Mary, By design, the battery in the standard Sonicare cannot be replaced. For the consumer and the planet, that's a pretty crummy design. To Sonicare's defense however, it probably is easier to design a reliably water tight product if providing internal access isn't something that has to be figured in.
Replacements -- Actually, if you'll Google some more, you find some eBay stores and no doubt additional websites that offer replacement batteries and/or the service of replacing yours. We have no first hand experience about these services other than they exist.
Battery replacement.
Mary, By design, the battery in the standard Sonicare cannot be replaced. For the consumer and the planet, that's a pretty crummy design. To Sonicare's defense however, it probably is easier to design a reliably water tight product if providing internal access isn't something that has to be figured in.
Replacements -- Actually, if you'll Google some more, you find some eBay stores and no doubt additional websites that offer replacement batteries and/or the service of replacing yours. We have no first hand experience about these services other than they exist.
Good luck.