Mmm, did not noticed latest updates here. Busy with other matters.
I do not think there's any practical way to fake these cells. They're being manufactured by chinese OEM PLB (which at ∅26.7mm wrap included makes 26650 cells a little bit fatter versus other OEMS), thus they're not that expensive to start with. And then, what other OEM is manufacturing a cheaper cell with close enough characteristics and appearance?
Anything is possible, though. Meditate and praise God :-D for our cells to be always good.
Every cell has its own unique markings in the cylinder, possible it is thus. But we would need some user/reviewer collaboration to map this out.
Check the feedback reports. Bad bad bad… Seems like they are real :-D fakes.
mmh… I’ll wait to see how this dispute end and maybe I’ll do the guinea pig to see if from the other seller they are still sending genuine 35E, actually I wanted a couple of them. From this picture they don’t seem to be fake (3 lobes), but yes, the “for samsung” thing is very suspicious.
Penta lobe tops. As we were discussing above, probably Chang Jiang FST cells. They have a 3350mAh rated cell, which may perform comparable or quite close to an NCR18650GA (HKJ review).
thanks, but I had already seen the pictures at the top of the page… but honestly I don’t think these cell could match the GA… not even LG matches Sanyo’s GA and Samsung’s 35E… I doubt those much smaller companies will. And in any case they will be much cheaper, I bought this 4 lii cellsl because I had read they were GA…
All of this is a curious situation. No doubt many of us have gotten genuine cells from AliExpress at really affordable prices. However, the swindle level is overall high, and when this happens some of you get bullied by the system and uncooperative sellers. Then there's the feedback system, which kindly takes you to the “submit feedback” page right once you confirm receipt. Submitting feedback right after you receive a package removes product assessment from the rating equation, which is wrong. On top of this, toss in the fellows who receive and measure their cells at higher than specced capacity and then say “Oooh! Nice!”. This is ignorance, of course.
Just thinking, maybe a non-judgmental related thread in the Commercial Seller's Spot could shed light. I'd love to see some cooperative seller willing to openly guarantee their product and service, even if it is at a somewhat higher cost.
Thanks for sharing where you got your Samsung 35E from. Although the prices are not cheap, but it is good to know that they are genuine. These must be your feedback??
Yes, that one is. They were genuine without a doubt: without bulges and correct shade of pink wraps, factory cell markings visible through it too, correct cell tops…
The Battery Bro date code lookup tool says the date code isn't right, but of course such tool is a reverse engineered thing not endorsed by Samsung or any other brand.
Maybe not the cheapest price for a good reason. ;-)
The reasoning here is that, since there's no capacity comparable off-brand cell to those of LG, Sanyo/Panasonic or Samsung, it is easy to discharge test prove a “product not as described” dispute for Samsung 35Es, Sanyo GAs or LG MJ1s or M36s.
With regards to VTC6 cells, the game is quite different. Bought once VTC5A cells on sale from Turmera Powerflagship Store (3110015), and their resemblance was reeally good. I later noticed their discharge performance did not matched that of a 30Q cell I had, that there was a mistake in the date code format, and even later and after unwrap I saw their insulator ring was glued. Wrong wrong wrong…
Sony cells are expensive, the profit margin for fakes is high.
What does all of this has in common? Philistine vapers!
Sorry, until AliExpress can provide the means to defend our rights adequately and properly guarantee the authenticity of its products I'll buy my high discharge cells from european provider nkon.
I’m impressed!!! no idea how they behave on medium and high discharge current (my Lii-500 charger can discharge at 500 mA maximum), but at 250 mA discharge they performed surprisingly well!
and #4 in particular… #1 and #3 cells scored about 50 mAh less. All at the first cycle (except #3 which was at its second cycle). After a couple more cycles or so, at least 2 cells could perfectly match the GA (at low currents at least)…
Now I’m really wondering what cells they are… by the way here is a genuine NCR18650GA for comparison (with about 5-10 life cycles):
What bothers me most here is that the two predominant “official” liitokala stores first deny, deny, deny and then play word games claiming their cells are consistent with stated capacity but completely ignore the amp discharge concerns. After much hoop-jumping, liitokala people only offer return for refund. The return shipping is cost prohibitive and they know it.
Lastly, the Aliexpress “team” know of all the counterfeits, they would have to know with all the proof but do not side with the buyer.
Aliexpress will never get another dime of my money.
I had this same problem weeks ago with a similar purchase. Bought a 4-pack of Samsung 25R cells, received a pack of fake green wrapped cells which scored higher and more inconsistent capacities than genuine 25R cells:
I later measured their DC IR and got 35.4mΩ on average, which is close to 50% higher figure compared to that of genuine 25R cells.
The fake cells' top was also tri-lobed, but with a different geometry, bulged and different shade of green wraps, etc. The AliExpress Case Management Team'Tards :-D did not recognized the cells as different, but the capacity test was enough to back up my “product not as described” for half refund claim.
Believe it or not, doing this matters. It matters because this actually makes the seller lose money and puts the AE Case Management Team on guard over them.
I'll buy my high discharge cells from european provider 
