Review of ZeroLemon 9300 mAh extended battery for Note 2 w/pics!!!

[twister6]

Thank you for the input. Anybody else with any issues?

Well, you can count me as an exclusive user of this battery since the day I got it and everything is good. XDA, has a ton of replies about it and only praises.

Here is a deal where I think a lot of the people get confused. DO NOT take anybody's else screen on or days on numbers too close to your heart. It's an irrelevant benchmark because everybody has a different setup and different use. The fact is that OEM battery is 3100 mAh (confirmed and verified), extended batteries from various vendors are 6200-6400 mAh (confirmed and verified), and this battery is 9300 mAh (confirmed and verified). So you are getting double capacity with extended battery and triple capacity with ZL battery.

If you can swear on your life that you have exactly the same setup and identical use, and running the same apps with a same config, and you do not see an improvement - perhaps something is wrong with a battery. You have 3x stock size/capacity batteries fused together, could be possible that some connection broke off or something. The test I ran to get 20hr screen time was not realistic phone use. It was Nova Battery Tester program with a cpu stress test which exercises faster battery drain while timing it. That test takes all the variable out of equation by turning your 4G connection off, turning brightness to max level, and disabling other background processes. That test can also estimate mAh reading, and i found it to be for ZL approximately 3x the capacity of stock battery. It's not an accurate measurement, but relative measurement. So if you run that test with your stock battery or extended double capacity battery, and then with ZL and you don't see 3x or 1.5x improvement - something is wrong with your ZL battery and it has to be replaced under warranty.

 

[ScandaLeX]

What is your screen time? I'm currently at 62% with 5 hours screen time.

Tapatalk got issues! Before I hit submit my screen on time WAS part of my post. LOL!
Pics .... This is right now.

Is anyone experiencing reception issues while using this battery?

Now that the white case is in stock I was about to jump all over it and order today. However, I just read on a few sites that people are noticing that these batteries are hampering the data/cell/wi-fi reception on their phones to varying degrees. This has given me pause, so I wanted to see if anyone here was experiencing this problem. Thanks.

REALLY? All my reading has been the opposite. As a matter of fact, I seriously believe it's actually improved my signal.
During the time I wasn't on WiFi my 3G performed as if it were LTE and that never happened prior to this battery.

I also waited for the white case & jumped on it within secs of it's availability on Amazon. I've been reading about this battery long before this review thread was created so if I may ask, could you please post a link to one of

 

[twister6]

FYI, I just ordered one of those cheap ebay TPU bumpers. Its a bumper only, without any back to cover battery. I have little faith it will work, but for the sake of an experiment - I should have it in a few days. I was thinking if I can fit that bumper around ZL tpu case, that would be great to improve the lip (face drop protection) and the grip. Either way, will post my test results as soon as I get it.

And I do agree with you that if you have multiple batteries, it doesn't matter if external chargers takes longer to get it juiced up.

Btw, had to take a trip today (from my area of Jersey Shore to King of Prussia - awful ride in the rain), and had my N2 with ZL and GPS on at full screen brightness for traffic purposes. Almost 4hr round trip, and it chewed up only 18% of my battery. That is insane. Plus, for a short while had Hot Spot on to get Nexus 7 going on internet.

Btw^2, if yo have OTG cable/adapter, you can use your N2 with ZL to charge other devices

 

[wcraft71]

I deliberately let the phone running a movie last night and managed to get it down to 1%. I turned the phone off and let it charge overnight for 7 hours. As expected, it was 100% this morning.

BUT, two hours later the battery is 93%. My screen brightness is around 30% and I haven't had it on for more than 30 minutes. I'm going to have to keep a close eye on this, good thing there is such a long warranty.

 

[ScandaLeX]

I tried to let it go down to 5% but couldn't do it. It stayed on 12% for HOURS and I worried it'd go from 12 straight to 0 so I gave into my anxiety and put it on the charger while it was still sitting at 12%.

I can honestly say I don't plan on charging this battery while in my phone. There is just way too much weight added and mishaps happen--especially where toddlers are concerned.

I ordered this battery charger yesterday. It comes with 2 spare batteries I don't need but the actual charger isn't sold separately. It's pricier than many of the universal chargers that can be gotten off eBay for $2 but I wanted white and this was the only one I came across.
Also this was the only charger advertised specifically for the Note 2 battery for all carriers and not a universal that requires moving the charging pins around.

The other thing apart from it being white which made me order it is the charging pins are on the left just like the ZL9300 as opposed to Samsung's battery charger which has the charging pins placed on the right.

Amazon

 

[twister6]

I tried to let it go down to 5% but couldn't do it. It stayed on 12% for HOURS and I worried it'd go from 12 straight to 0 so I gave into my anxiety and put it on the charger while it was still sitting at 12%.

I can honestly say I don't plan on charging this battery while in my phone. There is just way too much weight added and mishaps happen--especially where toddlers are concerned.

I ordered this battery charger yesterday. It comes with 2 spare batteries I don't need but the actual charger isn't sold separately. It's pricier than many of the universal chargers that can be gotten off eBay for $2 but I wanted white and this was the only one I came across.
Also this was the only charger advertised specifically for the Note 2 battery for all carriers and not a universal that requires moving the charging pins around.

The other thing apart from it being white which made me order it is the charging pins are on the left just like the ZL9300 as opposed to Samsung's battery charger which has the charging pins placed on the right.

Amazon

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/snQQpy/media/Anker3100_zpsb5c3e389.jpg.html

Cool! So you went with Anker, these are good and you get 18-months warranty. Plus I read somewhere their 3100 mAh battery is actually 3250 mAh capacity. Between ZL, two of these, and a stock one - you are probably covered for 2wk

 

[srad2drag]

I'm using this charger for my ZeroLemon Battery. The battery fits with no problem and the charger has a red light for charging and a blue light for fully charged. Expect atleast 2 days for a full charge..

Amazon.com: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 External Dock Battery Charger + Microfiber Cloth - GT N7100 - SCH I605 Verizon - SCH R950 U.S. Cellular SGH I317 AT&T - SGH T889 T-Mobile - SPH L900 Sprint - Wall Home Spare Extra Travel - EB595675LA: Cell Phones & A

 

[ScandaLeX]

@twister6 I'll have around 25,000 mAh total.
5 x 3100 mAh + 9300.
I really don't need 5 of these batteries but like I said, the white charger wasn't sold separately. I have ONE friend who has the Note 2. I "might" give him an extra battery. Already gave him some cases I didn't like. hehe


@srad2drag I saw that one. I didn't get it because it's black and 90% of the pictures of it on eBay and Amazon show it face down so I couldn't see what side the charging pins are on. Even if I could see them, I don't mind paying more for the color I want.

 

[twister6]

Just want to add an observation, similar to what others have seen as well. With ZL battery percentage displayed by the phone sometime can drop 5%-10% in 30min, and then stay at the same number for 1-2hr even with moderate use. I think it's the way phone handling it's reading, not the battery. I actually read somewhere that stock phone can't handle well exact reading of extended batteries. I guess it's a small price to pay for high capacity. Just watch out when it drops below 10%.

 

[wase4711]

yep, this same thing happenned to me; as fast drop to 93%, sat there for several hours, dropped to 74%. then stayed there for several hours, and hit 68 % when I went to bed.Woke up, 8 hours later and it was 66%...

No doubt the phone cant figure out what this giant battery is really doing!

Bottom line, its easy to see that at least 3 days of normal use will be no problem with this battery..BTW, I overclock, have 5 email accounts checking every 10 minutes, gmail, FB, Twitter,and everything else going all the time, in addition to lots of phone calls every day..thats why we have these phones, to USE them!!!

 

[twister6]

Another thing that helps, once you reach 100% charge marker try to keep it in a charger for another 15-20min. These are not exactly smart self-calibrated batteries (in general), and I think the percentage is based on the final charged voltage of the battery which can reach it's value while continuing to charge up.

 

[ScandaLeX]

Thank you both. Yesterday my battery never dropped below 70% and I'm always using it. Even while watching a whole movie on Netflix it didn't budge.
Went to sleep around 5 am and now 1pm I'm at 68%.

EDIT I figure since mine is the last post I may as well edit it and continue.


Rec'd the Anker externally charger Sat morning but didn't put the battery in it until some time late last night. Woke up this morning, battery (ZL9300) appeared to be charged since the indicator went from red to blue but when I placed the battery in my phone, it was only at 77%.

Although this monstrous battery does fit the Anker charger, I can clearly feel it's not a snug fit. Battery feels loose in it. Also, their own battery felt loose but Samsung's OEM battery was seated snugly.

This here is my first full usage before putting the battery in charger. There is no power saving enabled, screen at full brightness, BT on, some 3G but mostly wifi and some gps.

 

[srad2drag]

My results after 3 cycles

I normally average around 24 hours with my 7600 & 7960 mah batteries with medium to heavy use. With the stock battery I only get 12 hours.

 

[twister6]

My results after 3 cycles

I normally average around 24 hours with my 7600 & 7960 mah batteries with medium to heavy use. With the stock battery I only get 12 hours.

7600 & 7960? Did you mean 6200 & 6400 mAh extended batteries? I haven't seen anything with a confirmed capacity other than double capacity in double size extended battery package. It's physically impossible to fit more capacity because of battery cell limitation. OEM standard 3100 mAh, double extended 6200 mAh (although Mugen managed to squeeze another 200 mAh into their 6400 mAh), and triple extended ZL 9300 mAh which has 3 physical batteries linked together.

 

[twister6]

@Scandalex: I wonder if the reason it didn't get charged up fully because battery sits loose and not making a tight contact with charger pins. What I would suggest is to use a strip of foam tape inside the battery charger opening on the side opposite of charging contacts - that way it will push the battery tighter against contacts.

 

[1971]

went to a music festival this weekend and picked up the zero lemon i believe on wed. charged it and then used nova battery tester to run it down to shut off then charged it for 12+ hours. so i did lots of uploading of pics to FB, high res pics and videos... currently at 1d 14h 49m and at 49%. i actually find the phone easier to hold with the grippier back that comes with the battery. for 40 bucks... a super steal!

 

[srad2drag]

7600 & 7960? Did you mean 6200 & 6400 mAh extended batteries? I haven't seen anything with a confirmed capacity other than double capacity in double size extended battery package. It's physically impossible to fit more capacity because of battery cell limitation. OEM standard 3100 mAh, double extended 6200 mAh (although Mugen managed to squeeze another 200 mAh into their 6400 mAh), and triple extended ZL 9300 mAh which has 3 physical batteries linked together.

The information on the back of the batteries stated said MAH. I havent verified by doing any independent testing. I also have the Mugen battery and it does not perform any better than the way cheaper 7960 and 7600 batteries.

 

[twister6]

The two at the bottom are definitely 6200 mAh. Regarding Mugen, I'm sorry to say but its way too overpriced for $105 when you can get the same battery for under $20 from Anker (although they are discontinuing it) or Hyperion or some others. Mugen battery cover is nicer with a kickstand, and I heard that now they are finally offering that free bonus leather case, but still - they are no longer the only player in town and have to align their pricing to be competitive. Anker built such a stellar reputation with their batteries, they already released double capacity one for S4 w/NFC for $17.99 and 18-month warranty, while Mugen is nowhere to be found probably still scratching their head.

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into Mugen bashing lol!!!

 

[ScandaLeX]

The two at the bottom are definitely 6200 mAh. Regarding Mugen, I'm sorry to say but its way too overpriced for $105 when you can get the same battery for under $20 from Anker (although they are discontinuing it) or Hyperion or some others. Mugen battery cover is nicer with a kickstand, and I heard that now they are finally offering that free bonus leather case, but still - they are no longer the only player in town and have to align their pricing to be competitive. Anker built such a stellar reputation with their batteries, they already released double capacity one for S4 w/NFC for $17.99 and 18-month warranty, while Mugen is nowhere to be found probably still scratching their head.

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into Mugen bashing lol!!!

I definitely didn't take this as Mugen bashing. They were one of the first out the gate making a name for themselves in the extended battery arena thus commanding a higher price; but that ship has sailed when you can get the same thing for a fraction of their price.
In that regard, Monster comes to mind--you're paying more for the name than anything else.

Thanks for the strip of foam tape tip!!!

 

[AlbinLee]

Hey Everyone,

I am currently developing a 100,000 mAh prototype for the Galaxy Note 2. If enough interest is generated in the forums, I may proceed and manufacture a small run of them. The battery will be available through a direct mount phone case as a standard setup, but I am actually in the process of developing a micro USB adapter to backpack carry system as well. If the OP is interested in reviewing/testing either of these prototypes, I would be happy to send a free sample product.

Here is a sneak peak at one of the earliest prototypes! Obviously the design has vastly improved through many iterations, but just to give you an idea:



Feel free to PM me with any questions.

-Al

 

[JunBringer]

lol^

I think I'm going to pick one of these up for my Disney trip in December, since I'd like to take a buttload of pictures and fiddle with the phone while in line all day. Thanks for the recommendation folks!

 

[saa001]

I just got the Note 2 and the first thing I did was get this battery. Charged it up for 12+ hours and then proceeded to use it for three and a half days until it got down to 13% (had to charge it up because I needed it for work the next day and couldn't take a chance on it running out).

Great battery, although a littel big. Not sure if I will keep it as my regular battery or use it when I travel for work.

 

[wcraft71]

Just wanted to say that despite my post above, the battery is doing great. As others have said, it appears that the phone just can't tell handle properly reading the much bigger battery.

The last charge lasted over 6 days and I'm currently at 5 days and 3 hours with 34% screen time and I still have 24% battery left. This is phenomenal! Great battery for the Note 2.

 

[twister6]

This battery became my weekend warrior. During the weekdays when I'm at work, I go back to OEM with UAG case, but on a weekends I don't leave home without. Had it running since Friday, for full 3+ days with 65% screen time of 10+ hours which included 3.5 hr of navigation, and using to make calls while driving. The rest watching movies, playing some games, checking emails, web browsing - full heavy duty use with every single switch on and not even switching to wifi (all 4G). And I still have 15% left. Navigation with full screen on and real time traffic updates while also using the phone - that is the heaviest load. Everything is handled with ease. Still running it down and will switch back to stock when I get to 5%.

 

[ScandaLeX]

So far I've been getting close to 2 days. No power saving, no wifi. BT on 24/7. Full brightness (normally much lower but set high to see what I get out of this battery) Only using 4G. What am I doing that I'm not coming any where near 3 days of use?