Subnautica: Below Zero guide: How to recharge batteries and tools

In Subnautica: Below Zero, several of the tools that keep you alive — like the scanner, habitat builder, or seaglide — run on batteries that lose their charge as you use them, and it’s not immediately clear how to recharge them (aside from just building new tools).

In this Subnautica: Below Zero guide, we’ll explain how to swap batteries in your tools, and how to recharge drained batteries.

How to change batteries

In Subnautica: Below Zero, the green gauge on a tool icon’s right side indicates battery drain (this gauge appears on battery icons as well). There’s no way to recharge the tools themselves. Instead, you have to swap out the battery for a fresh one.

First, make sure you have a fresh battery (2 ribbon plants, 1 copper ore).

Image: Unknown Worlds Entertainment via Polygon

Select your tool from the quick slots along the bottom of your screen (this doesn’t work from your inventory). Press the reload button — on consoles, this is the Square or X button. This will pull up a list of the batteries you have in your inventory. Scroll through them to find a fresh one to load.

Recharging batteries

Once you find the habitat builder (1 wiring kit [2 silver ore], 1 computer chip [2 table coral samples, 1 gold, 1 copper wire], 1 battery) blueprint at Delta Station, you’ll also unlock the blueprints for a battery charger (1 wiring kit, 1 copper wire, 1 titanium) interior module.

Build a battery charger somewhere in your base, and load it with up to four drained batteries. As long as your base has power, you’ll recharge the batteries over time.