Battery Swollen

dasyad

dasyad

dasyad

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1,880
Got a problem with a Samsung phone. It's 16 months old and the battery has swollen and no longer fits inside the phone and is obviously rather dangerous so the phone cannot be used anymore.

Spoke to Three about having it (the battery) replaced and they referred me to Samsung who kindly told me that although the phone warranty is 24 months, the battery only has a 6 months warranty. I've argued with them that this isn't really acceptable, if the phone cost £20 then my expectations wouldn't be very high but seeing as it cost significantly more than this I'm very annoyed. I think it's normal to expect your phone and battery (albeit at reduced capacity) to still function after a few years.

Now the battery had no problems prior to this, no issues with holding charge etc. so I don't see how this can just be normal wear and tear? I'm not a battery expert though so could be wrong :p

What does everyone think? Should I just keep hassling them? Or is it legitimate signs of wear?
 
If the battery swells you need rid of it either way because it could leak and destroy the phone. You have to read the small print about what the company is obligated to do because they are all different rules and legal rubbish.
 
ChocolateStarfishRammer said:
Batteries are consumable parts. Usually a very short warranty on them (If any).

Go buy a new one.
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While I appreciate they are a consumable, it hasn't led an extraordinary life so I wouldn't expect it to fail in this manner within this time frame, my k750i is still going strong for example. Although like I said I have no idea what causes a swollen battery :p

dave28 said:
If the battery swells you need rid of it either way because it could leak and destroy the phone. You have to read the small print about what the company is obligated to do because they are all different rules and legal rubbish.
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Yes if I can't prove it is defective and they won't replace it then I will just take it to a phone shop to be disposed of correctly.

With what everyone has said so far I guess I'll just have to take it on the chin and buy a new one.
 
Unofficial Samsung batteries can be had for pennies on eBay, may as well avoid the hassle and just bite the bullet!
 
dasyad said:
While I appreciate they are a consumable, it hasn't led an extraordinary life so I wouldn't expect it to fail in this manner within this time frame, my k750i is still going strong for example. Although like I said I have no idea what causes a swollen battery :p
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Although it seems to be how most people think, you cant think of a battery in terms of a annual lifespan.. More so, a charge+how regular life span.

For instance,

Example 1: If I've had my K750i for 8 years, because of its low battery consumption it lasts for days without needing a charge. When it does, its usually about 0-5% remaining and I fully charge it and then remove it from charge.

Example 2: I've had my iPhone 5 for 1 year, because its so powerful it uses a lot of battery. Either way when I go to bed, be it that the battery is dead, or even on 50%, I know It isn't going to last me all of tomorrow, so Ill put it on charge now and unplug it in the morning. Even tho it only takes 1-2 hours to charge, it'll be fine overcharging the battery for that long.

Different scenarios based on different phones based on different life styles based on different uses will equal different outcomes.

Batteries are consumable parts.

Swollen batteries are most commonly causes of heat, pressure or even using the wrong charger and I only include this one to be factually, in rare scenarios.. manufacturing defect.
 
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Yes I understand it is consumable however I would still expect the complete product to last a reasonable amount of time and 16 months is not reasonable IMO, especially when you take into account that nowadays a lot of phone contracts are 24 months in length. If it was simply not holding charge as well as it used to then fair enough, that's what I would consider normal wear on the battery. Swelling up like this though is not something I have encountered before.

Personally I feel that if you are using a battery "normally" then a reasonable expectation is for it to last longer than 6 months and I'm rather surprised to see it isn't just Samsung rocking a 6 month warranty on batteries :p

I have bought a new battery but I'm wondering if it is worth sending the phone itself into Samsung to see if there's something wrong with the circuitry on the phone which caused the battery to swell?
 
A quick google of 'samsung battery swollen' brings up a lot of hits. It doesn't look like it is uncommon.

You'd probably have to look into your particular make of phone, OS version, etc to see if there was a 'known' cause. Possibly a software bug that causes overcharging?

I understand that you may expect the entire phone to last for more than 16 months. But most companies won't willingly cover costs when they don't have to. So unless you're prepared to argue your case, then you'd just be hoping that they do so out of 'good will'.

For the cost of a new battery and the amount of work involved in arguing your case, not to mention the chance of you actually 'winning' any case - I'd just stump up for the new battery.

Don't get me wrong, I'm currently in a 'sale of goods' dispute, but only because the costs involved are potentially much, much higher and so it is actually worth my effort to research the law, write letters, escalate problems up the chain, etc, etc.

I just wouldn't have the time or the inclination to do that over a battery.
 
Yeah I agree it's not worth the hassle and I have bought one. I can understand they set it to 6 months in case someone uses it heavily and this causes it to hold a significantly lesser amount of charge. However if it hasn't shown signs of heavy use they should allow for a longer warranty period, especially where the battery doesn't have any issues with holding a charge.

They need to hurry up and improve battery tech :p
 
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