Where to buy decent (genuine) mobile phone batteries?

[Lobster]

Looking for one my son's LG Nexus 4.

Everywhere you look, suppliers say "Genuine LG item" etc but I know from bitter experience that this is usually twaddle; and it's all too easy to end up with a fake which expires within weeks.

There's a plausible one on Amazon here, which says by "LG Electronics" here:

however, lower down the page it then says "Dispatched from and sold by Glitzy Gizmos" which doesn't exactly inspire confidence, does it?

In this case it's not even an option (for me) to go back to the manusfacturer as according to them the battery is not user-replaceable (although it's perfectly possible if you have half a clue) and it needs to go back to them to be fixed...

So how to end up with a genuine one?

Thoughts?

[Santo Brown]

Buy it from a major LG reseller.

See what the Amazon reviews say about it.

Even if it isn't genuine, it should last fine.

[Richard]

Rod, you shouldn't be so ashamed of yourself that you feel the need to constantly change nyms.

[Richard]

Reading the reviews at your link, I'd give those a miss.

Having searched a bit, my instinct would be to try these guys:

I'd phone and decide on the basis of a conversation with them

I have never dealt with this company and have no affiliation.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Buy from Ebay and pay with PayPal. If it 'expires within weeks' you'll have no problem getting your money back.

[Muddymike]

I have been caught out by a supposedly genuine Nokia battery. It looked good, even had a fancy hologram, fully charged it lasted 48 hours on standby!

Mike

[Scion]

Lobster put finger to keyboard:

Buy one that is "sold by and dispatched from Amazon".

[newshound]

+1

I have bought numerous phone and camera batteries this way (and from Amazon), some supposedly genuine and others definitely clones, and have never had a problem.

Often half the price of the official item, so you are still in pocket if

10% of them fail. You get a pretty good feel for reliability by looking at Amazon and eBay feedback. Recently I think I have detected "fake" Amazon reviews on items with only a handful of reviews (look for things like them all being posted on the same date).

[alan_m]

Also avoid the batteries that claim to have 2x+ the capacity of the originals (even for phones that came out last week).

[Muddymike]

The problem with Amazon reviews is you can't tell which seller it was supplied by.

Mike

[Theo Markettos]

For a small number of weeks, it might. But the trouble is that it might only last a couple of months, or the capacity might rapidly head south after the first few dozen charges. That's the problem with batteries - fakes still work, they just don't have the endurance of the real thing.

Theo

[stuart noble]

Anything from a company called Bilitong has worked well for me. Clearly of recent manufacture, with retail packaging. "Original" or "genuine" are the last things you need

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd doubt that a 'fake' would have anything like the capacity of the genuine item, so should be obvious from day one.

I recently bought a couple of electronic cigarette batteries from Ebay at I suppose a suspiciously low price. And they did have a much lower capacity than stated. Got no reply from the seller, and Ebay refunded the money in full, without having to return them.

[Theo Markettos]

There are 'fakes', where the battery is half full of filler and has half the capacity. Those should be obvious.

There are 'fakes' where you thought you were getting a Samsung (or whatever) battery but you got one from no-brand line - that means the chemicals might not be as pure, as stable, the electrodes might not be as robust - these will probably work, but have reduced cycles - or maybe they just wear out and die one day

There are 'fakes' which were made on the genuine line, but rejected. These might have the right components etc but a manufacturing defect. They could have reduced capacity, reduced cycles, more likelihood of explosion - could be anything.

Then there are 'fakes' which are made on the genuine line 'moonlighting'. If the QC is in place, those might work as well as the genuine ones. (But QC might not operate - saves explaining why the reject bin is twice as full as expected)

Bottom line is you just can't tell from looking at them.

I bought a laptop replacement battery from a UK supplier - I took a lot of effort to find one that wasn't a front for a Chinese company. The battery worked, then after about 6 months it died (laptop wouldn't charge it). I sent it back, they sent me another. After another 6 months that one died in the same way. The genuine Dell battery lasted about 4 years.

Theo

[RayL12]

Hi :-)

I was after a Samsung U900 battery. I used Ebay and found one for £6.50. Thinking this was a good find, I ordered.

Along with the battery came a miniature circuit board? I put the battery in the phone. Nothing! Would not indicate it was on charge.

So, I ordered from elsewhere. This time paying £1.50 (not a typo). The battery arrived, I put it in the phone and set it to charge. Charged just fine. The charge lasted 4 days(with no use). It has been fine since. Approx 2 months.

I did not keep the Ebay address as it was my brother that did the ordering. However, I copied the address on the receipt because I will use it again in some future. It is...

Seller address is idispatch, 58 Bridge Centre, Bridge Road, Southall, UB2 4AY. 020 3417 6893

PS. Just done a search on the word idispatch and it is an account on Ebay. The address is the same.

Ebay link...

Could it be cheaper to use the phone number??

Hope you get what you want.

...Ray.