New battery forToshiba laptop?

Manxman_in_exile

My 6 year old laptop is telling me that it needs a new battery. Any advice please on where/how to obtain a replacement. (Stupid question, I know!)
I’m not looking for the cheapest deal available just for the sake of it – I’ve seen far too many threads on other boards where people have gone for deals that look “too good to be true” and regretted it afterwards. I’m just looking for a reasonable price from a reliable supplier, but I also don’t really want to pay through the nose by going to the manufacturer (where I assume I’ll be paying a premium). Happy to purchase via internet (if reliable supplier) or buy locally from a store. I’m based in Norfolk.
It’s a Toshiba Satellite C650 – 154 (according to original John Lewis invoice). I’ve got the laptop’s serial no. and part no.
The manual says it needs a lithium – ion 3 or 6 cell battery (depending on model).
Not entirely sure of the model, but I’m presuming it’s a C650 and not a Pro C650D (the manual covers both models). Do I need to access the battery first to confirm part no. etc to identify precisely what battery I need to buy?
Had a quick look on Google but that only confused me!
Only got the battery warning yesterday. Can I keep running it safely on mains via the A/C adaptor or is that likely to cause problems?
Thanks.

bod1467

Wait until NiftyDigits sees this ... he tends to know where to get batteries for older laptops.

Might be worth replying with the serial number or some other reference that might help clarify exactly which model you have.

AJXX

http://www.laptopsandspares.com/toshiba-satellite-c650-154-battery-1?gclid=CM6Gtq_b78oCFVKZGwodVzMFNw&ppcsclkid=enTdNsJfr0xe&ppcstrkid=1524826782&ppcsu=xhg7f5djqdraillihkin

£40

mustang121

You will find genuine Toshiba batteries and chargers on Amazon.


Just a warning if do you look on Amazon. Make sure you are NOT buying a cheap Chinese battery or charger.


Copy Right means nothing to the Chinese and they will often put on European Safety Standard trade marks simply for show.

NiftyDigits

The generics start from around £11. You can search using any of these part numbers: TOSHIBA PA3634U-1BAS PA3635U-1BRM PA3816U-1BRS PA3818U-1BRS PABAS201 PABAS229 PA3634U-1BRS PA3638U-1BAP PABAS117 PABAS227 PA3635U-1BAM PA3816U-1BAS PABAS178 PABAS228

Lavolta products come in at double that, but claim to have passed the required safety standards.

londonTiger

dont buy generic. I bought 2 chinese ones that failed within months, for the money I spent I could have bougt OEM.

forgotmyname

So many cheap generic batteries, they may claim to be 10,000mAh and last 100 hours between charges. Most people wont have the eqipment to test them fully and wont notice if it lasts a reasonable time.

When tested the capacity often falls way short and maybe less than a quarter of the rated capacity.

Most laptop batteries are built up from 18650 cells, 3 cells will be 11.1 - 12.6 volts and probably 2000mAh. 6 cells will be 4000mAh.

Getting higher mAh ratings costs money and they tend not to do that, they wany quantity not quality. Anything claiming to be higher than 2000 for a 3 cell or 4000 for a 6 cell is probably fake.

The 2000 cells maybe anywhere between 600mAh and 2000mAh. If your really unlucky you may even get less than 600 which they fill with sand or flour to bulk up the weight.

I bought a torch that came with some free batteries claimed to be 6800mAh so i knew they were fake right away. But they were free.. Tested them expecting to see 600mAh and surprised they are actually over 1000mAh, but not much over.

See this... (mute the sound if you hate the music)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOshOXcSkDA

spannerzone

mustang121 wrote: »

You will find genuine Toshiba batteries and chargers on Amazon.


Just a warning if do you look on Amazon. Make sure you are NOT buying a cheap Chinese battery or charger.


Copy Right means nothing to the Chinese and they will often put on European Safety Standard trade marks simply for show.

Unfortunately there are many fakes on Amazon too, often getting good reviews because Amazon have 1 item with multiple sellers, so some items from a seller might be legit, another seller sells fake items on the same listing.

The fake chargers look very convincing and work, usually, but are incredibly unsafe with fake approvals and fake 13amp fuses in the plugs. I got one (knowing it was likely a fake) and the case of the powersupply popped apart easily, no internal fuse, likely to electrocute and the mains lead was just as bad... but it looked very genuine until examined closely.

londonTiger

It's very unlikely you'll find someone selling an OEM Toshiba battery for a 6 year old laptop. Nobody wants to sell OEM batteries fr such an old laptop because the stock will shift very slowly and the store owner will probably sit on the batteries for months on end before it sells.

Sites like amazon will be flooded by third party sellers who claim to sell OEM quality batteries, but they will always be cheap knock offs. Some of them are British established resellers so they may have slightly better quality than straight chinese factory non-branded ones they longevity and reliability will still be questionable.

I beleive this site is genuine Toshiba supplier and they will sell genuine batteries for your laptop. Brace yourself it is expensive and may cost 1/2 value of your laptop: http://www.toshiba-parts.co.uk/Satellite/C650-154/PSC12E-00M00DEN/K000125850

I had the same issue for my 6 year old asus ul30a. Battery lasts 30 mins max. So I always have it plugged in. I can buy genuine for asusparts.eu but they will charge the same RRP as yours/

I elected to just have it running off charger. I bought a in-car charger for £10. I always use the laptop while in my car or office anyway so no harm done.

londonTiger

I thought I I might have accidently found a reputable soure for genuine oem batteries. I found part master. Co. UK which is owned by dsg retail group but seems to be a bit dodgy. If you search for Asus ul30a battery then a battery will show up with title Asus ul30a battery without the Asus logo. It looks like an Asus oem but then if you just search ul30a battery then they will show a different listing with the same stock number but with classic power brand name.

I think if someone is searching with the Asus name they hide the aftermarket brand. But those who just search for model name and aren't bothered about the oem brand name they just list the aftermarket brand

Manxman_in_exile

Thanks all who replied.


I was weighing up what to buy when the battery warning light disappeared and it seems to be running ok again now.


Battery life has certainly deteriorated over time but, as I don't use it as a portable, I'll keep it running on the AC adaptor.


Thanks