xrae

The last couple of weeks, the battery life on my V has been dismal. I'm getting 1/2 a day, tops, before having to plug in. When I unplug, I can't think of anything I've done or downloaded recently that was out of the ordinary to cause the poor battery life.

I'm coming up on a couple events where I will need backup batteries because i won't be able to recharge throughout the day. Any of you have recent reviews or recommendations for third party batteries from Amazon or another seller? How about a battery with a charging station or dock of some kind?

Thanks!

musick

I have had bad luck with the off brands sold on ebay. They dont fully charge and do strange things to my phone - I swapped one in after charging and it was only at 60% capacity but the disturbing thing was the date said 1980!!! The batteries lack safety features as well.

Id bite the bullet and buy LG/OEM batteries only.

melim

I was actually going to start a thread today asking if anyone has had any luck getting a real OEM battery from an eBay seller. There are quite a few on there, but I've been burned in the past with a so-called OEM battery that wasn't (for my Blackberry), from a seller with tons of good feedback. If not eBay, where's a reputable place that doesn't cost a fortune?

I'm getting the battery for my V's 1st Birthday on Wed, BTW (yes, there will be a party).

350X

Good battries cost money, even though the ebay knock offs could be off the same assembly line making them like OEM, quality contorl test could be skipped.

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melim

So where, in your opinion, is the best place to buy an OEM battery online?

350X

Id go right to your carrier or LG, also a good idea just cause how easy both would be on a return if say it was goofy.

extra cash paid for direct OEM is a nood n a wink payment to make sure your taken care of.

[Like getting a car battery from Sears or Walmart, neither is built different, Sears just stand behind DieHard and the extra cost ensures your taken care of if it fails.]

Thorsten

YMMV, but I like external batteries, as having to power down my phone when running out of juice while doing something critical kind of defeats the purpose for me – being able to continue working.

I use a 5000 mAh external battery ($25, size of a deck of cards) which works very well for me. It came with an ultra-thin, ultra-flexible, retractable USB cable, which allows me to connect the phone to the battery, while keeping the latter tucked away in a coat or backpack pocket.

melim

VM's website has no accessories for the V at all that I can find, and as I suspected LG wants 50 bucks for the OEM battery, which I honestly can not afford. I took a chance elsewhere and will report back when I receive it.

xrae

Where might I be able to find one of these? Does it also recharge the phone battery? How long can you work on the phone with it? I rarely use the phone for talking, I'm usually shooting and uploading photos.

350X

^ those item are just a bunch of rechargable AA or AAA battries that plugs into the USB port that lets it take a charge from them.

like plugging into your car when its not running, the battery is charging it.

were some early cheap ones you just put store bought toss away battries in.

ke4jgx

LG Optimus S LS670 3000mAh Extended Battery+Modified Cover+Charger Free Shipping $22.99 Gadgets-N-Gizmos.com

This is a great battery. it looks like the price went up a couple bux since i got mine. It is a rock solid battery and works great in my V

G19

Do you use quick settings to manage your use of gps/wifi/data and all that?

You're either using your phone hardcore or something is wrong

xrae

G19, I am completely hardcore! Ha ....

About a week ago I installed the app that monitors wifi and mobile data usage. That was the only thing different. I've uninstalled it, but still am seeing the battery drain more quickly. I do a lot of podcast streaming on wifi, which I know that takes a lot of juice. I also use bluetooth for most of my calls. GPS is rarely turned on. And I do use QuickSettings.

I'm not interested in an extended battery because my case won't work with it.

Thorsten

This is the one I bought: Buy.com - GTMax Universal Cellphone, iPod, iPhone , Tablet 2 USB Port External Rechargeable Backup Battery 1A (You may also find this or very similar products on Amazon or other sites.)

Yes. From the phone’s perspective, you’ve just plugged it into a wall outlet. The phone can’t tell the difference.

It depends on how much you use your phone while it’s charging. The internal battery’s capacity is 1500 mAh, this external power pack’s is 5000 mAh – you do the math. Some of that power will be lost during transmission, but from what I have observed, you should effectively get at least 3000 mAh’s worth out of that pack, effectively tripling your internal battery’s capacity.

350X

still got your old parts?

any way you could show a real comparsion of how much the thickness changes?

xrae

But I don't know how to do that kind of math ...

I'm intrigued by the device, I'll definitely check it out. Might be better than swapping phone batteries all day long without a way to recharge them.

xrae

Thorsten, I've checked out the "Powerbank" and I have a couple questions.

This is its own battery that you recharge by plugging into the wall or a USB? or does it run on AA batteries?

How long have you had yours? Have you noticed any degradation?

McNerdius

Am i the only one to be paranoid of this external battery concept ?

Hearing horror stories of using non-OEM chargers would make me very hesitant to use such a doohickey... Or are these issues only limited to AC chargers ? I haven't used anything but the stock AC charger... never even used it straight PC->USB because my computer's motherboard has this 3x USB power "feature" to charge stuff faster.

Paranoia cha cha cha !

ke4jgx

here are some pix that show the difference..

ImageShack Album - 11 images


I had one of those external batteries and it just got to be a pain lugging around more stuff.it now stays in my car.
Yes i have my original parts. Went with the larger battery as I use a nylon holster i found that works perfect with the phone whether it has the standard battery or the extended one on.

xrae

I could use a cheapie external charger that used AA batteries with my old phone -- not a Droid -- and I didn't have any issues. It won't power my Droid, though. I've tried.

ke4jgx

Energizer® XP2000 Power Kit

Thats the external battery system I picked up. Mostly cuz my stock battery was always dying while on a job site where we had low to no signal and i didn't always have access to a power outlet. Also it has enough plugs so that I could let co workers use it if their batteries were dying and they needed a recharge.

Nice unit and works great,just got to be too much to tote around all the time. It stays in the car now with my stock battery and backplate inside it (I modded the case so it would fit inside) After i got the 3000 maH battery now it's like 3-4 days between charges and with a 1000 maH charger it will charge it overnight should need be.

Michael323

This Anker Battery Pack / External Charger (3200mAh battery) is very slim and easy to carry around. It has a micro USB cable embedded so you don't have to carry around an extra cable, and you can charge it and your phone in series through your computer's USB port.

Thorsten

Yes, it’s a lithium-polymer battery. No. Since October. No.

I’d say that unless you absolutely can’t carry this deck-of-cards-sized battery, which weighs about the same as the phone itself, it’s hard to go wrong.

Last edited by Thorsten; February 12th, 2012 at 11:10 AM. Reason: typo

melim

I received said supposed OEM battery today. First impression: if it is not indeed OEM it's the best darn knockoff I've ever seen. More later when I have had a chance to evaluate performance.

KryptoNyte

Just thought I'd report that I purchased (2) batteries and a charger from Ebay for about $13, shipping included.

I can only tell you that I've been using these (2) batteries as well as the original battery for over a year now, and all three of them have performed equally. Having the wall charger has been a treat.

xrae

Do you have the name of the seller?

xrae

I'm looking at batteries on Amazon and eBay. Has anyone used the Anker brand and have comments on it?

KryptoNyte

I guess Ebay won't let me look back that far, but I can tell you that this:

Q576 2X Battery+Charger USB/AC FOR LG Optimus V VM670 LGIP-400 T P509 | eBay

is the exact same package that I purchased. The batteries and charger look identical to mine. Sheesh, that price is nuts.

Michael323

^

See my post #22

350X

yea thats to rich for my blood.

xrae

I noticed those today, but will need the batteries in about 20 days. They state shipping will be 10-20 days. I could buy both that and the Anker and still spend less than $30 and have four batteries. Hmm.

Thanks, everyone!

xrae

After looking over the battery options and the Anker external battery that Michael323, posted, I'm going to try the external battery. I have a case on my V. With the external battery, I won't have to remove my case over and over again to replace batteries.

I'll let you know how it goes!! Thanks for the ideas, everyone.

KryptoNyte

I initially figured the case couldn't possibly put up with all the on and off for a battery swap. A battery swap a day, or more, and it's still working just fine after a year. It's those times when I drop it on a hard floor where I wonder if the case will stay on.

Let's face it, this is a $100 (or less) phone. I figured I'm really not risking much here.

AndyOpie150

Thorsten has the best solution in this case. An external battery that plugs into the USB/charging port.

bealc79

I just wanted to point out that I bought 2 batteries on ebay for the V and I am so disappointed. No mention that the battery thickness is different so the battery will not stay in the phone. It pops out every time I try to put the battery door back on. Waste of money.....so I am looking for a good source as well to buy a battery that will stay in my phone!

xrae

I ordered the Anker external battery on the 9th and it arrived today from California. Good service there. I haven't connected it to the phone yet, but will let you know how that goes.

Anker 3200mAh External Battery for LG Vortex Optimus S/V/T/7/2X Anker 3200mAh External Battery for LG Vortex Optimus S/V/T/7/2X | eBay

It's lightweight, about the same size as the Optimus V, and weighs in at 3.2 oz, vs. the V's 6.4 oz weight with case.

Last edited by xrae; February 13th, 2012 at 04:43 PM.

KryptoNyte

Do you by chance have a link to the batteries that you purchased, so that others may avoid that particular piece of hardware?

dcheramie

I just got one of these ; has anyone had issues with it? i've charged it (I think...i at least finally figured out how to use the funky charger thing that came with it ) but when i put it in the phone, it powers up to the LG logo and then shuts off...

any suggestions?

AndyOpie150

If it goes to the lg logo then shuts down, the battery is not charged. Try puting it in the phone and charge it.

dcheramie

i'll give it a try ; I did attempt that as well but it immediately did NOT act like the normal battery when trying to charge it that way, i.e. the normal battery goes to logo, then to the battery screen, showing the battery charging

this one just flashes the logo over and over when i try charging it in the phone ; i'll give it a bit longer this try and see if it ever gets past that

350X

Results for External Battery (Mobile)

AndyOpie150

If the battery still doesn't charge it's defective.

ke4jgx

When I purchased mine it didn't have the charger included (that's the reason it costs a few bucks more now)

I inserted the battery,popped on the cover and let it charge overnight on the stock charger/USB cable that came with the phone.. Never have had a problem, been almost a year and it's still working as good as new.

350X

If I can't get my battery temps while hard WiFi useage under control, Im gonna get this.

2x 1500mAh Battery + Charger LG Optimus One P500 C LW690 V VM670 S LS670 T P509 | eBay

I like how the wall plug in, will hold the spare battery for charging.

xrae

I've used the Anker to recharge my Optimus three times. So far, so good. The first charge depleted the Anker. I connected it to my laptop for a recharge. Today it charged my nearly-dead phone in just a couple hours, and has 50% charge left.

The only issue is the Anker's built-in connector is on its long side, while the Optimus USB port is on the short side of the phone. So there's not great way to line them up while charging because one's perpendicular to the other. The Anker's built-in curly cable is just long enough.

I can put together a little video review if anyone's interested.

Pictures:
http://i.imgur.com/Urx9L.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/GZmoK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rG1FG.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/iKsZK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/HfNby.jpg

iwantbruce

I heard of battery problems on the V, went and bought 2 extra identical new ones from a company off of amazon. No problems, keep them charged and in pocket of padded phone belt clip case.
P.S, turning off sync and other battery draining data using apps wouldn't hurt either

Leslie Ann

I have an OEM and two generics for the OV, and an Anker and two OEM for the Evo, plus an External Energizer battery/charger.

The generic OV batteries aren't great, but as emergency backups they are nice, as is the charger, especially for the price. The external is handy, especially since it can work on anything, but once I got the Anker battery, I passed it on to my mom for her Blackberry.

The Anker battery ROCKS. It's rated at 200mah more than stock (OV ones are only 100), but gets about 20% more life, I keep an OEM handy for spare on long jobs, but rarely need them now. I hate thick phones so this was the way I preferred to go.

The Anker charger is great in some ways, bad in others. Bad because while it's universal, it's kind of a pain how they did it. It's fantastic though since it can work off USB, or plug into a wall. It even has a USB out port for charging through there as well. It's pretty of slick actually. If only it was a little easier to connect a battery to it would be perfect.

I will back up Xrae on their service, I got mine fast as well, and like I said, I like the product, I will buy from them before another oem or generic at this point. The price is good as is the service. Sorry, I know it sounds like a commercial, but really, it's good stuff at good prices.

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ritchea

I have had this set for several months, also. I agree totally with what Leslie Ann said.

Guian

Picked up this I go last year, no problems at all. Only thing it should have is a micro usb cable included. Got me a compact mini usb power/data cable from rocketfish and no problems. This can be used to powere just about anything with a usb cable. And the battery pack is 1800 MAh, so essentially its an extra battery. I also find that this charger tends to recharge my OV alot faster than our OEM charger.

Guian

Amazon.com: iGo PS00273-0001 Charge Anywhere Universal Power Extender (Black): Electronics

Forgot the link to the post above.