Getting batteries for N900 in 2016? [Archive] - maemo.org

Copernicus

2016-06-03, 17:12

i would only buy original nokia batteries if possible. it's very easy in finland, not sure what is the situation in other countries. as you know, they seems to last quite well.

Here in the US, I can find lots of batteries marked as "original Nokia", but I'm not sure I believe them. A couple of years ago I got one off of Amazon with an official-looking hologram, but it fit a little loose inside the battery compartment, didn't last more than a year, and at the end was heating up dangerously when I put it on the charger. :(

I picked up a Polarcell battery instead earlier this year, and so far it seems a lot better. I don't really have the setup here to test batteries, but it has been holding a charge just fine so far, and it does fit correctly inside the phone. :)

muto

2016-06-03, 18:25

Sorry to hear that. Nokia has not put any holograms to batteries since 2011 or so...

Latest original "Nokia" batteries look like this(black battery in phone and lower right):
http://muto.iki.fi/kuvat/bl5j.jpg

left you can see the 2nd generation grey battery with 1430mAh. These are already about 3 years old and not recommended.

pythoneye2

2016-06-03, 21:04

Mugen seems to be not available either. :(

insanelysexy

2016-06-04, 04:35

http://www.snapdeal.com/product/nokia-bl5j-high-quality-battery/630693106434?utm_source=earth_feed&utm_campaign=TopSubcategoriesPLA&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=630693106434&utm_term=,&campaignid=337147405&adgroupid=27809232085&adposition=1o1&network=g&device=c&targetid=aud-170850558805:pla-177808901845

try indian market. Like flipkart, snapdeal, amazon. They seem to have a lot of spares.

chill

2016-06-04, 12:17

i would only buy original nokia batteries if possible. it's very easy in finland, not sure what is the situation in other countries. as you know, they seems to last quite well.

Would you kindly point us to a web site in Finland where we can order them?

I recently got a Polarcell and it worked ok at first (this was my second, the first had inflated after a few years of use). But then one day after being drained it would not start charging inside the N900. I let it sit and a after a few days it charged again fine.

Also it happens sometimes that the green LED takes half a minute to go out after I pull out the charger cable.

genes

2016-06-05, 06:24

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=95979

https://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/product/20081/cdvck/Nokia-BL-5J-akku

chill

2016-06-05, 08:21

I recently got a Polarcell and it worked ok at first (this was my second, the first had inflated after a few years of use). But then one day after being drained it would not start charging inside the N900. I let it sit and a after a few days it charged again fine.

Also it happens sometimes that the green LED takes half a minute to go out after I pull out the charger cable.

For the record, the seller, Wannsee Germany, has been veryresponsive. When one shipment got lost, they promptly sent another. When the battery mishbehaved, they offered that I mail it back in for a replacement.

rcolistete

2016-06-05, 15:21

handaxe

2016-06-05, 21:00

DealExtreme sells this BL-5J compatible battery (http://www.dx.com/p/bl-5j-gd-replacement-2450mah-battery-for-nokia-5800xm-5802xm-5900xm-5228-5230-golden-238709#.V1RDLXUrJy0).
I've bougth it and it works.

No disrespect, but BL-5J form factor Li-ion batteries cannot produce 245mAh. The higher capacity batteries of ca. 1500mAh achieved this by being slightly thicker. So, if your battery is good, it will be between 1300 and 1500mAh. Many batteries with inflated capacity claims oroved to be <1000mAh but some were ok. See the old and still interesting thread on the subject.

Wasmachinemann-NL

2016-06-06, 00:58

Have been running PolarCells for years now and I love them. I buy at a new one at least every 1-2 years though.

rcolistete

2016-06-06, 03:17

No disrespect, but BL-5J form factor Li-ion batteries cannot produce 245mAh. The higher capacity batteries of ca. 1500mAh achieved this by being slightly thicker. So, if your battery is good, it will be between 1300 and 1500mAh. Many batteries with inflated capacity claims oroved to be <1000mAh but some were ok. See the old and still interesting thread on the subject.
Yeah, I know the capacity is not true, it is about half of stated one. Besides this details, the DX battery for N900 works.

biketool

2016-06-06, 04:55

I use double-pack batteries so when my polarcells went from around a combined 3000ma/h to about 1000 in three months and used up completely lasing around 20 hrs in a N900 mostly on standby with a few short calls or checks of email I had no recourse or warranty as I had seriously modded the battery. BTW I didn't apply any heat to the battery when soldering the tabs.
I am actually soldering a double cell battery today from fake Nokia BL-5Js so we will see how they last.

dovf

2016-06-06, 05:29

Thanks, all, for your responses! Though I must say I'm still a bit confused, as a lot of the reports seem to be conflicting. I guess that's the nature of buying batteries...

Anyhow, I ended up ordering this ONITE battery (http://www.amazon.com/Onite-Replacement-Battery-Nokia-Lumia/dp/B00KNJ0YGI?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00), which seems to have gotten relatively positive reports. I'll try to remember to report back my experience once I get it and have tried it out...

azkay

2016-06-07, 13:37

For anyone using mugen battery cover, the 2610mAh LG (BL-54SG) batteries fit near flush in the back of the cover. With the battery sitting in the cover, I can close it without any gaps around the case.

Food for thought

Akkumaru

2016-06-07, 15:18

biketool

2016-06-07, 15:49

Really? And the terminals match?

It looks like it will not match from the pictures.

azkay

2016-06-08, 00:15

Really? And the terminals match?

No, you would need to make your own connector. I'll take some pictures when I make mine

biketool

2016-06-08, 14:33

No, you would need to make your own connector. I'll take some pictures when I make mine

Considering what a pain in the *** it is to make a double BL-5J that is actually not a bad idea.

handaxe

2016-06-08, 16:10

Are mugen covers available anywhere?

azkay

2016-06-09, 00:57

Are mugen covers available anywhere?

Not sure. I emailed them a few months ago and they sent me the last two they had. So they're out now.

azkay

2016-06-09, 01:32

Using the connector from an old battery, cut the controller to only keep the contacts. Now to make a dummy "battery" so it stays in.

http://i.imgur.com/PWE6rSe.jpg

azkay

2016-06-09, 02:19

Using leather until I can be bothered/can find something else as a space filler to keep the connector from moving

http://i.imgur.com/nEocHaM.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/KFP7CoE.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/mZZOrjl.jpg

My nice slim N900 ):

Now it boots to the Nokia logo then turns off.
If I plug it in, it turns on/off/on/off etc.

Multimeter says battery is at 3.96v.
Does the sensor pin need to be attached for it to work?
Not sure what to try now.

I'll try this when I get home: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=93087

edit::
Maybe instead of just using the pins and taking off the rest of the protection circuit, I could use a full protection pcb from another bj-51 on the bare LG cells?

edit::
Alright, took the PCB from another battery (hopefully not my better one), took the LG PCB off and put the Nokia one on it.

Now its booting, seems to be working fine. Just need to figure out how to get the battery meter to show the correct capacity (showing 1277mAh from old battery)

teroyk

2016-06-20, 15:51

I have two original Nokia BL-5J batteries and interesting is that one is 1320mAh and another is 1430 mAh. I think that last Nokia that used BL-5J was Asha 202 with 1320 mAh. And second last was Nokia Lumia 520 with 1430 mAh. And there is still available 1430 mAh in Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Nokia-Navigation-XpressMusic-BL-5J/dp/B00EZG3OGW

dovf

2016-06-26, 17:50

Well, I finally received the ONITE battery I ordered a while back (https://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=1507031&postcount=16) (I am overseas, so had to wait for someone visiting the States to return it for me), and so far after one day of use it's certainly an improvement over my old Nokia-branded batteries. Of course, we'll have to see how it holds up over time, but this is what I can report at the moment...

The seller seems very responsive -- they contacted me a couple of times to find out if there was any trouble and to request that I submit a review on Amazon -- make of that what you will, but it probably means that if there were any problems then they would do their best to solve it...

explit

2016-06-26, 18:29

Polarcell at ebay. Not so cheap - but a very good choise

Sent from my Jolla using Tapatalk

muto

2016-07-21, 19:22

It looks like original Nokia batteries are not manufactured anymore. Today received one more black "lumia" styled 1430mAh battery. Hopefully three new batteries will last enough until better phone is released.

biketool

2016-09-07, 16:23

I am about to try again the lottery of BL-5J batteries.
I see Onite but that has pretty bad reviews from people who took the time to actually test them.
https://www.amazon.com/Onite-Replacement-Battery-Nokia-Lumia/product-reviews/B00KNJ0YGI
My experience with the Polarcell was pretty bad and I cant find those anymore anyways.
can anyone recommend a good high capacity cell with an easy to disassemble top for double-scud'ing.
Oh how I miss those great Scud cells which seem to have lasted for 2-3 days of normal net use and calling.
Did something go drastically wrong with Chinese battery chemistry?

muto

2016-09-07, 16:36

If someone from Finland needs a bl-5j, i can recommend this seller:

http://www.huuto.net/kohteet/--nokia-bl-5j-1430mah--akku-toim-suomesta/418452117

dovf

2016-09-08, 00:26

I see Onite but that has pretty bad reviews from people who took the time to actually test them.
https://www.amazon.com/Onite-Replacement-Battery-Nokia-Lumia/product-reviews/B00KNJ0YGI

So far, I'm very pleased with the Onite battery I got. I've been calibrating it over the past few weeks (http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=1514375&postcount=102) and I'm consistently getting ~1570 mAh out of it. Two caveats, though:
1. I've only been using it for about two months, so who knows if it will last; but so far, so good...
2. There's the problem with battery eye that I'm asking about in the linked thread, but I suspect that doesn't have to do with the battery itself...

biketool

2016-09-08, 05:29

1. I've only been using it for about two months, so who knows if it will last; but so far, so good...

I had similar experience with a doubled up Polarcell but within 6 months they were down to 500mAh each. I guess they started out good and went to crap. Truthfully if I could find a truly reliable 1200-1400mAh cell which would serve for two years with less than 10% loss in capacity, like the Scuds did, I would be happy.

aprekates

2016-10-03, 13:40

I bought in Greece a 1450mAh Li-ion 3.7 V 5,37Wh for 15€
with the name 'Reverse' (in greece the reseller names it NetOne)
made in PRC

I used the first time with the charge it had and when the indication
get red i charged from the usb cable for 10 hours.

But the first two times the duration is less than 24h in not frequent use (1-2 calls , 1 hours photo/video)

It says it need 3 recharge cycles to display max perfomance..
let see.. i 'm douptfull ..

In the past after the nokia BL-5J that came with my second-hand n900 which lasted less than day i bought from ebay a PolarCell Akku Li-Ion following forum advice that indeed proved very good and lasted 2 years!! (the top cap came off after many falls and maybe shortcircuited? i'm not sure but my multimeter show it's dead).

I bought also a 1 x PolarCell Akku Li-Ion from cellphone.de but that never came :-/ and they want me to sing taking full responsibility if their inquiry shows that the mail service sent the item. I kindy reclined and having lost 15 euros i took the local alternative cause having 2 months with no n900 was too long for me)

Wasmachinemann-NL

2017-03-28, 22:48

I brought my PolarCell nearly two years ago (October 2015), and it's only lost 6% of it's original charge! (1412 MAh according to bnf, when new it was around 1500 MAh)

As I said earlier, I would definitely recommend it.

azkay

2017-08-16, 03:32

Does Nokia still make them "new"? Or are they all old stock?

Having trouble figuring out which ones out there are old batteries or new ones (or generics)

mike727

2017-08-16, 04:37

Does Nokia still make them "new"? Or are they all old stock?

Having trouble figuring out which ones out there are old batteries or new ones (or generics)

I've noticed how some ads don't mention the compatibility with Lumia 520 (maybe because they are old stock or just didn't update their ad?).

I would guess that Nokia stopped making BL-5J when they stopped making the Lumia 520. Some ad's don't even mention "BL-5J" (https://www.geardo.com.au/phone-batteries/phone-battery/nokia-lumia-battery/lumia-520-battery-replacement.html)

Edit: How is the Mugen setup? Is this (https://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=1525748&postcount=1674) a worry?

azkay

2017-08-16, 05:00

I've noticed how some ads don't mention the compatibility with Lumia 520 (maybe because they are old stock or just didn't update their ad?).

I would guess that Nokia stopped making BL-5J when they stopped making the Lumia 520. Some ad's don't even mention "BL-5J" (https://www.geardo.com.au/phone-batteries/phone-battery/nokia-lumia-battery/lumia-520-battery-replacement.html)

Edit: How is the Mugen setup? Is this (https://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=1525748&postcount=1674) a worry?

I'm only using the Mugen back case. Using an LG 2610mAh battery. The way I have it attached, there's no pressure on the sim slot/any part of the phone. Packaging peanuts are there to stop the connector coming off (held on by one piece of tape :P)

http://i.imgur.com/8OGGinT.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/PWE6rSe.jpg

Just would be nice to have a non bulky phone again :P

azkay

2017-08-16, 05:04

Reminds me of this one, if this is the on you were refering too:
http://i.imgur.com/jKVL4.jpg

Good times :P Didn't have any problems with it except bad capacity.
The IR sensor mod was fun though.

Koiruus

2018-03-24, 23:03

I have been N900 user for a month now. I'm quite surprised that the phone doesn't feel like being that old. I mean, that it still has the features I need. Except one: the battery life (which has been a problem since the phone was published).

I bought a fairly little used N900, which has it's original(?) battery still in fairly good shape. The phone thinks that the battery's whole capacity is about 1280mAh, and when the phone thinks that the battery is fully charged, it is actually 94% (about 1200mAh). I guess this is normal wearing of the battery?

However, I bought two "new" (which I guess means not new, but unused) genuine Nokia batteries from internet, and this charger http://www.world-of-accessories.co.uk/genuine-nokia-spare-battery-charger-dt33-p-1345.html

For both of those "new" batteries, the phone thinks their whole capacity is only 865mAh, and "fully charged" means 680mAh (77%). However, those new batteries last approximately as long as the original one (10-16h in normal use). When fully charged, the battery level stays in 77% for first 10 hours, and then drops very fast to zero. So I think that the capacity of those new batteries is wrong. It should be bigger, roughly the same than the original one. But using them is pretty difficult, because it is hard to know when the battery is empty. That spare battery charger also thinks that the batteries fully charged by the phone really are full. So the problem really is that the phone fails in recognizing the battery capacity. Which I think is odd because those batteries are genuine and should have the same capacity as the original one. Is there any way to investigate this? Or to calibrate the phone for those batteries?

I actually did some searching for N900 batteries, BME and such, but there is pretty much information and I fail on finding answers on these questions.

endsormeans

2018-03-25, 04:41

Unless you have the means of time travel...
As the thread title states...
"Finding N900 batteries in 2016"
may be rather difficult.

Purchasing off the web is dicey ...
hit or miss...
I usually found it to be a miss...

However...
there are a number of decent ones for sale on ebay...
Just must be canny..
caveat emptor and all..
Some are in very good condition ...others are bold faced lies...
check the sellers feedback from customers to be sure..
That was the best way to trust the veracity of the seller and the n900 or n8x0 batteries they were selling...

All told I think of the 20 - 30 batteries I have bought from ebay for my n900's and n8x0's ...3 had poor battery life in them...
the rest were excellent.

Koiruus

2018-03-25, 11:39

Unless you have the means of time travel...
As the thread title states...
"Finding N900 batteries in 2016"
may be rather difficult.
[...]

Umm, was this supposed to be an answer to my post? If so, then I'm amazed that you managed to do a post that long, without actually answering to anything I asked. In fact, looks like you didn't even read my post.

So, I'm not looking for batteries, nor the year 2016. I have my batteries already, and I'm asking for help to use them properly. Just used this thread, which has quite related discussion already. I could also have done a new topic, but I'd rather use the old ones.

If you were not answering to me, then I'm deeply sorry (otherwise not).

endsormeans

2018-03-25, 12:19

hahaha
actually I didn't read your post ..figuring it was yet another person posting in a very old thread.

It would have been better to post under an existing thread dedicated to battery issues and concerns or making your own thread.
and I believe for the edification of others who have similar problems to move your post and subsequent answers to said places where others will be looking for it.

4 points to take into consideration of your situation.

1- if you have cssu and (consequently the) battery optimizations done to your newly acquired n900. You will notice a marked improvement in battery longevity.

2- wifi and BT suck a generous amount of battery ...as well ..having lots of widgets ....

3- your charger ...even though you are trying to be fastidious in making sure you are using the proper devices for charging...it is possible (though not probable) that the charger may be part of the culprit....it depends. I have used official nokia chargers and generic chargers and found that the generic ones can work better than the official nokia chargers...if the nokia charger is faulty.

and lastly 4-
the batteries themselves...
the first you mention ...is in it's later years of age now...seen lots of use ...but has a decent charge left...(the one sitting fully charged at 94%)

the other two ..are not new...at all.. or are poor generic bl5j's ..
it is characteristic of old ones that are ready to die...
that they sit at a lower state fully charged..(ie : your 77% batts)
(....I have in fact a couple batts..1 for the n900 and 2 for the n800 ...the lowest of which sit at 84% (and I thought THAT was low fully charged...for batteries that were heading to their doom...you beat my record) fully charged ...and they act the exact same way as your batteries are... Out of all 30+ of my batteries those 3 show the exact same symptoms you mention....your issue ..with batteries here...is age....if they are rejuvenated...then they can be given a second life...otherwise they are on their way out...and are soon to be only good ...if you are keeping your device plugged in as a stationary unit.)

They will most certainly act fine...and not budge an inch in their displayed charge...until the moment that it plummets and starts warning you of impending shutdown.
This endemic of a battery on it's way out.
It makes them unreliable in daily unplugged usage.

So there are your potential and most likely culprits...

And in my characteristic nonsensical manner...
I still stand by my stance of initially not reading your post
and only succumbed to a peek of it.
:p
:D

Koiruus

2018-03-25, 13:05

Those batteries I bought have the exact same look with the original one (with that Nokia hologram stamp etc), and they were in sealed, quite original looking packages. So I really am quite sure that they are unused. But of course they may be very old anyway. But do you think that only the storing for that loong could have affected the capacity that much? If they have been manufactured, like, in 2009.

I have seen many batteries of different devices to wear out. Usually it doesn't affect to batteries' maximum capacity (or at least those devices don't tell me so), but they are still able to charge up to 100%. They just get empty faster and faster.

That's why I am asking. Because for me the way these batteries act is new. So I'm wondering that:

- Is the N900 so smart that in can properly calculate the decreased capacity of those old batteries?

OR

- Is the N900 so stupid that it fails to calculate the batteries capacity? Is there any way to help it in doing this properly?

I think the second option could be more correct, because, like I said, those decreased capacity batteries last roughly as long than the not-so-decreased one. So I'd say that the problem is not in the batteries but in the way the device reads them.

Last thing: You spoke about rejuvenating the batteries. How could this be done? I have done some rejuvenating for car batteries, by feeding some constant 14V current to battery before connectng it to a smart charger... Should I do something similar with around 4V of current?

juiceme

2018-03-25, 13:16

endsormeans

2018-03-25, 13:26

MOST definitely and most especially will nokia batts lose their charge if stored and not used.
Even if they are in new unopened packages.

The best way to store li-ion batts is to charge them up to exactly 60% and then put them in a cold / cool storage...at a (the exact temp eludes me for the moment)
ONLY then can it be guaranteed that you will not suffer max charge degradation from the batts sitting idle.
even then..your batts will suffer some loss ..but it will be minuscule.
remember li-ion isn't magic...it is still based on the principles of a chemical reaction to produce an electrical stored charge...and the chemicals in question can and do degrade over time, use / misuse and environmental conditions..
essentially and basically the chemicals are separated by a "barrier" between the two chemicals...and when "used" the chemicals are given the allowance to interact...thus creating the electrical reaction...to add to the issue ...the "barrier" separating the two chemicals can degrade as well...

albeit ..it is an improvement over old archaic batteries...

The only way we can be free of the scourge of battery degradation...
Is alternative energy sources...
say...
to leap technologically to running all our devices off of potato generated electricity...
:D

I wish I could say that the issue lies within the device reading the battery..
But since the issue spans further than simply the n900 and maemo5 os line...and actually encompasses many devices and os's..
I believe the issue is chronic in the battery giving up the proper information to the device.

As far as battery rejuv goes...
I have bought many rejuv'd nokia batts from a supplier here in Canada...they are cheap ...they have a 98% charge max ...they perform for years and perform well ...and they are significantly cheaper than brand new original batts.
I suggest you hunt down a proper professional who does such work...
I lastly suggest you do not attempt batt rejuv without some serious training first by someone who does it professionally..

Of course I am writing all this purely guessing at your possible reply ...not that I have read anything you wrote...
;)
:D:D

endsormeans

2018-03-25, 16:31

actually ...
if we can just whittle it down 109 pounds.....
then we are "a go" ...for the potatophone....
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a16812/potatoes-power-a-phone/

Koiruus

2018-03-26, 01:03

4 points to take into consideration of your situation.

1- if you have cssu and (consequently the) battery optimizations done to your newly acquired n900. You will notice a marked improvement in battery longevity.

2- wifi and BT suck a generous amount of battery ...as well ..having lots of widgets ....

1. Yes I have CSSU testing installed. Do you mean that there is battery optimizations included, or do I need to do something else? I used the phone like 1hour before installing CSSU so can't really tell if there is improvements or not.

2. But mobile network sucks even more battery than wifi, doesn't it? I have tried to optimize, having only 2G constantly on for Pidgin messenger. At home it switches to wifi. Email syncs once per 1 or 2 hours and calendar (via NuevaSync) synchronizes 2 times per day. Someone might go with even fewer synchronizations, but this is what I feel necessary. Besides I have only one desktop with weather and calendar widgets. I'm sure that there would be some more optimization to do, but my main problem at the moment is crappy batteries.

Of course I am writing all this purely guessing at your possible reply ...not that I have read anything you wrote...
To be honest, I mostly skip your posts due to their rather "stream of consciousnessy" style... But now I'm forced to read them because you are actually answering to my questions. Thank you for your help!

endsormeans

2018-03-26, 03:13

"stream of conciousnessy" style?

hahahaha

If only gestures could be adequately conveyed in text....
:p

justmemory

2018-03-26, 06:38

I read through your problems; I found no mention for recalibrate the battery. Maybe that could help (http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=1410393&postcount=2)...

ontime

2018-03-26, 07:46

For less battery usage better option is infinity awaiting for new email. One require: email server must has that functionality (gmail has).

Fetchmail do it perfect (from easy debian debian_jessie1sulu_armhf.img.lzma from http://qole.org/files/)

debbie fetchmail -v --fetchlimit 1

in fetchmailrc file, enable two function:
keep
idle

It works like SMS. Fetchmail connect to server. It keeps connection and idle. When email server gets new message then it inform fetchmail that is new message and fetchmail pulls it immediately. No power waste for constantly sync and it's the fastest method as can be.

Halftux

2018-03-26, 16:40

@onetime interesting method.

I will link to a fetchmail version compiled for maemo. Feel free to try this package. When its working I could upload it to extras.

fetchmail_6.3.26-1maemo1_armel.deb (http://www.setius.net/downs/maemo/fetchmail_6.3.26-1maemo1_armel.deb)

fetchmailconf_6.3.26-1maemo1_all.deb (http://www.setius.net/downs/maemo/fetchmailconf_6.3.26-1maemo1_all.deb)

fetchmail_6.3.26-1maemo1.tar.gz (http://www.setius.net/downs/maemo/fetchmail_6.3.26-1maemo1.tar.gz)

Koiruus

2018-03-26, 22:35

I read through your problems; I found no mention for recalibrate the battery. Maybe that could help (http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=1410393&postcount=2)...

Thanks! That's what I was hoping for, but I only got a condemnation for my batteries for being senile... :D I might try that when I have some spare time.

I will link to a fetchmail version compiled for maemo. Feel free to try this package. When its working I could upload it to extras.

Sounds promising, but I guess I'll wait for the package :)