• When charging the battery for the first time, your computer may indicate that charging is complete after just a few minutes. This is a normal phenomenon with fairly new rechargeable batteries. Simply remove the battery from the computer and repeat the charging procedure several times until this symptom disappears. Do not use the battery until it is actually fully charged.

• In general, rechargeable batteries store electrical energy through chemical reaction -- therefore, capacity will change by temperature, unused storage period, load condition, and number of cycles used.  It is important to condition (fully discharge and then fully charge) the battery every 2 to 3 weeks. Failure to do so may significantly shorten the battery’s life. To discharge, simply run your computer using only the battery’s power until it shuts down, or until you receive a low battery warning from the computer’s power management software. Then recharge the battery as instructed in your computer manual. Note: Lithium Ion batteries do not require conditioning.

• If the battery will not be in use for a month or longer, it is recommended that it be removed from the computer, and stored in a cool dry place

• It is normal for a battery to become warm during charging and discharging

• A charged battery will eventually lose its charge if unused. It may therefore be necessary to recharge the battery after a storage period

• The milliamp hour (mAH) rating of our batteries will often be higher than the one on the original battery. A higher mAH rating is indicative of a longer lasting (higher capacity) battery, and will not cause any incompatibilities. In most cases, all our batteries will outperform your original battery by 30% to 50%

• The total run-time of the battery is dependent on the design and use of the notebook computer. The use of the monitor, the hard drive, and other peripherals, results in an additional drain on the battery, effectively reducing its run-time. So a fast-draining battery does not mean that the battery is defective.  To determine if the battery is defective or not, charge the battery to its fullest capacity and then simply leave the computing device on, using battery power only, until the battery drains completely.  Then count the number of hours it takes for the battery to drain and compare that figure to the specifications of the computing device.  To ensure maximum performance of the battery, optimize your computer’s power management features. Refer to your computer manual for instructions

Questions and Answers :

How do I know whether I need a new battery pack? Assuming that you use the laptop in exactly the same way that you have used it in the past, when your present battery pack produces only around 50% of the charge that it used to, (e.g. you just get an 1-1/2 hours when you used to get up to 3 hours doing the same stuff ), then it's time for a new battery. Even rechargeable batteries have to be replaced sometime. Nickel Cadmium (Nicad) batteries average about 18 months, while lithium ion and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries last about 12 months on average. Most replacement batteries today have a higher amperage than the original battery that came with your computing device, and therefore last longer.  Please note, however, that the more resources you use (hard drive, video, etc.), the faster the battery will drain. So there are many situations when a battery drains faster than it did in the past but is actually not defective at all.

Your description states that a higher amperage than my original battery. Why? This only means that the battery we supply now has more "juice" and will last longer than your original battery. The higher the amperage, the better. So 3500mAH is always better than 3000mAH, for example.  Voltage, however, should always be the same as your original battery.

Please explain "memory effect" as it applies to batteries. The term "memory effect" applies only to Nicad batteries. This means that if you do not discharge a Nicad battery completely before you re-charge it, it will retain this information in "memory" and will only charge up to the the same discharged percentage. For example, a nicad battery is discharged only 70% when you re-charge it, and you do this constantly, the battery will only re-charge up to 70% of its capacity each time you re-charge it, because it has "memorized" the effect of not being discharged completely, until such time when the battery will no longer charge at all. For example, consistently charging a 2-hour battery after just one hour of use will severely reduce the battery life to just one hour. Nicad batteries, therefore, must be completely discharged before they are re-charged to prevent the "memory" effect. Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries do not suffer from this so-called memory effect.

How much "charge" time can I expect from the replacement battery? Unfortunately, this question can only be answered by the user, since there are so many different situations that each computer user subjects the battery to. Battery life depends on too many factors, including software and other utilities running in the background, hard drive usage, etc. There is no "correct" answer to this question. What is safe to state is that Lithium Ion batteries will last about twice as long as NimH batteries, which in turn run about 30% longer, approximately, than Nicad batteries.

What is a "Smart" battery? Today's notebook computers use "smart" batteries (also called Intelligent batteries). These so-called "smart" batteries (as opposed to "dumb" batteries) have built-in internal circuitry that tell the computer how much "charge" time is left in the battery, much like a fuel gauge in your vehicle. This allows you, the user, to back-up your files and take the necessary measures to prevent untimely disasters. Some "smart" or "intelligent" batteries have a switch that has to be turned ON before the battery can be charged normally like other batteries.  Check if your battery has a switch.

What brand of battery pack are you going to send me? We have over 10 sources of battery packs and other power products, all of whom are established and very reliable manufacturers and/or distributors. So what you receive could be from any one of these sources.

You do not list a replacement battery for my computing device. Is there hope? Of course.  We have an Upgrade Identification Form which asks you several questions about your computer, so that we can cross-reference your original battery to the ones in our inventory.  If, after that, we still cannot identify your battery, we have so-called "rebuild" services. This means you would have to send in your old battery pack to us for us to rebuild. This process takes but a few days and is priced just like a new battery.