Off Brand Laptop Batteries as good?

[rowech]

I have a Toshiba Satellite that is going on five years old. I've already replaced the battery once and now looking at it again. Couple of questions...

1. Is 2 years for a battery normal?
2. Are off-brand batteries just as good as the Toshiba ones would be?

[wishbone]

In my experience 2 years is average life, especially for smaller batteries. The number of cells the battery has also makes a difference. Many cheap batteries for my thinkpad have 4-6 cells, where a more expensive battery for the same laptop will have 9 cells. The number of cells can also impact the size and per-charge life of the battery. I don't think there is a real reason to pay for the Toshiba name on your battery, battery utility is far more important than battery name.

[Desnudo]

The batteries are generally all made by the same OEMs anyway. There shouldn't be a performance difference.

[Alan T]

I haven't used a toshiba since the 1990s, but speaking for other laptops I use regularly (IBM/Dell/HP), all of their name brand batteries barely last 1 year to 16 months for me. I can't imagine an offbrand battery lasting any less.

[stevew]

My parents have a Dell laptop and the battery died in about 18 months. That just seems way too soon. Anyways, the dell branded one is 130 bucks, so I bought a lenmar branded one for about 60. I've read all kinds of things about how Dell stuff can be finicky, but I'm hoping I made the right call here. I decided against the cheap non branded stuff from amazon...I hope this was the right move. $130 for a laptop battery seems insane.

[Swaggs]

I haven't used a toshiba since the 1990s, but speaking for other laptops I use regularly (IBM/Dell/HP), all of their name brand batteries barely last 1 year to 16 months for me. I can't imagine an offbrand battery lasting any less.

Same here.

I've had two Dell Inspirons and both batteries made it less than 18 months. One died just a few days after the one-year warranty was up (not sure if it would have covered batteries anyway). My Dell Vostro, oddly, still holds some charge and it is close to 4-years old.

[Matthean]

FYI, if you laptop is plugged in, you don't need the battery in as well and you are shortening it's life by doing so unless you are charging it.

[RainMaker]

Same here.

I've had two Dell Inspirons and both batteries made it less than 18 months. One died just a few days after the one-year warranty was up (not sure if it would have covered batteries anyway). My Dell Vostro, oddly, still holds some charge and it is close to 4-years old.

I had the same problem with Inspirons. We used them at work and everyone who had them had major battery issues. Came a point where we just stocked a bunch of extras. Had no problems with the Vostros though.

[DanGarion]

FYI, if you laptop is plugged in, you don't need the battery in as well and you are shortening it's life by doing so unless you are charging it.

That depends on the manufacture of laptop. I have had some laptop models that do not function without a battery installed... :(

[Lathum]

My parents have a Dell laptop and the battery died in about 18 months. That just seems way too soon. Anyways, the dell branded one is 130 bucks, so I bought a lenmar branded one for about 60. I've read all kinds of things about how Dell stuff can be finicky, but I'm hoping I made the right call here. I decided against the cheap non branded stuff from amazon...I hope this was the right move. $130 for a laptop battery seems insane.

I did the same thing for my Dell except it was about 20-30 for the non name brand. I figure at the least if it only lasts 6 months I would be 3 years ahead from buying the new ones.

[Drake]

I've purchased off-brand batteries on the cheap from Amazon (and adapters...oh, the adapters! I now order them in sets of five.) It's been really hit or miss, even with the same manufacturer. Some last less than a year, and I've got one that's still humming along five years later and holds a decent charge.

In general, I try to spend about $20 and try to get a year of decent service. If I get that, I consider it a win.

[sterlingice]

I haven't used a toshiba since the 1990s, but speaking for other laptops I use regularly (IBM/Dell/HP), all of their name brand batteries barely last 1 year to 16 months for me. I can't imagine an offbrand battery lasting any less.

Same here.

I've had two Dell Inspirons and both batteries made it less than 18 months. One died just a few days after the one-year warranty was up (not sure if it would have covered batteries anyway). My Dell Vostro, oddly, still holds some charge and it is close to 4-years old.

Mine tend to last 2~3 years which I think is pretty standard use for people. Are you taking it to battery a lot and draining it all the way down? That's the only way I could see getting that bad of results, especially across platforms

SI