About this replacement
Creative Zen Neeon Series — 3.7V Li-Polymer Replacement Battery (BA20603R79906)
This is a 3.7V 850mAh Li-Polymer replacement battery for the Creative Zen Neeon, Zen Neeon 2, and Zen Neeon DAP-MD0005 portable media players. OEM part number BA20603R79906. It fits the slim battery bay on all three models and matches the original connector and BMS handshake.
- Zen Neeon, Neeon 2, and DAP-MD0005 compatibility: All three models share the same 3.7V single-cell Li-Polymer architecture, connector pinout, and BMS communication protocol — that's why one cell covers the full lineup.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We ran this cell through charge and discharge cycles on a Zen Neeon unit. The BMS accepted normal charge current without triggering protection cutoff, and the voltage curve matched the original cell's discharge profile.
- First charge after install: Media players store for years before resale or repair. If the device won't respond after fitting this battery, connect the charger and leave it for 30 minutes before pressing power — the BMS needs a slow trickle to exit deep-discharge lockout before accepting normal current.
Battery percentage jumping erratically after a cell swap
The Zen Neeon reads battery level by mapping voltage thresholds against a stored discharge curve. After fitting a new cell, that curve no longer aligns with the fresh cell's actual voltage behaviour. The indicator will jump — sometimes from 80% to 20% in minutes — until the firmware recalibrates. Run two or three full charge-to-depletion cycles and the display will stabilise.
Playback cutting out before the battery indicator hits empty
The audio amplifier inside the Zen Neeon draws a short current spike when driving headphone output at higher volumes. At the end of a discharge cycle, cell voltage sags under that load even when the indicator still shows charge remaining. The device interprets the voltage drop as a protection event and cuts audio. Keeping playback volume below 75% smooths out the sag and the device will drain closer to the true empty threshold.