Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

Hi,

I ordered some Nokia BP-5L on Ebay (from a Hong-Kong based seller) for my N800 and when I got them I noticed that they did not have the Nokia hologram or the 20 digit security code on them. They also had BOTH "Made in Hungary" AND "Fabrique en Chine" (yes, in French) on them. Otherwise, they did look exactly like the real thing.

I complained to the seller and his refunded me no questions asked (so he most likely new that he was selling fakes).

However, I still wonder. Is there really any risk in using fake Nokia batteries? I would see that fake batteries would be of a lesser quality than the original Nokia ones, but must I really throw them away? Do they actully present any real risk for my N800 if I try using them?

Many thanks for any pointers,

VS

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

They could explode. Been a lot of that going around lately...

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

You gotta be kiddin'! Why would anyone even bother selling batteries which would damage a unit? That just does not seem a smart way of doing business, even a counter-fitting business ;-)

BTW - do they explode while being used or explode while being charged?

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

Fake tends to mean cheap. Cheap tends to mean less quality assurance. When a company says "purchase knockoffs at your own risk", that is exactly what they mean.

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

except that the said company has a vested interest in holding a monopoly on the distribution and pricing of batteries. no offense to Nokia, but *any* corporation would spread rumors indicating that everybody else's hardware is not as good, if not outright dangerous, while bloating the price on their own hardware. no?

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

Any company? No. Only an unscrupulous one.

You asserted that part counterfeiters should have a vested interest in product success. This tends to be largely untrue. They operate VERY near-term, and lack the developmental and product lifecycle overhead of a legitimate, monolithic organization like Nokia. They typically illegally reverse-engineer products and dump them on the market with the intent of a quick buck, not a committed effort. If they are caught, there is rarely any successful prosecution-- often they simply move on to something else. They have no real incentive to do right by the customer, or even their distributers.

It makes sense to OEM or ODM some products, but batteries have proven to be problematic. Companies prefer to exercise more control over them than for other products with less disaster potential and exposure. It's easy to blame such companies for being anticompetitive, but then, they'd catch hell for allowing a proliferation of poorly-controlled and shoddily-built OEM/ODM parts, too. Given the extreme options, door number one tends to be more attractive.

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

Well, I have do admit that I personally do not believe that there can be such thing as a "scrupulous multinational company", one that cares for its reputation - yes, but one with any other motives than profit - no.

However, that there is no doubt that a reputable company like Nokia would have far more incentives to make high-quality products, and in particular batteries, than some semi-anomymous Chinese outfit.

But if you guys really know of exploding batteries than I guess I will get rid of mine and continue to dish out $$$ for Nokia ones :-(

Thanks a lot though!

VS

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

I don't like the high prices, either, and there is no employee purchase plan available to me for batteries. :( So, it is with gritted teeth that I pay full price if I can't weasel a battery from some tech...

As for exploding batteries, I've seen reports here and there, but the most common risk is batteries that don't fully charge, have the wrong voltage, etc. Typical knockoff stuff.

Oh, and Nokia does indeed have motivations beyond simple profit. Note that the company is a leader in environmental responsibility. And I've never worked for any company that treated its employees (generally) this well.

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

I am just curious - do they treat they employees equally well in all countries?

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

I have seen some complaints, and I can only speak for what I personally have experiences in several locations.

The point is that the corporation has beneficial policies in place, for all employees, but it's entirely possible that local representation is different. I for one am very pleased with my experience and the nature of communications and directives from corporate.

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

Methinks the biggest risk is that the knockoffer fritzes up the overcharge protection circuitry in the battery.

I mean, that's Kaboom! time.

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

That's the biggest singular risk, but not the most common one (based on reports).

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

thanks for your reply. kind regards!

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

Yeah, but think about it: If your phone/tablet explodes in your face, are you really going to report about it?

I mean, I know about ouijah boards and stuff, but we're talking about sketchy communications at best... :rolleyes:

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

Good point. I'll ask my magic 8 ball...

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

right :-))

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

Well, I threw my chicken bones (gift from Leeroy Jenkins) and they said to stay away from fakie batteries.

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

Not one person at this site has reported an exploding battery, and I'm sure lots of people have bought non-Nokia batteries here.

Here's the difference between a Nokia and non-Nokia battery, as far as I know. The Nokia ones are probably manufactured in China, and sent to Nokia, which packages them with their products. The non-Nokia ones are probably manufactured in China, and are not packaged by Nokia. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find that some non-Nokia batteries were produced in the same factory as the Nokia ones. Read up on Chinese manufacturing, it's quite interesting.

The ones I have bought were a zillion times cheaper than Nokia, and for me they have worked great.

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

I don't know about the tablet batteries but for the phones I used a lot of BL-5C batteries that were very cheap ( 1 or 2 euros, because no one bid on them on ebay ) and fake.
They work ok. they don't explode or overheat or anything, but after a month or two they don't hold charge as well as they should. (about the same as my 14 month old, heavily used nokia battery that I wanted to replace) .
My experience is that the official Nokia batteries last very much longer .

I used two different no-name brands from different sellers, I had the same kind of experience with both.

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

Right, that's a common experience. Not to say it's 100%, because geneven is correct in what he says, too. Buyers just need to realize they're gambling, and decide for themselves if it's worth it or not.

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

That's possibly another reason why some of those batteries are so cheap: Rebranders buying two to three year old surplus stocks from those Chinese manufacturers and reselling them.

Not enough people know that LiIon batteries (and their polymer cousins) deteriorate by simply getting older. That's also the reason why it's not very economical to buy a backup battery "in advance": It'll just die slowly in the drawer.

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

If you really need to store them, charge them to 40-60% and keep them in the fridge.

Re: Possibly fake Nokia batteries - how unsafe are they really?
 

Even then the rot will set in... albeit a bit slower.

I just don't buy extra LiIon batteries anymore; I bought one for my P910 almost two years ago and now it's almost as bad as my original primary battery, and hardly ever used (yes, it was a knockoff, so my loss is about USD 5.00).

I go for the external emergency battery chargers. Much less headaches: Cheap replacement rechargeables and mine takes the ubiquitous AA cells. With 4 2500 mAh NiMh cells, it triples the battery life of my phone and almost doubles that of my N800.