Battery size warning

[John Jason]

I bought a battery and battery dock charger on eBay for my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S2:

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

When it arrived I placed the battery in the dock and plugged it in. While charging the light was red, and when it was charged the light changed to blue. Then I took the battery out of the dock and tried to place it in my T-Mobile Galaxy S2. The battery was a bit narrower and about 1/8 inch longer than the battery that came with the SGS2.

I know that the screen on the T-Mobile SGS2 is slightly bigger. I didn't know that apparently the size of the rest of the phone is also different, including the size of the battery.

Be forewarned when buying extra batteries for your T-Mobile SGS2. The size of our batteries is different than the other SGS2 phones. If the seller does not say the battery is specifically for the T-Mobile SGS2, it probably won't fit.

 

[LunchBB]

There're different variations of the Galaxy S2. You should be looking for battery particularly for the SGH-T989 model.

 

[John Jason]

There're different variations of the Galaxy S2. You should be looking for battery particularly for the SGH-T989 model.

Yep. The problem with the eBay item is that the seller did not say what SGS2 the battery was compatible with. From further research it appears that all the others use the same battery. Our SGH-T989 is the only one that uses the narrower and longer battery.

Worse, the only place I can find an extra battery for the SGH-T989 is T-Mobile, and they want $50 for the battery and a charger dock. There are none on Amazon or eBay, although I did find dock chargers without a battery. Where are all those Hong Kong eBay sellers with the cheap batteries?

I wonder if our battery is also used in any other phones. I bet it is. It's hard to believe that Samsung had a custom-size battery made just for our phones.

 

[John Jason]

I wonder if our battery is also used in any other phones. I bet it is. It's hard to believe that Samsung had a custom-size battery made just for our phones.

If this eBay seller is right, the AT&T Infuse uses the same battery:

NEW BATTERY FOR SAMSUNG i997 INFUSE 4G ATT S 2 SGH T989 GALAXY S2 T-MOBILE | eBay

Need confirmation from someone who happens to have a T-Mobile SGS2 and an AT&T Infuse.

 

[LunchBB]

what about this one
for T-MOBILE SAMSUNG Galaxy S II SGH-T989 STANDARD OEM BATTERY EB-L1D7IBABSTD | eBay

 

[LunchBB]

I also found it in amazon too... you need to do better searches =)

Amazon.com: Samsung Galaxy S II Hercules SGH-T989 Original Samsung EB-L1D7IBA Battery Galaxy S II T-Mobile: Cell Phones & Accessories

 

[LunchBB]

Instead of getting a second battery pack (that you need to take out to replace), why don't just get an external battery charger.

Amazon.com: external battery microusb

I'm using the New Trent IMP500 that I can plug in to charge the battery on the road. In the future that you change phone, you can still use this external charger.

 

[John Jason]

Thanks for the links. However, I think you have more money than I do. Or I'm spoiled. I paid $3-4 for replacement batteries from Hong Kong for my MyTouch 3G and they work great. I'm not going to spend $30 for one battery. I'll wait until the Hong Kong sellers on eBay come up with something. Meantime, I carry a USB cable with me that I can plug into any nearby computer in an emergency.

By the way, I noticed that the T-Mobile SGS2 has an 1850 mah battery, while the AT&T SGS2 comes with a 1650 mah battery. We rule.

 

[LunchBB]

Why am I even bothered to help you search.

 

[RRSpikes]

Tmo's SGS2 has NFC, does the Infuse as well? My other half has an Infuse but the battery doesn't say NFC like my SGS2 does.

 

[John Jason]

Tmo's SGS2 has NFC, does the Infuse as well? My other half has an Infuse but the battery doesn't say NFC like my SGS2 does.

Hmmm.

You're right, the T-Mobile SGS2 battery does say NFC. And I very much doubt the Infuse has NFC, because NFC is only just now starting to appear on phones.

On the other hand, NFC is just a chip. What does that have to do with the battery?

 

[Samsmalls]

(Stewie Griffin voice) "DAMuNN"!!!

So does this mean that all us galaxy s II epic 4g touch (sprint) & (at&t) users can't smuggle a few extra 50 - 2000 mah's of juice!

Samsung with their battery sizes one size really needs to for all sgs2's lol!

 

[Jimbo droid]

If you run juicedefender ultimate and set your power saver settings the stock battery lasts a long time.

 

[PuterPro]

Hmmm.

You're right, the T-Mobile SGS2 battery does say NFC. And I very much doubt the Infuse has NFC, because NFC is only just now starting to appear on phones.

On the other hand, NFC is just a chip. What does that have to do with the battery?

My understanding of it is they needed a place to put the NFC ANTENNA, so they stuffed it in the battery. The CHIP is on the motherboard and / or a function integrated into another chip.

Rather clever from an Enginnering standpoint, elegant solution to the question - "Now where the H*LL are we supposed to put ANOTHER Anttena on this thing??!?" They already have to put Bluetooth, 4G, WiFi, and Phone anntennas and STILL make it so you can carry the stupid thing! Remember the 1st cell phones with the anntenna sticking out the top?

LOL

 

[John Jason]

I started this thread way back in October, and most of the replies were shortly thereafter. Everything I have said is now pretty out of date. There are still no after-market batteries with the NFC antenna, but at least there are now some that are the right dimensions so they will work, as long as you don't need NFC. And you can get the genuine Samsung batteries with the NFC chip now for about $25 on Amazon and eBay. There are now two phones that use the same battery, our T-Mobile SGS2 and the AT&T Skyrocket SGS2 (has to be the Skyrocket, not the original AT&T SGS2).

Or you can do as LunchBB suggests and get an external battery.