Thinkpads Forum

Hello, I am going to buy a new battery for my Thinkpad W520 but according to these reviews [https://media.8ch.net/word/src/1471656601508.png] it's not very good (It lasts about a year), but it does have a year long warranty. There are 2 places where the battery can be bought:

the shop http://shop.lenovo.com
and the outlet http://outlet.lenovo.co.

On the shop page for the battery http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/cont ... de=0A36303

It lists a year long warranty [https://media.8ch.net/word/src/1471656613524.png], but on the Outlet page for the battery It doesn't list a warranty. Because of the popularity of Thinkpads here I find it probable that at least one of you have bought a battery from Lenovo so, I have to ask: does the outlet have the warranty as well?

Oh and I have three minor questions (relative to the main one) that if one of you could answer would be much appreciated.
1. Are the battery’s manufactured by lenovo really the best battery’s for the Thinkpad W520 even though they go bad within a year?
2. Is there a drop in potential cycles (of a unused battery) depending on it's time of manufacturer? For example, will a battery manufactured in 2014 not last as long as a battery manufactured in 2016?
3. Is the 70++ still manufactured today? If not how long has it been sine it was manufactured?

The price in the shop is $160 and the price in the outlet is $96.

1. Lenovo batteries (and OEM in general) will have the best battery life and reiiability compared to nearly any aftermarket one. I never had a Lenovo thinkpad battery go bad in a year. The 9 cell Sanyo in my W530 was made 4 years ago and still has 88% capacity despite the many cycles. The spare 6 cell I got a year later still has 95%. Setting a charge threshold of 90% (80% even better) can significantly extend the life of a battery.

2. Batteries all degrade overtime. Panasonic batteries generally have higher quality cells and last longer than Sanyo ones. However, if unused and stored properly for only a few years, you can still expect 98% or even 100% capacity. A year ago I got an OEM Sanyo T500/W500 battery made in 2012. Still had 100% capacity when I first used it.

3. There are still plenty new OEM ones on ebay for around $50. Lenovo overcharges on batteries.

That 100% is only because a real new one goes beyond 100% for the first few cycles.

You can also post a WTB (want to buy) ad in the forum's Marketplace, there are members around here who sell new genuine Lenovo parts for most ThinkPad ranges.

Happy hunting.

brchan wrote: Panasonic batteries generally have higher quality cells and last longer than Sanyo ones.

Is this still true since Panasonic bought Sanyo 6-7 years ago?

Interesting. I didn't know that.

Whatever you do, I would Not recommend getting a battery via amazon. Ebay has proven (to me at least) to be a better place IF you Verify the FRU you are buying and / or the country of origin for the cells.

I've never had a Lenovo battery go bad within a year... except the ultra-lousy Ultrabay battery that was at like 60% (?) of design capacity after ~20 cycles.
I never get the "88% after 4 years" either though. My W520 battery is down to 2/3 of it's original capacity.
I guess the people that consistently wreck their batteries within a year leave them at 0% overnight in a 45 (C) car or something...