Are laptop batteries easy to replace?

Thursday, 24 February 2011 14:21 |

Replacement batteries are usually available for major laptop brands. However you may need to hunt around to find a trustworthy source.

Removing and replacing a laptop battery is quite simple. The hard part is buying a replacement unit. To start with you have two choices: stick with the original manufacturer or go for a third party product.

Buying the laptop manufacturer's battery

Clearly buying the laptop manufacturers battery gives you a degree of comfort: it won't ruin your laptop if it is wrongly specified; it is likely to be high quality and it will fit. The last point is quite crucial as we have encountered "compatible" parts that were too big! Also you will preserve any warranties.

The downside is that a genuine replacement part can be double the price of a third party equivalent.

You may also find non-business laptops have a very limited run of official batteries. A genuine replacement may not be an option once the laptop is a couple of years old. Business laptops tend to have a long product support life-cycle.

Buying a third party battery

There is a thriving market in third party batteries that cater for people who are prepared to save some money. There are many reasons to be careful however:

Is the manufacturer reputable and will they be able to honour any warranty claims
Is the unit of sufficient quality
Will it invalidate the warranty? (Almost certainly yes)

ITS offer an expert procurement service to all our support customers. We make sure you are aware of the options and implications where it is a server upgrade or just a new battery. We are the IT Solution after all.