Why won't my game save?

Hi Jasmine,

The issue is not with the console, but with the game itself. Certain gameboy games, especially gameboy color games, contain save files that are reliant on a soldered-in battery within the cartridge. This means that if the battery inside the cartridge dies, the board will lose its ability to retain and overwrite a save file. Don't worry, though! This is a very common issue with these games as they are 10-30 years old, and their battery life is estimated at 5-9 years in most cases. Dead save batteries are especially prominent in games like Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver, due to the internal clock function these games possess. The internal clock tends to drain the battery over time. But other games are just as prone to losing their ability to save over time. There is an easy remedy to this, though. Simply replace the battery in the cartridge, and you will be able to enjoy your games again! To do this, however, you must have a soldering iron and a 3.8mm security bit (tool used to open the cartridge). The battery inside of the cartridge can be replaced in as little as three steps:

1. open the cartridge

2. desolder the battery contacts from the board (note: do not make contact between the battery and the soldering iron for obvious safety reasons)

3. install the new battery by soldering its contacts onto the board

After following these steps, just reassemble the cartridge and enjoy your game! In case you cannot find the proper CR2025 batteries and the appropriate bit, I have included a link below for the items. I, personally, have shopped from this seller and can vouch that their stuff is legit. They do take a dreadfully long time to ship, so I would shop around for a similar listing if possible. https://www.ebay.com/itm/X5-Game-Boy-GB-... Happy fixing!

I am having the same problem on Mario Land 2. I have replaced it with the correct CR1616 battery, tested both contacts after installed, have confirmed it's getting the 3volts needed, yet it still is not saving. Can anyone shed some light on this? All forums explain how to replace the battery, which I have done, but it still is not saving.

Thanks you.

Its the battery that the file saves on in the cartridge i believe its a CR2025 lithium battery and you will need a 3.8mm security bit to open up the cartridge

You said it was a Gameboy Color game, this Narrows down details. Look on the back, if the screw is Phillips, your game is a bootleg. This means that it was produced illegally by someone trying to make profit, and instead of being a real manufactured game, someone just put a ROM dump on it. Also look at the top of the back, if it says nothing on the little bar, it is also a bootleg. Look on the front, if the label looks a bit sketchy, or the top reads "GAME" it's a bootleg.

The reason you don't want a bootleg game is because if you have one, the battery is going to be really unreliable and won't work right.

Need to check your internet speed and connection. Or you are doing it in wrong way. Check first.

online game

I don’t want to have to buy a battery, but i’ll see what i can do. When i shake the cartridge (the first time wasn’t on purpose) it sounds like something is rattling around in there.

Hi Jasmine,

The issue is probably not with the gaming console of your, but with the game card itself. A lot of Gameboy games, especially Gameboy color games, contain save files that are reliant on a soldered-in battery within the cartridge. This means that if the battery inside the cartridge dies, the board will lose its ability to retain and overwrite a save file. Don't worry, though! This is a pervasive issue with these games as they well over twenty years old, and their battery life is estimated at ten years max. Dead save batteries are especially prominent in games like Mario, Donkey kong due to the internal clock function these games possess. The internal clock tends to drain the battery over time. But other games are just as prone to losing their ability to save over time. There is a natural remedy for this, though. Replace the battery in the cartridge, and you will be able to enjoy your games again hopefully! In order to do this, you must have a soldering iron and a 3.8mm security bit. The battery inside of the round can be replaced with in of couple minutes of work.

First, open the cartridge, then desolder the battery contacts from the board and install the new battery. This should be quite easy; the only problem is to get high-quality batter for your Gameboy, which might be quite hard considering when they stopped making those.

That is the problem of me too as my game is also not been saved so many times, run 3 game for all online.

Try opening the game cartage and find a battery inside of the cartage. Then replace it then maybe the save will work.