Help
Battery FQA
- Do you have a money-back guarantee or refund policy?
- What credit cards do you accept?
- How are batteries rated?
- How long do batteries last?
- My new battery isn’t charging. What’s the deal?
- What is the different of Ni-Cd, Ni-MH and Li-ion?
- Should I Remove the Laptop Battery For A Desktop Replacement Laptop?
- How to Restore the laptop battery icon in Windows?
1. Do you have a money-back guarantee or refund policy?
Yes, we have a money-back guarantee. Please refer to our refund policy
2. What credit cards do you accept?
We accept Visa, Visa Purchasing, Visa Delta and Mastercard.Please refer to our refund policy
3. How are batteries rated?
There are two ratings on every battery: volts and milliamp-hour (mAh). The voltage of the new battery should always match the voltage of your original. Some of our batteries will have higher amp-hour ratings than the original battery found in your device. This is indicative of a longer run-time (higher capacity) and will not cause any incompatibilities. Remember: in some cases, the voltage will differ from the original battery. This often happens when both a Li-Ion battery and a Ni-Mh battery are available for the laptop.
4. How long do batteries last?
The life of a rechargeable battery operating under normal conditions is generally between 500 to 800 charge-discharge cycles. This translates into one and a half to three years of battery life for the average user. As your rechargeable battery begins to die, you will notice a decline in the running time of the battery. When your two hour battery is only supplying you with an hour’s worth of use, it’s time for a new one.
5. My new battery isn’t charging. What’s the deal?
New batteries are shipped in a discharged condition and must charged before use. We generally recommend an overnight charge (approximately twelve hours). Refer to your user’s manual for charging instructions. Rechargeable batteries should be cycled – fully charged and then fully discharged – 2 to 4 times initially to allow them to reach their full capacity. (Note: it is perfectly normal for a battery to become warm to the touch during charging and discharging). New batteries are hard for your device to charge; they have never been fully charged and are therefore “unformed”. Sometimes your device’s charger will stop charging a new battery before it is fully charged. If this happens, simply remove the battery from your device and then re-insert it. The charge cycle should begin again. This may happen several times during your first battery charge. Don’t worry; it’s perfectly normal.
6. What is the different of Ni-Cd, Ni-MH and Li-ion?
Batteries in portable consumer devices (laptops and notebooks, camcorders, digital camera, etc.) are principally made using either Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) or Lithium Ion (Li-ion) technologies. Each type of rechargeable battery technology has its own unique characteristics:
Ni-Cd and Ni-MH: the main difference between the two is the fact that Ni-MH batteries (the newer of the two technologies) offer higher energy densities than NiCads. In other words, pound for pound, Ni-MH delivers approximately 100% more capacity than its Ni-Cd counterpart. What this translates into is increased run-time from the battery with no additional bulk to weigh down your portable device. Ni-MH also offers another major advantage: NiCad batteries tend to suffer from what is called the “Memory Effect”. Ni-MH batteries are less prone to develop this dreaded affliction and thus require less maintenance and care. Ni-MH batteries are also more environmentally friendly than their Ni-Cd counterparts, since they do not contain heavy metals (which present serious landfill problems).
Li-ion has quickly become the emerging standard for portable power in consumer devices. Li-ion batteries produce the same energy as Ni-MH batteries but weigh approximately 35% less. This is crucial in applications such as camcorders or notebook computers, where the battery makes up a significant portion of the device’s weight. Another reason Li-ion batteries have become so popular is that they do not suffer from the memory effect AT ALL. They are also better for the environment because they don’t contain toxic materials such as Cadmium or Mercury.
7. Should I Remove the Laptop Battery For A Desktop Replacement Laptop?
Question: Should I Remove the Laptop Battery For A Desktop Replacement Laptop?
I have a laptop at home which I use as a desktop replacement. As such, 99% of the time the laptop is being used it is plugged in. I wonder if I should remove the battery so that it is not permanently being charged, or does the laptop cut off the current to the battery once it is fully charged? I do unplug the laptop when I turn it off.
Answer: When using a laptop as a desktop replacement the battery should not be left in for long periods of time. The laptop will over time discharge the battery. Remove the battery making sure that it is charged to 40% and store it in a dry, warm place. Ensure that it is wrapped protectively and nothing will be dropped on it.
The battery should be re-installed every 3-4 weeks and allowed to fully discharge. Leaving a battery in storage for longer than this without using could cause the battery to fully discharge as the circuitry of the battery itself consumes power.
Leaving a battery in a laptop while using an electrical outlet for long periods of time will keep the battery in a constant state of charging up and that will reduce the life cycle of the battery.
Remember that when you have removed the battery from a laptop while using with an electrical outlet the automatic battery backup is no longer functional. Make sure to plug your laptop into an uninterrupted power source (UPS) not directly into an outlet or surge protector.
8. How to Restore the laptop battery icon in Windows
Question: I am running Windows Vista Home Premium on my laptop. The battery indicator in the Notification Area has disappeared leaving the space where it used to be. Is there any way I can recover it?
Answer: The option for showing this icon has changed between Windows XP and Vista. To restore the icon in Vista, left-click on the Start menu and type task bar and start menu, then press Enter. Click on the Notification Area tab and there is an option to show the power icon in the bottom half of the window.
Click in the power option so that a tick appears and then click on OK. To make this change in XP, click on the Start menu and then on Control Panel. Click on Classic Mode if the option is shown in the left-hand column and then double-click on Power Options
Click on the Advanced tab and then in the box labelled Always show icon on the task bar so that a tick appears. Click on OK to save the change.