Dell Battery

NEH

My Dell laptop is a year and half old and this morning has come up with a message that my battery is coming to the end of its useful life.....

Is this normal for a Dell laptop that they have to be replaced after such s short time? (had only Dell desktops before)

Is there anywhere I can get one cheaper than the Dell price of £117?

Cat72

Im afraid it is very common with Dell laptop batteries,(with the search for "dell battery problems got 677000 searches on google! ) ,the same thing happend to me after a year.
Here are some posts from moneysavers about dells battery that might help, even for the info.
battery short life
I want a new dell battery
Cheapest price for dell battery
replacement dell battery cost

Unfortunately I have not came up with anywhere to get a cheap replacement as some cheap batterys can go on fire- kind of puts you off.

NEH

Cat72 wrote: »

Im afraid it is very common with Dell laptop batteries,(with the search for "dell battery problems got 677000 searches on google! ) ,the same thing happend to me after a year.
Here are some posts from moneysavers about dells battery that might help, even for the info.
battery short life
I want a new dell battery
Cheapest price for dell battery
replacement dell battery cost

Unfortunately I have not came up with anywhere to get a cheap replacement as some cheap batterys can go on fire- kind of puts you off.

Thanks, does seem to be common them going up in flames, not sure what to do really as I can't afford £117 with having no job at the moment. The latop only works when it's plugged in so think i'll have to put up with that until it conks out completely and then resort back to my 5 year old desktop....

marsden_pete

what laptop is it?

try http://www.laptopsandspares.com/ they seem to be amoung the cheapest around

NEH

marsden_pete wrote: »

what laptop is it?

try http://www.laptopsandspares.com/ they seem to be amoung the cheapest around

It a Vostro 1700....

Will check that out thanks...

John_Gray

How long a battery lasts depends significantly on how it's treated. Lots of Googleable stuff on the best way of making it last.

fwor

I wouldn't worry too much about batteries catching fire while being charged - it does happen occasionally, but if you look at the mass recall of original batteries by Sony (and others) last year, you're probably as likely to have it happen with an original expensive one as a cheap(ish) £30 compatible from Hong Kong/China.

Cat72

NEH wrote: »

Thanks, does seem to be common them going up in flames, not sure what to do really as I can't afford £117 with having no job at the moment. The latop only works when it's plugged in so think i'll have to put up with that until it conks out completely and then resort back to my 5 year old desktop....

Yes I know what you mean, its a lot of money at anytime and with new laptops costing about £249 it seems ridiculous.
I have just stuck to keeping it plugged in ,which kind of goes against the fact its a laptop and mobile !! I have done this for over a year.
Some places have plug points in them anyway as does some trains.

Its a hard descion about what to do- if you do get a cheap battery let me know how you get on with it.

If it helps any I was at a police auction at the weekend and a dell laptop and HP laptop sold for £50 each- they were in full working order.Be worth getting one just for the battery !

I eventually got offered a good deal for on my phone contract so took that and got a netbook instead. Im really happy with that and its not a dell .Much lighter to carry than the dell and you can pick these up cheap when you do have some cash and maybe sell your old laptop.

hanwellmike

My Dell Inspiron 6400 battery also died after less than 2 years. The cheapest replacement I found was on Amazon for about £60 and it was a genuine Dell battery, so I thought a good deal. It arrived quickly as well.

gjchester

NEH wrote: »

My Dell laptop is a year and half old and this morning has come up with a message that my battery is coming to the end of its useful life.....

Is this normal for a Dell laptop that they have to be replaced after such s short time? (had only Dell desktops before)

Is there anywhere I can get one cheaper than the Dell price of £117?

To be honest it's not related to the fact it's a Dell at all. All makes of Laptop batteries are prone to failure and that's why batteries are usually given a 6 month Warranty in whereas the rest of the laptop has 12 months.

You can get cheaper batteries as has been quoted and yes they are rather expensive against the price of a laptop, but thats just a fact of life with laptops. Work laptops after a years of hard use usually need new batteries, and we just replace the batteries, it's seen as just part of the total cost of ownership of a laptop.

The "best way" to kill a battery is to use it until there is very little left in it (or the laptop shuts down) and leave it without charging up for a while, in most cases (and this also related to anything with Lithium Ion batteries, ie ipods, phones, etc) after a month they self discharge to less than 2.5V per cell and that it, Nothing will bring them back and they need to be replaced.

Cat72

I know what you are saying about batteries wearing down but I rarely used my laptop and the battery wore down.
If I had been using it everyday fine, but it packed in within a very short space of time.
I do genuinely think that Dell have a problem with them.