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    < 2 years, 2 batteries?

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by illini07, Jan 22, 2008.

  1. illini07

    illini07 Notebook Geek

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    I got a SZ 280P a little less than 2 years ago now. After about 10 months, the batter wouldn't hold a charge for more than 35 minutes. I called and since it was within 1 year, got a new one. Now, less than 10 months later, the battery will no longer hold a charge for more than 30 minutes. To make it worse, I only just discovered that the extended warranty I paid through the @$$ for doesn't even cover the battery.

    Is this a common problem? I love the SZ otherwise but this is absurd. Can I reasonably expect to accomplish anything by calling up customer service and haranguing them?
     
  2. |SONY|

    |SONY| Notebook Evangelist

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    bad luck. happened to me once. Keep on sending it back.

    The funny sh&t is that once they replace it, the new battery holds a warranty of only 90 days or whatever is left on the laptop, whichever is longer.

    I had a battery fail on me 20 days before the end of the warranty, they've replaced it. Got the second one fail on me about 4 months down the road and they wouldn't replace it.

    After *****ing for about 3 days, I got them to swap it.
     
  3. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    It sounds like you probably use your battery a lot though, no? Most batteries can only be completely recharged between 300-500 times before they start to go kaput.
     
  4. illini07

    illini07 Notebook Geek

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    I do, it is my main computer and almost always on (I'm a student, so the only way around this is to buy a desktop to use at home)

    So basically I should plan on buying a new battery every year? That wouldn't be so bad if they didn't charge an arm, a leg, and your firstborn child for one...
     
  5. |SONY|

    |SONY| Notebook Evangelist

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    Greg,

    It is a hit and miss. I had a VAIO that I was abusing daily and the battery lasted ~3 years. On the other side my T350's battery was changed 3 times...
     
  6. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    It is hit and miss, but on average more users are going to see more battery wear than not.

    Plan for the potential to replace a battery once per year, though it might not happen.
     
  7. |SONY|

    |SONY| Notebook Evangelist

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    or sell the laptop before the warranty expires :)

    your laptop becomes someone else's problem :)