I have an S3 and the USB charging port is getting flaky. I ordered a couple new Samsung batteries, 4 actually at this point. Here’s the receiving voltage; #1=13%, #2=DOA > replacements #3=3.85v (yea!), #4=4.22v (huh?). These things come in a small bag, sealed, and seemingly covered with double sided sticky tape. It would be a good trick to open one without making a mess. I guess a questionable one could be sent back (charged), and resealed with a new bag. I did charge #1 and #2, and they don’t seem to work as well as the older Ray-O-Vac they were supposed to replace……but cell phone use is SO variable. I get significantly different times from the same battery depending on what I do with it.
I also ordered a cheapy plug-in charger like used for digital cameras. On the body it indicates 4.35v @ 350mA output. It charges the batteries to 4.3v. (Says in the ad it’s a Hyperion, it’s not.)
I’ve read….some……cell phones have gone to 4.35v batteries. I’ve searched and cannot find any spec indicating that for this phone. Anyone know? Am I overcharging my batteries with this?
I’m not sure. But if you ever need another replacement look at the Anker batteries on Amazon. I replaced my S3 battery with the “standard capacity” 2200mah one and it holds a charge so much longer than the original did. Plus their warranty/exchange process is supposed to be great if you ever needed it.
Sorry for the infomercial lol I’m just all about keeping devices going as long as they’re not functionally obsolete.
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My Anker battery says 3.8v so I’d think 4.3-4.35v charge termination sounds about right
I don’t mind that at all.
Another buddy got an Anker for his Samsung and is satisfied with it. Trouble with this kind of battery is 98% of the people writing reviews have not a clue what is going on beyond “works….doesn’t work”. I could not find a single review (and I read a LOT on Amazon, Newegg, and a bunch of eBay sites) that ever listed even a vague attempt to discover the actual mA or even the full voltage, not one.
I’ve ordered cheap replacement batteries (1/4 the cost of originals) for some cameras. They have always been a serious disappointment, often performing worse than the old used one I’m trying to replace (should be labeled Ultrafire , so I thought I’d try OEM. These are made in China and I guess the real original is made in Korea, for whatever that’s worth.
Note - this is a used phone, hand-me-down due to the USB charging problem, but for it’s time it was high end. My 1st smartphone was a Nokia Lumia 521, not terrible but this one is a whole lot better. It is harder on batteries though, but it does more and I actually use it more.
battery full charge 4.33v on note 3.
sounds like you are getting “refurbs”.
batteries from trade in/recycled devices that still work.
the new spare i got was at 60% when i put it in the note.
new ones should be consistent in voltage.
Thanks for the links to 4.35v batteries. That was exactly what I was looking for.
I definitely am getting something that is not right. I don’t know if it’s ‘refurbs’, very very old stock, 2nd/3rd tier batteries, or plain old fakes. But, they aren’t good. If you search on Amazon and eBay for Samsung Galaxy S3 genuine battery (and many variations) you get dozens of hits and they are almost all these same appearing batteries from China for similar price (under $10 and as low as $3). Anker seems to be possibly the most satisfactory alternative.
For most of the the reviews go from 5* - 55% to 1* - 22%. That kind of spread is also common. All the reviews are subjective. After reading hoards of them I’d say the average cell phone user doesn’t have a clue about the batteries. This renders the reviews damn near worthless.
I’m still waiting on the seller to get back to me on my last email with capacity discharges and photos to support the tests.
Some newer phones batteries are 3.8V nominal, 4.35V fully charged. This is why some chargers are 5.30 instead of 5.0V (quickcharge technology uses even higher voltage and lower amps). If your phone came with a 3.7V battery and you buy a 3.8V replacement it might not show fully charged in your phone.
Since many Samsung (also applies with LG and etc) models use the same battery size but the model and voltage are different, when buying replacement you have to look for the spec and get the exact same model. Many vendors don’t know the details so they think “if it fits it works”.
I wouldn’t worry about refurbs, these batteries are so cheap to make that it’s not worth the effort for them to refurb. Instead they just make a small li-ion cell with a larger plastic frame, or make them low density.
All batteries received were 3.8v nominal and 4.3+ when charged, either by phone or separate charger. I have a stand alone wall charger that I attach a couple small wires to and connect to my Accucell-6 for capacity testing. They do seem to be slowly gaining capacity as I cycle them even though I had done so a couple times before testing.
The refurb part I’m not so particularly worried about (safety concerns aside), it’s just that they are low capacity. With a flaky USB charge port it doesn’t work well to support a low capacity battery with a power bank as it keeps disconnecting with movement.
FWIW the vendor (EForcity) gave me a complete refund. Their customer service was great even if the batteries were not.
Think this story belong here : A sister have a Samsung S3 MINI and I ordered a replacement battery,original and from Ebay,Spain. Something went wrong, the phone got four contacts
and replacement had three. Did not notice this and it worked for a few months but not to well,
It was a single cell, so did not need balancing. To charge all it needed was a plus and minus contact. The other contacts were probably some kind of monitoring. My S3 only has 3 contacts. My guess is the short life had to do with a lousy cell, not with the missing contact since it did work, just not long. You read reviews on these batteries and a short life is common.
You can buy aftermarket standalone battery chargers, plug into the wall type. Use a couple of small wires to the contacts, connect those to the hobby charger, and it works just fine. I even ordered several different ‘universal’ type (you can slide the contacts) so I could do a number of different types of camera and cell batteries.
I tried stripping a USB cable and doing that through the USB connections but something in the charging circuit screws it up. It will charge, but only at a very low rate, and the numbers are ridiculous.
The fourth contact is for the Near Field Communication antenna that is built into real Samsung S3 batteries. You can plainly see the outline of the rectangular antenna coil underneath the black portion of the label.
4th contact = NFC > more evidence that the battery in question was simply junk that went bad early. Not surprising with what I’ve seen.
Side note: Power Case for S3 - I picked up a cheap ($12) power case for the S3. It is a case with a battery in it, a normal USB charge port, and acts just like a power bank. I can charge the case, push a button, and the case charges the S3 battery.
……Supposedly……this thing has 3200mA by spec :heart_eyes: . Because the charging apparatus is in the way I can’t measure the capacity directly. What I have found it it can boost a supposed 2100mA (the S3 battery) about 30% by dumping the entire case into it, and it gets hot. By guesstimate I’d say there’s maybe 800mA in there. Another triumph of marketing over reality. :zipper_mouth_face:
The case is useful mostly because it DOES connect well to the S3 USB charge port, which is flaky on mine, and allows me to use the case port to charge both the case and/or the phone. This is most critical if I want to use it as a GPS where car vibration makes the S3 constantly disconnect from the charger.
If/when it dies I’ll pull it apart to see what is inside, probably a (small) flat lipo and a power bank type circuit. Might be possible to put a decent battery in there if the case isn’t totally wrecked with the dissection. Can’t find anything on the net about construction.
In general it’s pretty good and I think the most useful of this kind of gadget, I have 3 others of this type. It’s a bit fussy to work with when changing to the next screen (memory). Directions are lousy, which is common.
It was completely inaccurate when used with the S3 power case I’ve mentioned in my last post, but then so was my hobby charger. I don’t see that as a fault of this device. I’m still trying to figure out that problem.
, so I thought I’d try OEM. These are made in China and I guess the real original is made in Korea, for whatever that’s worth.