charging hole is little bigger, so I use screw extractor and it worked like charm. Again thank you.

This has happened to 3 of my Sonicares in the past. So good to know that Sonicare can help, and for the screw method of removing the cap. Best recommendation yet!

Dave, this is one of the best "fix-it" presentations I've seen on RU-vid. Precise and to the point. Thank you!

My husband's toothbrush had this exact issue start yesterday morning. Thanks to your video I was able to fix it without the damage that other methods create on the outer shell. Thank you!

So happy I stumbled onto your video looking if there was a replacement part. I had the same issue as you, can't believe it was just a loose screw. And your way of opening it was perfect, so easy and no damage. Thank you for making the video.

I was in bed watching your video and thought, it can't be that easy. I've had this problem on a previous toothbrush and basically left it looking like a dog had chewed the end off. I just had to get up and try your method. It took me longer to find a quarter inch threaded bolt than to fix it. Brilliant! (this is obviously a design fault, maybe intentional so you'll buy a new toothbrush)

Dave you're a life saver. My exactly the same toothbrush has the same issues. I will open it up and look into it. Thank you!

I had this exact problem with my last Sonicare, but I could not figure out how to open it up without breaking it. Unfortunately I did not find this video until I had already bought a replacement, a cheap Walmart knock-off. Fortunately I did not throw the old Philips away though, so I will use what I have learned here to fix it. Thank you so much for this, Dave. You are a hero for right-to-repair, ending e-waste, and the fight against planned obsolescence. Note: I am glad to see that the Sonicare is made so that the battery can be replaced. The Walmart toothbrush has a rechargeable lithium battery that is only good for about two years. The toothbrush came with instructions for what to do after that. They tell you to break open the handle, cut the wires to the lithium battery, and remove it so it can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. Then you throw the rest of the toothbush in the trash, so it will end up in a landfill. Simply replacing the lithium battery, so that the toothbrush can continue to be used is NOT an option. But now that I look at the instructions for the Sonicare, they tell you to do the same thing! (And now we know why they don't simply put lock-tight on that screw at the factory.)

This video was perfect!! I did the fix in under 60 seconds! Thank you so much.

Incredibly helpful!!! Took me 15 minutes because the bottom piece was tricky and needed some Vice-grip assistance. But everything worked perfectly and saved me $50! Thank you so much!!

Thank you so much for posting this! It worked perfectly. I love the extra tip about adding a piece of paper to help the bolt fit tighter so I could pull off the bottom.

Dave, you nailed it. The simplest method is usually the best. Thanks for the clear instructions.

Brilliant. Fixed within 10 mins of watching this video. Saved me £70+. Thank you.

All I have to say is you are a genius!! I love how you were able to open that up so easily and fix it!! Philips does have great warranty and will replace those but to fix it, especially if it is out of warranty is AWESOME!! I am saving this video for future reference! I have a slightly different model number one but almost positive 99.9% of these must open the same way!! Mine is a HX6423/34. Thanks for sharing this video!! You are helping save people money and saving the earth from more unnecessary trash in the landfills!

Thank you so much! They have sent me a few replacements already.. excellent customer service! But now I saw your video and gave it a try! It works! Im happy I never threw out any of the old ones! Now I have spares!

Thanks a lot for making this video. I had exactly the same problem. The noisy rattling sound. When I opened mine up screw and its little holder came straight out. Fixed now and locktide it for no more worries. Saved my day and the misses is proud of me...Chuffed!!

You know, I was already looking for a wrench and ready to borrow one from a neighbor but the screw worked just fine! Turns out I had a screw laying around that fit exactly! You are a hero my man!! Saved the day!!

Very good idea. It works with two of my Sonicatre toothbrush. Took less than 5 minutes. The tricky part is to release the two clicks. You have to watch that part of the video very carefully to find the right way of doing it.

Thanks so much Dave the bolt method you use to pull out the cap/lid works a treat,my small screw at the head was loose,tighten it up and the job's a good one.

Tried this one two broken Sonicares. Broke one completely... The other one didn't work, but prying it open was easy with a screwdriver. It really does depend on the model. I did however manage to fix the loose holder-end, so this ended up being helpful.

Thank you so much for sharing this DIY repair video! Was going to buy a new toothbrush but saw your video just before. You gave very clear explanations and useful tips! I did repair my old toothbrush and now it works perfectly! You made me save $$$

Thanks Dave, your advice worked and saved me about $100 for replacement toothbrush.

Thank you so much! Your tutorial on how to remove the bottom cap was the best one that I've seen. My toothbrush was safely disassembled thanks to help from this video, and the new part I need is on the way. 😁

I followed your instructions to the letter, and it worked exactly as you described. Thank you so much!

Just here to echo all the other comments of THANKS :) The bolt idea is bang on - and with the addition of a little paper to tighten the grip, bingo!! I had some condensation inside mine which was causing it to short out. Now it works like brand new, and I didn't have to damage it in the process. My Sonicare is 7.5 years going strong, hoping to hit 10!! Thanks for this fantastic tutorial!

Thank you, Dave. The audio is very simple, clear, and practical.

You are a wizard. Leave it to the sound guy to figure out the loud, rattling toothbrush. Gonna tackle my low-charge Sonicare toothbrush today! Mahalo! ~ The Camera Department

Mine sat unused for almost 2 years... 5 minutes later, and it's almost like new (battery is ~50%)... So much better than the cheap sonicare I bought to replace it. Thank You!!

1/4-20! Genius. Forehead-smackingly obvious solution when you pointed it out. The simple ones are always the best (frequently discovered by audio engineer/musicians, but I am somewhat biased in that regard). Much simpler (but a lot less dramatic) than the air compressor method I used the last time I did a repair on my trusty HX9120, this time I was in and out in 10 minutes. And I didn’t have to go out into the freezing cold garage! May all your gigs be beautiful.👍🏻

Wow. Just WOW! I consider myself a "handy guy", but the hack to get the bottom off was super. And then "while I'm at it, add some locktite".....brilliant. Thanks Dave!

Thanks so much! Was about to buy a new one. So proud of myself that I fixed it!

Wish your video to everyone who has this toothbush. Your fix was spot on. I thank you. Perry :)

Dude you are a rockstar! Thanks so much for the video showing how incredibly simple these toothbrushes are to fix. I have a HX686W and the 1/4-20 screw did not bite at all. I used your paper shim trick and that worked perfectly. I hope more people find your video and can fix these perfectly good toothbrushes instead of throwing them in the trash.

Love the simplicity of your approach and guidance! Made me feel " like a Boss" 😅

Thank you so much for this video! We were able to fix 2 of our toothbrushes after watching this. Saved us from having to buy new ones!👍

You are The MAN! Fixed and good as new in 5 min. Thank You for Sharing🤙

Great video! My husband told me tonight that his electric toothbrush was broken and he needed to get a new one. I decided to look and see if there was a way to fix it instead of paying another $100+ for an electric toothbrush. I will be trying this out tomorrow. Thanks for saving us $100+!

Great tutorial thank you so much. I've just repaired my 2 year old HX680 with this issue. The screw that holds the shaft to the motor had completely unscrewed itself and was loose inside. Who knows what those vibrations are doing to my old teeth 😁. A very elegant solution to removing the base cap good engineering there and worked a charm. I think I threw my first Sonic Care away with the same symptoms.

You are a genious. This is by far the best way to open a Sonicare toothbrush. Thanks Dave!

Fantastic. Great video. Much better way to open up the toothbrush than any other video. Took me 2 mins to fix my toothbrush. Better for my wallet and the planet. Really good. Thanks man

Pure genius! Thanks, Dave. I did everything you recommended, and was able to fix my toothbrush. The issue was exactly as you described. Really poor design on Philips's part. My only point of deviation with you is I called Philips, and they told me unless I could produce a year-old receipt for the toothbrush, they wouldn't do anything for me. Who keeps receipts for a year+?

Thanks for this super helpful video! And also to the commenters that mentioned the M7 sized bolts. Everything else was too small or too big. I had to look high and low for the only M7 drawer I think was in the entire store, but I wouldn't have even known to search for it, if not for the comments. Worked perfectly!

Great video! That bolt trick is genius, happy I can fix this thing without damaging my toothbrush.

Super video! Repaired mine in less than waiting time for loctite to dry. Very easy. No damage to case like other methods appear to risk.

Although I don't have a Philips Sonicare toothbrush but,I learn something new. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. This might help someone.

Hello, Dave. Thank you very much for the screw idea - I opened my toothbrush very easily with that method!

You're freaking brilliant. You definitely just saved me a lot of work and damage of the toothbrush. Thank you!

Execelent video. Had the same problem with mine and fixed it in less than 5 minutes. Thanks for sharing!

You are TOTALLY AWESOME. This is so on brand for your stuff. I appreciate the help. !!

Like everyone else here, thank you so much! Same exact issue and you just saved me some serious money.

Thank you for helping me fix my gf's toothbrush, sadly the seal was bad on the top part where the brush attaches, and there was a bit of corrosion, still managed to get it working though! Thank you again!!!

thank you! the best fixing guide out there on youtube especially using the bolt to open the case.

Bless You! Thank you so much! I have bought new ones TWICE before because of that loose tip. I had decided to abandon the Philips because they were not lasting long enough for the price, though the loose tip was the only problem.

Genius opening method! So glad I checked just one more how-to video 😁

Thank you so much, I was about to dispose of my toothbrush when I decided to do a quick repair search. Great video! It worked!

Great video Dave, I was able to fix my toothbrush in less than 5 minutes. I used a tapered self-starting M8x1.25 bolt with the same results. Thanks!

Thank you so much for posting this video! I was so upset when my sonicare started malfunctioning especially because I need the extra power to get around braces. I hate to discard objects that are mostly functioning! Thanks for helping me reduce waste and empower myself to be more fixit minded.

Thank you, Dave, for your video. I thought I would have to get a new Sonicare, but I fixed mine!

Thank you so much. Just fixed my old brush that I was about to throw away. The quarter 20...screw thing made it super easy.

Yes. This way is much easier and quicker. I started to try using a metal spudger but I could see that it was going chew up the plastic a bit. Did another search and saw your easier way of pulling the cap off. Thanks for this video. In case other didn't quite catch what size of bolt or machine screw he said. I bought a 1/4 machine screw and it was the correct size and it worked.

Oh man, this was PERFECT! Thank you! Totally fixed my 4700 series because of that one screw that had no locktight!!!! THANKS!!!

Brilliant, cheers! Took me quite a bit longer than the presenter, but I succeeded. The hole was bigger, so try using paper like he advised to reduce the size. Also, I couldn't get the battery compartment out either; it didn't just pop out, so try tippng it upside down and shaking it downwards. This worked for me.

Great idea for removing the plug compared to all others I saw trying to figure out how to open my sonicare 4100. Simple and effective with no damage. A little loctite, tighten the screw and good to go. Saved $40 bucks if I had replaced it. Thanks

You are truly a man of the people Dave Rat

Thanks dude. Took me longer to find a bolt that would fit. Used a vice to hold the bolt as it was a short one. Matter of minutes once apart.

Great stuff, worked for me with a threaded peg from a bookshelf. The plastic tabs were a bit different on mine, but they worked the same way. I needed to squeeze the case to open a gap, then I could get a tiny screwdriver between the tab and the case, then move the tab in while pushing the whole thing (held upside-down) down onto the table (to maintain tension on tab 1 so it didn't go right back while I moved on to tab 2)

OMG Same issue & now fixed! You're a genius & you know your Audio!!!

Thanks Dave! That’s exactly what happened to my toothbrush and your fix nailed it!🙏🏼😊

Thanks a million Dave, great vid, got Sonicare fixed in minutes with your help.

Dave, you made my day!! I really Appreciate you and what you do. Thanks!!

Now this is how to do repairs. Intelligently done and not a hacker like most do on RU-vid.

Thank you so much for the 1/4”x20 trick. Genius idea!🎉

Thank You Dave!!!! Ingenious bolt trick. Was able to fix my toothbrush thanks to you!

Thank you so so much Dave! Fixed my brush and it works great again!

Just replaced the battery on mine and the bolt in the base trick worked a treat, thank you for the info. However getting the new battery in was rather fiddly but all fixed now and should hopefully last me another 5 years whilst saving ewaste and cash :)

Thanks Dave, just fixed my wife's toothbrush by tightening the screw, happy that this thing won't end up as e-waste for a bit longer!

Thanks for the help! Great idea ok the bolt. Fixed two brushes!

Thanks Dave. Much appreciated for sharing this.

Finally I found the solution for my version of the Sonicare ! Thank you !

Great info. Fixed up my toothbrush in 5 minutes. Thanks!!

Brilliant video and thank you! Worked a charm on my toothbrush.

i had the loose screw. damn thing was ridiculously noisy. fixed in 5 minutes. thank you very much, Dave!

worked for me, when I opened it up lots of moisture, blow dried it out and worked again, thanks for the video

Dave, it worked! You saved me about $70. Thank you!

Can't wait to try this. I thought I'd have to buy a new one..Thank you.

You have just saved us £180! Thank you for putting this video up,

Worked for me! Spent 85 cents on a screw instead of $100 on a toothbrush. Excellent instructions. Thank you!

Very useful tips. I was able to fix my toothbrush thanks to your video. Thank you!