Sony Vaio VGN-FW 350J/B

Hey guys! I'm looking for a new battery to get. I love shopping on eBay (in the US), so if you can find one there that would be great! Anyhow, I'm needing a new battery as mine doesn't last longer than 20 minutes once I take it off the charger. I'd love to have a battery that is more than 4400mAh. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

I'd stick with a Sony battery. It's true the Sony one is an OEM one made in China, but at least you get manufacturer support. Half the OEM batteries have their call centers in China, you can't understand a word, getting an RMA is harder than getting a baboon to pass college.

 

I need a new battery though... Mines dying..

 

Go to Sony's website and order one for your model. Be prepared to spend 100-150~ for a battery

 

They don't have any for the FW350j series.

 

Should be a "Parts and Accessories" link on your model homepage (Sony site).
Fill in the blanks (model what you're after etc) and submit it.
When I used before they were very responsive at getting back to me.
Or you could try live chat mode to get the specifics/part numbers for your battery.

 

Okay well Sony Style doesn't have it (not surprised, it's an older model) you can also call up Sony or email them.

 

It shouldn't be this hard to find a replacement battery. This is ticking me off. I've talked to sony prior to asking you guys here. I've had absolutely NO luck.

 

I feel for you, but how old is the notebook?

Not a recommendation, but does this help?

See:
Sony VAIO VGN-FW350J Parts - VAIO VGN-FW350J Replacement Parts/Accessories - Notebook/Laptop Parts Expert

 

The laptop is 18 months old.

 

Well, 18 months is not old, but that is why I always recommend maxing out a system at the time it is bought - buying batteries is part of 'maxing it out'.

The manufacturer is under no obligation to continue to support any specific configuration (and/or parts availabiltiy) - unless there is a signed contract to that effect.

In the short term:
You may want to contact a battery place close to you that may be able to revive your current battery pack with new cells - make sure you can trust them and that their work not only guarantees the battery - but also the notebook it will be used in. (You're just basically making sure that they will re-assemble the battery pack with all the protection circuitry intact).

In the long run:
You're basically looking for a new notebook unless your current one is still useful tied to a nearby power outlet.

Was the link useful?

Good luck.

 

I thought some provision of California law states for electronics; parts must be available for a certain time after a product's life cycle. Now whether it be a crazy price is another story (4 year old Macbook Pro logic boards are like 1400 bucks) but manufacturers must still offer parts.

And batteries are already degraded from when they are made in the factory, so buying a spare battery when it is new is kinda pointless unless you use the spare immediately?

 

Sony does not support any of their older models it seems. I could not find an original replacement battery for my wife's 20-month old VGN-NR498D so I had to settle for one of those Chinese batteries from eBay. You have to update the BIOS so the computer can recognize the battery but after that it works great!

Granted, I'll never get another Sony computer if that is their attitude towards their customers.

 

It's not pointless if you store it properly and know you'll (eventually) depend on it.

Also, batteries are not made 'degraded' they simply start degrading right after being manufactured.

When I depended on my ThinkPAD's, I had 6 batteries for each - and they were bought at the time of the notebooks (or well within one year of purchase - ie. the notebooks were still 'current').

 

Now you know the horrors of Sony. Have you tried calling or emailing them?

 

I did not call them for this, but past phone conversations with Sony support have not been too successful.

I won't have a problem finding batteries for my Thinkpads. One quick look at the Lenovo Outlet store and I could still order a battery for my ancient X30 and that is an 8-year old model!