Robbed by Dell

S

Stevie G

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Hi all

I bought a new Dell battery from their website at the beginning of last month. They did not have stock in JHB, so they had to import it from the States. I only received it yesterday. I noticed that the plastic that the battery was wrapped in was only closed on the one side by a piece on sellotape. Don't know if its supposed to completely sealed on both sides. Before i put in the battery, i checked the battery charge when i pressed on tab on the side. There was only 2 bars out of 5 that was on. That told me already that the battery was used. I then inserted the battery in the laptop and it was about 20%. I used it up and fully charged the battery which took exactly 2hours. Used the laptop until all the power ran out of it. It lasted only 1h15min. The battery setting was on balanced and i only browsed the internet.

I have 2 issues:
1)Must the plastic be fully closed
2)Does a new battery last only 1h15min?

I used the laptop earlier and changed the power setting to Power saver. It also lasts for 1h15min.

I mailed Dell South Africa and i am awaiting on their response.

If i do send the battery back, must i pay for the shipping to JHB or should they cover it.
I know i am going to wait forever to get a new battery.

Do you guys thnk that i was wripped off?
:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
Normally you never receive rechargeable batteries fully charged from any vendor for any device ie camera's, phones etc. Apparently the life of the battery will decrease if you store it for a long time fully charged. It is also recommended to fully charge a new rechargable battery before first use otherwise the life expectancy of the battery may be affected. This is normally explained in the manuals that come with new devices with rechargeable batteries.

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/...itelet/en/batteries_faq?c=us&l=en&cs=19#faq37

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/...itelet/en/batteries_faq?c=us&l=en&cs=19#faq32
 
1) No
2) Sometimes

New lithium-ion batteries are neither completely charged nor completely empty. You should expect to find some (imprecise) charge on it. This is because lithium-ion batteries prefer to be stored at partial charge. In addition, they lose charge over time, even if not used. Thus, the 20% charge that you found is not out-of-the-ordinary and in no way indicates a used battery.

On the topic of the battery life, it all depends on what notebook you have and what you were doing. I agree that 1 hour 15 minutes isn't good battery life, but I've also encountered MANY notebooks that come like that brand new. I know the Dell Inspiron 1525 notebooks are notorious for poor battery performance.

Who did you get the battery from? Tech-express? I know that the number on the Dell website takes you through to them. I've found them to be pretty reputable (if a little slow at the counter).
 
I have a Dell XPS M1730, but i put all the fancy stuff off and set the battery to Power saver. It might be the Dual SLI 8800M GTX GPU that might drain the battery. Is there perhaps a program or software where you can monitor your pc or laptop to see which devices uses the most power. It would be interesting. I still think that a new battery should not go so quickly. The laptop is about 2-3 years old escpecially if the battery comes straight from the Dell factory.
 
@sn3rd: No to question 1? Really? You'd accept a new battery in a package where the seal has been broken and sellotaped closed? I wouldn't. But then I'd query it BEFORE I used it.
 
robbed by dell? a tad harsh, no?

doesn't sound like you were robbed at all .. you may or may not have received a dud battery, but robbed, pleeeez, what's with the missleading title and false accusation?

You haven't even heard back from Dell and you post this rubbish title
 
From a gaming laptop that sounds like an ok battery life.
Plus maybe Dell in JHB had to open to check it was the correct item.
 
Rodent-Boy said:
@sn3rd: No to question 1? Really? You'd accept a new battery in a package where the seal has been broken and sellotaped closed? I wouldn't. But then I'd query it BEFORE I used it.
Click to expand...

Well it depends on the type of packaging, of course. To me, this sounds like OEM, so it's expected. If it was a sealed package that was forced open, it's a different story.
 
sn3rd said:
Well it depends on the type of packaging, of course. To me, this sounds like OEM, so it's expected. If it was a sealed package that was forced open, it's a different story.
Click to expand...

OEM packages are sealed with sellotape? We must get out OEM products from different sources.
 
Send a mail last night. haven't heard anything from them yet. Dell is supposedly to be the best according their service. Undoubtly not anymore. Pathetic as usual like most other companies. Do you guys think i can re-pack the cells in my old battery. Is it worth it or will it be a waste of money. I know you guys have mentioned Akita. I'm here in Cape Town, is there maybe any reputable place around in ct. Also how long will the battery last when its repacked.

In Win7 i cannot change the plan for the battery to fully run out. When it gets to 5% then there is only option for hibernation,shutdown and sleep. Any advice guys?
:confused::confused:
 
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