Root BE CAREFUL with those Cheap Hong Kong Ebay Batteries!!

[scudder]

Posting a little CAVEAT EMPTOR - BUYER BEWARE warning for everyone...

Many months ago I picked up a couple REAL CHEAP batteries on ebay....2 batteries PLUS a wall charger for like $9.99 shipped! You've seen these before...basic 1500 mAh replacement batteries:

And here are a couple other views....just "stock battery size"...fits into the EVO without any special battery cover:

I KNEW what I was getting...reeeeeally cheap batteries!! But I figured "...it'll probably last a couple months then die and I'll buy them again."

Well, surprisingly, the batteries lasted probably about 6-8 month before they just were NOT holding a charge very well. One of the batteries I had would lose basically ALL of its charge in less than an hour. So, I decided it was time to retire the batteries and look for another set or something else.

I kept the batteries in a drawer and wound up buying a couple Galilio 2000 mAh batteries to replace the original and the cheap one from Hong Kong. Everything was great and for a couple months I never even looked at the old Hong Kong batteries that I kept. Then, one day I looked in my drawer and found this with one of the batteries:

Um....LITTLE PROBLEM, NO!!?? See something a BIT WRONG HERE!!??

I'll say!! Something inside the battery went wrong...wrong enough to EXPAND THE CASING like you see!! In hindsight I was probably VERY VERY lucky that this didn't EXPLODE while in my phone!! And I know that this was the battery that was really not holding the charge too well (dead within an hour). Check out the difference between the batteries...the blown-up one and a "normal" one!!:

!!!!!

So, as I said at the beginning....BE CAREFUL!! BUYER BEWARE!! This is NOT to say that ALL the batteries from various sources in Hong Kong and China will do this, however, UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU PAY FOR!! You might, as I originally thought, get a few months of use form the battery and discard it. OR you might NOT be so lucky and have this occur while the battery is in your phone!!

BTW, I mentioned the Galilio battery above and DEFINITELY RECOMMEND it. I think I paid about $22 for a two LEGITIMATE Galilio battery months ago but the price is higher now. They are rated at 2000 mAh so you get a nice bit more juice than the stock and it fits right in the standard battery compartment. Here is a quick link to the battery on ebay and a picture if/when the ebay link expires:

HTC EVO 4G Extended Slim Battery Galilio 2000mAh | eBay

Also saw another ebay auction for TWO supposed Galilio batteries for about $7 with a charger!! I would be a weeee bit wary of that one...just shop around for a good price from a reputable seller

Anyway, sharing a lesson learned...and LUCKY that the lesson wasn't damaging!!

 

[takirb]

I bought the same kinda deal from eBay with the 2 batteries plus charger, but only one of my batteries has expanded that way. I figures it was cause I didn't use it much and it stayed plugged into the charger 24/7 attached to my dash in the hot sun all summer. My other battery stayed in my house unplugged and only charged/used when needed, and it still holds a charge and is shaped "normally" lol good head's up!

 

[Frogbone]

I had the same batteries as well and I experienced the loss of charge after about 7 months or so.

They both expanded but not as bad as the one pictured in the OP.

I thought it could have been caused by my SBC kernel I used but now I am not so sure.

I suppose you get what you pay for although the wall charger is kinda nice ;-)

 

[scudder]

I had the same batteries as well and I experienced the loss of charge after about 7 months or so.

They both expanded but not as bad as the one pictured in the OP.

I thought it could have been caused by my SBC kernel I used but now I am not so sure.

I suppose you get what you pay for although the wall charger is kinda nice ;-)

Yeah, I actually still use the wall charger....I had two wall chargers from Hong Kong but one had the prongs to go into the electrical socket out!!

 

[Expl0sive]

You get what you pay for. I learned this lesson about 3 years ago with a laptop charger. Toshiba wanted $70 for the oem one. Ebay had a similar one for $25. I noticed that the Ebay one was immensely lighter than my original. Five weeks later, the AC adapter popped while I was using my laptop. I didn't even bother with contacting the seller for a replacement.

 

[scudder]

You get what you pay for. I learned this lesson about 3 years ago with a laptop charger. Toshiba wanted $70 for the oem one. Ebay had a similar one for $25. I noticed that the Ebay one was immensely lighter than my original. Five weeks later, the AC adapter popped while I was using my laptop. I didn't even bother with contacting the seller for a replacement.

Hey...QUOTE an appropriate name of yours...Expl0sive...to be commenting on this thread!!

 

[9to5cynic]

Sheesss. I have a cheap online battery replacement (it's actually slightly lower mAh than the OEM battery), but I haven't used it for that reason. I become increasingly weary of it as I get closer to charging / using it.

Thanks for posting this. It's also a bit troubling that this isn't an isolated incident... at least we know that this is a real issue (and not a freak happening).

 

[batness]

Creepy!
I've had two of the "same" batteries (ebay, looks the same) for almost a year with no expanding. Weird!

 

[ocnbrze]

yeah i do not know why you guys mess with ebay batteries. that is one thing that i do not trust especially with be still beloved evo. this is what i bought off of amazon.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003L2VERC/ref=wms_ohs_product. it said standard battery but it is actually an 1800mAh battery!!! plus it is only 4.99.