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Thread ID: 76523	2007-02-03 22:24:00	Dell battery scam	hotkiwi (6379)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
522392	2007-02-03 22:24:00	Hi guys, I came upon a strange issue. Normally my (9 cell) Dell inspiron 6000 notebook battery holds up to 2.5 hours battery life. Overnight something strange happened. The battery indicator blinks 4 times orange and 1 time green and battery life is overnight reduced to 30 minutes. I googled this and it appears in 2004 already that the batteries are set (by means of a counter in the battery itself) to have a charge number of around 400 times. (west-wind.com) It is very strange that from a perfect battery function all of a sudden this now happens to me. There is no follow up on that Dell story since but does anyone here have the same experience with Dell (or other) notebooks? It would be a terrible financial, but also environmental problem to throw away perfect batteries only to feed Mr. Dells wallet. What do you think? Cheers Johan	hotkiwi (6379)
522393	2007-02-03 23:47:00	"Next I went to the Web Site to see what a new battery would cost and sure enough there's some language that says it's rated for 300 charge/discharges." That doesn't sound like a scam to me - Batteries don't last forever, you know. What makes you think that Dell put a counter inside the battery to make it magically decrease it's battery life? Obviously you have charged/discharged your battery roughly 300 times and it's time to replace it. Then again, I could be wrong.	--Wolf-- (128)
522394	2007-02-04 00:07:00	Hi guys, I came upon a strange issue. Normally my (9 cell) Dell inspiron 6000 notebook battery holds up to 2.5 hours battery life. Overnight something strange happened. The battery indicator blinks 4 times orange and 1 time green and battery life is overnight reduced to 30 minutes. I googled this and it appears in 2004 already that the batteries are set (by means of a counter in the battery itself) to have a charge number of around 400 times. (west-wind.com) It is very strange that from a perfect battery function all of a sudden this now happens to me. There is no follow up on that Dell story since but does anyone here have the same experience with Dell (or other) notebooks? It would be a terrible financial, but also environmental problem to throw away perfect batteries only to feed Mr. Dells wallet. What do you think? Cheers Johan Pesonally I wouldnt buy another dell laptop, they feel really cheaply made compared to other manufacturers and because they sell online there is no way to really know what you are buying before you order it. The only thing I like about dell, is how you can build your PC online, however many other PC manufacturers now let you do this. Have you checked to see if your battery is one of those on the dell recall list, they were recalling a lot of sony batteries. .I have a sony battery in mine, although it wasn't on the recall list, it does still get really hot. WHat I don't understand about leptop batteries, is even if you keep the laptop plugged in an the battery is keep in the computer, the battery is constantly being charged and discharged, so you may go through the whole 300 cycles without even using the laptop battery. THEY DON'T TELL YOU THIS, and I think this is a con. They should tell o to remove teh battery if you aren't going to be using it for a while, and you are only going to use the computer on mains power.	rogerp (6864)
522395	2007-02-04 02:08:00	"Next I went to the Web Site to see what a new battery would cost and sure enough there's some language that says it's rated for 300 charge/discharges." That doesn't sound like a scam to me - Batteries don't last forever, you know. What makes you think that Dell put a counter inside the battery to make it magically decrease it's battery life? Obviously you have charged/discharged your battery roughly 300 times and it's time to replace it. Then again, I could be wrong. Yes you are wrong. i use my notebook at home and at work. In the morning I plug it in at work (so counter of 300 goes down 1), then in the evening i plug the computer in at home (counter goes down another one). If you and Dell think that a perfect battery should be replaced after 150 days, then I call that a scam. Especially since the battery is in great condition with 2 hours at least last week. I can not see what is fair in that and will never ever buy a Dell again. Johan	hotkiwi (6379)
522396	2007-02-04 02:12:00	Have you checked to see if your battery is one of those on the dell recall list, they were recalling a lot of sony batteries. .I have a sony battery in mine, although it wasn't on the recall list, it does still get really hot. WHat I don't understand about leptop batteries, is even if you keep the laptop plugged in an the battery is keep in the computer, the battery is constantly being charged and discharged, so you may go through the whole 300 cycles without even using the laptop battery. THEY DON'T TELL YOU THIS, and I think this is a con. They should tell o to remove teh battery if you aren't going to be using it for a while, and you are only going to use the computer on mains power. Same with me, my number was not on battery list but indeed still very hot. The Dell scam with the battery is apparently a well known phenomenon in the US. I think it is not acceptable. An expensive notebook battery that is made to hold longer than 150 days and is discarded in the landfill although completely fine is a useless thing. Dell shopuld state that batteries need to be removed if the notebook is to go on the AC/DC.	hotkiwi (6379)
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