Customer Reviews

Dell Inspiron 500m/600m/Latitude D500/Latitude D600 Series Battery

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are several sellers at Amazon offering replacement batteries for Dell laptops, and I chose this seller -- even though his price was higher -- because other sellers had received mixed reviews, and this seller had five-star reviews. In other words, I thought I was getting a better product.

I received the battery in early February -- shipping was prompt -- and for three months I have had only good things to say. The battery has worked brilliantly in my Inspiron 600m, getting me over 2 hours on a charge. (My original Dell battery had gotten to the point that it would die after 30 to 45 minutes.) True, I had noticed that the new battery tended to die unexpectedly when my computer said it still had 10% or 15% charge remaining. But I still got 2 hours or more on a charge before it did that, so I figured it was a glitch in the way the computer was reading the new battery; I just remembered not to let it run down that low. Otherwise, it worked perfectly.

Then, yesterday, less than three months after I received the battery, I was typing on my laptop, plugged into AC power, when I noticed the flashing red "dying battery" light. I thought my AC cord must've come unplugged while I worked, and the battery had drained down. But that wasn't the problem; I was still plugged in. The red light continued to blink (while I was still plugged in) to the point that it became distracting. Since the computer had mis-read the battery in the past (telling me I had 15% charge left when the battery was really about to die), I wondered if that problem had gotten worse -- it now thought a fully-charged battery was dead. To see if I was right, I unplugged the laptop. It immediately died. The battery was *completely* dead. AC power could not recharge it (that's why the red light wouldn't stop blinking while I was plugged in), and there wasn't even enough charge left in the battery to boot the laptop back up. When I pressed the ON button, the green light didn't even flash. Total battery failure. It no longer holds any charge at all; it's worthless.

Obviously this is a defective product. I'd like to think it's just a lemon, and that I got unlucky. Unfortunately, I don't think that's what happened. If you look at other Amazon sellers offering these replacement Inspiron batteries, you will notice what I noticed before I chose this seller: that there are several five-star reviews based on initial battery performance (the kind of review I would've given until yesterday), and then a handful of one-star reviews based on total battery failure after a short period of ownership (the kind of review I am giving now). I guess it's possible that some buyers are receiving batteries that never fail, and are perfectly good, but I don't see a lot of five-star reviews from people who have owned the battery for more than one month. And since I have just experienced the same problem with this seller, who previously had only five-star reviews, I think the problem is probably universal. No matter what Amazon seller you buy from, you're likely to get a dud.

For what it's worth, the battery I received from this seller does not appear to be an actual Dell battery. It does say "Replacement battery for Dell" on the back side, and the font resembles the font on my Dell products. But the Dell logo does not appear on it, whereas other Amazon sellers show replacement batteries that *do* have the Dell logo. Those ones, however, also seem to be failing. So the actual problem here is mysterious: I can't tell whether the batteries being sold through Amazon are cheap Dell knockoffs, or badly refurbished old Dell batteries, or just lousy compatible batteries from non-Dell manufacturers. But considering how widespread this problem is, and considering how quickly the battery goes from perfect function to zero function, I think a potential buyer would be crazy to buy one of these products. My recommendation would be to spend a little extra money and buy directly from Dell, or to continue using your dying Dell battery and cope with having to use a power cord most of the time. I use my laptop mainly at home, so losing my battery is just an inconvenience. For anyone who actually *needs* to run on battery, a product like this is dangerous.

I am going to contact this seller to ask about a refund, but since it's been almost three months since I bought it, I doubt I'll get one. This seller has a 30-day return policy, which is reasonable, but making an exception for a faulty product would also be reasonable, and I doubt they'll do that. I now own a $75 lithium-ion paperweight.

Buyer beware!

Much like a previous customer review, my battery only lasted for 3 months. I purchased it in April after my Dell battery conked out after a year of use, and this one died last week, at the end of July.

To the seller's credit, they are replacing the battery for free and now have a one-year warranty. I am hopeful that I (and the other buyer) just received batteries from a subpar batch and that this next one will last much longer.

This battery lasts much longer than my past one, it can go for two and a half or three hrs. Am very pleased with this transaction, and the price is unbeatable. Half of what you would get at Dell.

Its actually lasted longer than the original batter than came with the Dell 600m.