Samsung S3 replacement battery & side question

• 

  donbot on 16/07/2014 - 14:44

  I'm in a similar boat (~2years old) - but probably get 8hrs of very light usage out of my S3 battery before it dies or 3hrs pretty intense use. Not sure about the battery as I use NFC, and haven't trusted any of the batteries out there to replace it yet.

  To speed the phone up I installed Cyanogenmod and it made a heck of a difference. The only thing that annoys me is the inability to switch between calls if one comes through while I'm on a call. If you use samsung specific features, this might not be for you, but an option to speed it right back up.

  • 

    SaberX on 17/07/2014 - 14:30

    Wow 8 hours , is that screen time? If so that's very impressive. Has that deteriorated from when you first got that?

    THen again is the battery life difference due to the fact that you installed a Cyanogenmod ROM as opposed to I've always been using the stock standard that came with the Samsung??

    I wouldn't need to switch between calls at all/much, that it would be a consideration. What 'samsung specific features' are you referring to? Those that come preinstalled with the OS?

• 

  [Deactivated] on 16/07/2014 - 14:51

  Certainly in the context of what you're looking to buy, Uniquemobiles are an ok outfit. The battery linked will almost certainly be genuine, and 'Australian stock', as stated.

  Particularly after the length of time your phone has been around, you will find genuine Samsung replacements for cheaper than Uniquemobiles' price being sold by some reputable eBay sellers. There are also always some Samsung-branded fakes out there (I bought one a couple of years ago - for $4.95 - that I new would be fake, just so I could do some direct comparisons).

  Beyond actual fakes, which are potentially of risky build and always have significantly overstated capacity, good quality aftermarket replacements batteries do exist.
  'Anker' is an known excellent brand, but for potentially considerably less I believe that the little known (here) 'Pisen' brand are also batteries made to a good standard.

  Unless you have specifically directed your phone's camera or other apps or browser-app downloads etc. to 'save to memory/sdcard', they almost always will default to storing photos and other data in your phone's internal storage.

  Over time and with alot of use and especially after many app-updates / photo deletions etc., your phone's memory becomes 'fragmented' - in the sense that a given file can end up being stored all over the place in the flash memory. There are other factors in play too, but when your phone seems slow, it's largely due to how much longer it takes to retrieve and cache that data so that a given app or rather, apps - even the ones that run in the background and that you're largely unaware of - can continue to function.

  If you backup and reset your phone (yes, it's a pain in the arse), or flash a new ROM like the one tizey did, you will likely find that your S3 will speed up considerably.

  • 

    SaberX on 17/07/2014 - 14:29

    Thanks for taking the time to reply.

    So you would recommend just ebaying pisen or anker brands on ebay for samsung s3? Otherwise do you have some ebay sellers you can link who would genuinely sell 1) genuine stock 2) good quality, brand new products, as stated in the product descriptions. Nothing shifty arriving different to what's advertised.

    GIven the uniquemobiles link is a good $23'ish, plus either $5 regular or $12/13 express post, what price would 'alternatives' cost? I assume getting a replacement genuine s3 battery would be pointless if its second hand, despite 'low/limited use' descriptors? It would be far better to go a brand new aftermarket replacement battery, or an official new samsung?

    IS there an actual quality difference in the samsung vs the aftermarket batteries? Both build and duration of charge etc?? Can you get aftermarket batteries with slightly higher mah capacity than the genuine samsung, or should you generally stick to a battery which replicates its original battery's capacity?

    I don't remember specifying where the app stores - but I assume that any app can be manually directed on where to store to?

    So over time the apps store all over the place (cache), but is there any science behind the fact that updating apps time after time builds excess 'fat' layers on top which chugs the whole process down? or is it all to do with storage fragmentation?

    I've never flashed a new ROM or any ROM, i've always used the standard that came with the phone. Where do I start, I hear there's heaps of them out there? THe new one plus one phone uses cyagenmod but I thought that is unstable - should I be trying this?

    Or if there's negligible battery effect of flashing a ROM over using the default samsung OS, I can do without the 'customisation' and other features that flashing brings?

• 

  [Deactivated] on 16/07/2014 - 15:50

  A factory reset will do wonders for battery life, especially if your Android install is over 12months old.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 16/07/2014 - 16:27

    Yep, but a 2 yr old battery with likely several hundred charge cycles under the belt is way past its prime.

  • 

    SaberX on 17/07/2014 - 14:24

    The telstra rep yesterday recommended it too so I think I will try it this week or next before I head off on my new job out of town. If I have a gmail account linked already all my app data and contacts wil not be lost when I factory reset the phone right? The only thing that won't backup to the cloud is the physical files, photos etc? Which I can copy and paste off the phone?

    That said yes, the 2 years battery probably is well past its prime then…. will be interesting to see how the factory reset goes for battery life and speed.

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 18/07/2014 - 09:09

      Go into contacts on your phone and play around in the settings menu. It will tell you what contacts are being synced to Gmail or not.

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 18/07/2014 - 12:18

      Sorry, SaberX - I'm not sure that I even noticed your/this particular reply last night…

• 

  SaberX on 17/07/2014 - 15:04

  How about this:

  http://batteryexpert.com.au/mobile-battery/genuine-battery-f…

  It's cheaper than uniquemobiles but what worries me is it says 1 year warranty? The uniquemobiles says "6 months manufacture" warranty. I know genuine batteries are 6 months aren't they, so a 1 yr warranty either seems incorrect or worrying (maybe not genuine? but the site does state genuine).

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 17/07/2014 - 22:43

    If it's genuine, it's genuine - and probably is at that price from an established Oz seller. Would suggest that you buy there and be done with it.
    When you get the battery, scrutinise label graphics (and actual label thickness) side-by-side with your old battery to give you some peace of mind.

    It may well be a grey import though, and - like all Samsung gear - unless a listing specifically states 'Samsung Australia Stock', you won't be getting any 'manufacturer' warranty here at all, hence various businesses who import stuff referencing their own warranties.

    Forgive me if I (try) to save myself a little typing here so questions above combined here and answered a bit sharply:

    You can probably get a genuine S3 grey-import battery from .au eBay, local or o/s sellers for cheaper than your link. May take longer than you want for it to be delivered. Paypal protection if fake. If you find me some listings to look at, I'll have a look at them for you and will offer an opinion.

    A slightly higher capacity Anker battery to suit will cost you a bit than your link, delivered. You appear to be both price sensitive and keen on getting a new battery quickly, so…

    Just as general statement, with everything else aside, you can buy full-on 'extended-range' batteries that require (or come packaged with) a new, modified phone back-cover. I don't think that is really what you're looking for. Buy an extra battery or carry a good powerbank to recharge on the go if you need to. Options.

    Most device camera apps, some browser apps, some general apps, allow you direct data and/or general caching to be memory-card stored.
    In rooted devices, other memory-card storage - like running apps from card - present as options.

    Beyond Gingerbread OS, where you could potentially gain temporary root-access to allow full data backup, you won't be able to use an app like Titanium Backup which allows full backup - including your specific app-settings. Hence my use of the word 'hassle'.
    Would suggest that you google something like 'android data backup' to learn more.

    Multiple updating of apps over time, especially when close to full app storage is a guaranteed way to slow down your device.
    Open 'Google Play', go to settings, and turn off auto-updating of apps.

    If there are issues with an app that a new version might fix, or if a new feature mentioned in the changelog is something that you just must try, by all means update - otherwise, let sleeping app-dogs (and - often - new glitches), lie.

    I have many old-version, un-updated, perfectly functional apps maintained/sideloaded on/onto multiple devices.
    Many new versions of those very same apps in the Playstore have been rendered as useless pieces of sh*t by updates, often with new and nasty permissions required.

    I also use certain cheap devices as 'test beds' for new or updated apps, sometimes directly downloaded, sometimes side-loaded before ever being opened on main devices

    Finally, if you're going to flash a new ROM on your S3, read up on XDA Forums for your - no doubt many at this point - options. Tizey in the first comment seems happy with his Cyanogenmod experience. Limited, likely most stable, and happy, first foray mod for you to try.

    Enough.
    Food.
    I hope that some of all of that helps you.

    • 

      SaberX on 18/07/2014 - 15:58

      THanks for the help Tas. I will try and look for some ebay links for you to scrutinise, unless I decide to go with the more expensive but potentially genuine uniquemobiles or the other link.

      That said to clarify, when you say 'grey import' but genuine s3 battteries from ebay. Are you referring to OEM's that are essentially unbaded samsungs? or are grey import batteries similar to grey import mobiles e.g. they were cheaper/designed for overseas markets? Apart from that I don't relaly understand 'grey imports' but I do see all the ozb posts where s5's and the like seem several hundred $ cheaper by going grey import over local stock here. Apart from supposed difficulty accessing warranty service centre support here in Aus I'm not too sure the impact of grey vs aus stock.

      I will read up XDA forums when I get spare time on flashing a new ROM. some say it isn't too hard. In your opinion does it add alot more to battery life and performance than using the stock standard? Having more customisable items isn't so much my need atm otherwise.

      Agreed, I didnt update Facebook for awhile becuase of the 'new' permission it seemed to want… hmm the problem is once you update if you realise you don't need the unstable app or new features etc you can't back date uninstall can you? Nor can you ever choose to install that older version?

      I already have a good 4000mah+ and 11,000 mah battery packs, so yes they do well. Just sometimes with no bag or backpack e.g. out for a night out, you have no battery pack, hence I thought for a new lease on life for my s3 i'd go a new battery as well. GIven I'm tossing up getting one of the latest gen phones when i switch to telstra, hence my price sensitivity. ALthough perhaps I could save $600+ by using the s3 for another few months till say the z2 falls below $600 etc.

      Got nothing against those big battery mods that require a new case backing if it looks good/does a good job - is there an ebay listing of one you'd recommend? If they add an hour or two or more of screen time i'd gladly take it if it doesnt cost an arm or leg. :)

      THanks for all the help/replies.

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 18/07/2014 - 18:15

        Grey market imports of electronics and accessories are full, branded products, but importers don't have to charge you GST. On top of that saving, they can almost always source stuff for a considerably cheaper price from the get-go via markets like Hong Kong - relative to buying from a local official manufacturer agent/distributor.

        Rooting your device and then flashing a new ROM can look daunting, but you just need to follow all relevant instructions very, very, carefully, or you do risk 'bricking', or even 'hard-bricking' your device - potentially rendering your phone not so much as a 'brick', but more like a charming, slim, 'once-upon-a-time-it-was-a-phone' paperweight…

        You need to research each given ROM applicable to your specific model carefully to make sure other users have found it to be glitch, and increasingly important now - malware - free.

        Most specific battery-drain issues present in a given stock-Android iteration get fixed by an update, all going well.
        I've never owned an S3, and don't even know what specific version of Android you're running on it, and hence can't even speculate as to whether that in reality is posing any specific battery-life issues for you, or whether a given non-stock ROM will be better in that respect, or worse

        First and foremost, buy a new battery. Anker certainly used to make bulging, extended range batteries for some models. If you can find one for your S3 and get it delivered at a price you're happy with, that would be a good and safe option for you. Otherwise, buy a standard battery.

        Even if you decide to NOT root your phone and flash a new ROM on it, backup and factory reset it. You should notice a significant jump in performance. Maybe just like new if you're lucky.

        In a rooted device you can easily backup apps (and specific app-data and settings) buy using Titanium Backup Pro, BUT even in an un-rooted device you can still backup the basic .apk file of almost all apps, except the copy-protected ones.

        There are a few apps in the Playstore that allow you to backup to your phone's memory a given version of an app BEFORE you decide - if you do - to update it. Then, if the update turns out to be a backward step, you can reinstall the old version.

        Going back to Android 2.1, in the devices that I have maintained as stock, 'Androzip' has always done the job well.
        Install it, open it, click on the square 'floppy-disk' icon. It will list all of the apps installed on your device. Click on the ones that you want to backup. All except copy-protected apps will backup and display as green. The .apk files will be saved in a folder in your phone's memory named 'app_backup'. Back them up further and copy them onto your memory card if you really want to preserve your current / older app versions. There if you need to reinstall one - or to sideload a batch onto other devices, if necessary.

    • 

      SaberX on 18/07/2014 - 17:04

      I ended up ordering from the batteryexpert link.

      My concern after ordering though is will the model no o the battery have to be identical to my current s3? I assume more than one battery works with the s3 but is it always better going the original battery model no that came with it?

      Also, given my battery has NFC, I don't think I've used that before, but if the new one is a genuine one built for a s3 will it automatically be NFC compatible? Or are some genuine batteries cheaper as they are without NFC?

      From memory NFC was for contactless electronic payments and other nifty things which I don't currently use? So provided the battery is genuine is won't matter for me if I dont have NFC? JUst thought it would be a good indicator if the battery was genuine or not.

      Edit: my model # EB-L1G6LLU and per the picture on the website i squinted and saw it says EB-L1G6LLK. Any difference?

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 18/07/2014 - 18:40

        Didn't see that you'd posted again.
        Certainly as far as basic battery-fit is concerned, the model numbers appear to be interchangeable.
        Didn't google further than that.
        Having ordered, you'll know soon enough as regards whether or not the battery is a direct match for your current one. I think you'll be fine.

      • 

        SaberX on 22/07/2014 - 17:09

        THe battery came with the same model number - just received it.

        I'm abit concerned it isn't genuine. The label looks slightly different, feels slightly different, but I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid, and if one was 2012, this one was manufactured supposedly april 2013. and whether therefore it could be slightly different colours, material feels less matte.

        I've taken a series of pictures, not sure the best way to show you but I might try an image uploader later.

        If it's a potential fake what steps should I take? SHould I email paypal and have the transaction reversed/stopped? Or should/just I contact the seller first, and if so how can i go about it without causing offense and basically saying I think what you sold me is a fake? Maybe intentionally or unintentionally?

      • 

        beaver2233 on 22/07/2014 - 17:21

        @SaberX:
        first off, not everything is manufactured exactly the same. Secondly, test out the battery, see what results you get - this will be your main evidence on whether or not it's fake.

      • 

        SaberX on 22/07/2014 - 22:37

        I will be testing it tonight to see but I heard fakes only show their true colours after a short while of usage e.g. in a month or two you'll notice it practically useless. unless it's totally useless in a day or two of testing it would be hard to argue and return it awhile later? There's a 30 day return policy supposedly that they advised me of when i asked if it was genuine.

        I'll upload some pics:

        FIrst picture: real battery from purchased phone on right, received new one potentially fake on left. notice how the date of manufature and serial no sizing appears different. what worries me is i don't know if it's paranoia but the first thing i noticed the top left of the fake battery on the left, north west of the "S" for Samsung, the wrapper has a split in it, like it's not fully stuck down and part of it ripped where the air bubble is.

        I'll post a pic to follow closer up to that. The "h" in MaH seems sinsterly incomplete, i guess printers could ink/stuff up, but it all seems sus. The QR code looks alot different too, almost more bolder and less 'fine art' as the battery on the right (my original). I note that the left side fake battery appears to be more murky coloured ink and the righ tbattery (not as obvious in these pictures) is more like a clear, whitey white sorta colour ink, if that makes sense?

        You can't see it well but to the right of the QR code part of the paper of the potential fake battery on the left appears to be slightly shinier as if it's been scuffed. just seems sus workmanship, and combined with everything else a 'manufacturing mistake' may be not the case? Or maybe i'm being too critical and paranoid. you be the judge:

        http://tinypic.com/r/ak7m00/8

        And second pic - close up of the 'crack' in the paper where it isn't stuck down:

        http://tinypic.com/r/b8wh1s/8

        Third pic: the back of the battery - appears ok, can't find any inconsistent words or flaws… again the new battery on left, my original from my phone on right:

        http://tinypic.com/r/v4xkck/8

        Fourth: shot from above of the battery. THe left is new, right is original, i note the original in the middle the circle/hole appears more smaller and more 'better done', the left one seems more messy and bigger formed? Paranoia?:

        http://tinypic.com/r/2yy8eu8/8

        WHat should i do?

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 23/07/2014 - 00:09

        @SaberX:
        Even without a full year between manufacture, variation can happen, and for a variety of reasons. Different production line, maybe even a different factory altogether.

        Looking at your photos, if it is a fake, there has been more attention to detail paid relative to that $4.99 one I mentioned. If you can discern any difference in weight, that would be a bad sign.

        For safety, do monitor the first charge. Potential high internal-resistance + chip issues warrant being careful.
        I would suggest that you install a battery monitor app from the Playstore. I use 'Gauge Battery Wizard' or 'Battery Indicator'. Both are good. Both allow you to place battery parameters in the notifications screen. Do that.

        With the charger still on and plugged-in, turn on the phone before the charge is fully complete. Pull down the notification screen. Even though your the S3 display is AMOLED, dark screen will allow the phone to continue charging quite quickly.
        Keep an eye on the voltage. It should not go any higher than 4.24 volts. It would be reassuring if it didn't go any higher than 4.22 volts. Just on slightly or under 4.20v is really where it should be.

        As b2233 above you indicated, proof will very likely be (quickly) 'in the pudding'.
        If the capacity is significantly lower than your old battery was when new, you should notice that. If THAT level deteriorates after several charge cycles, you'll definitely know that something is up.

      • 

        SaberX on 23/07/2014 - 01:43

        @Tas:

        You're probably right Tas… but then it just seemed sus that besides colouration, and matte feel being slightly different, that the words and serial no/date of manufacture and QR code look different. I read a samsung s3 battery post on fakes and these were the things they pointed out (i'll try and look for it) - have a look and then see what you think if it changes?

        In regards to the voltage and charging, do you mean measuring voltage charged using either gauge battery wizard or battery indicator (any one will do right?)? Otherwise how else do I monitor the volts as it's charging?

        I am not sure what you meant about the dark AMOLED screen. You're saying to charge while its off? Then turn it on just before charge is complete to check the voltage? Sorry, did i misunderstand?

        I've run it down for just under 45 mins screen time. can't tell quite yet, seems like it might reach 1 hr screen time roughly less battery than normal, but becuase it can vary it isn't hugely different that I can tell it's out of character. normally 1 hr screen time will get my full charge down to the 70s % wise… down to 77% on a 35 mins screen time so will see how it goes.

        So a fake or OEM battery of bad quality will, after a few charges, show quite significant drops in capacity?

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 23/07/2014 - 03:36

        @SaberX:
        I'm not saying that battery isn't fake, given the contrasts you can see. If you have a link to a page pointing to and highlighting similar label discrepancies - with tests indicating serious issues of origin under the label - then, obviously, there's a problem.

        Most phone screens are backlit LCD. With AMOLED screens (all upper-spec Samsung phones have them) each pixel gives off its own light. As a result, a dark screen when the screen is on means much less battery drain. I have four AMOLED screen devices and am now seamlessly in the habit of pulling up a dark screen (notifications, settings) when I'm momentarily distracted, but don't want to turn off the screen on the device I'm using completely.

        Keeping the general brightness setting of an AMOLED screen on the low-side may also improve your battery-life considerably, if that is something that you have been unaware of to date as being a significant - as it is - AMOLED-screen issue.

        Pick one or the other battery widget. ('Gauge Battery Widget', not 'Wizard', by the way - my mistake.) I am maintaining older, permission-scant, versions of both, but each should be still be fine. Try both, keep the one you prefer.

        Just clarify: With either app; open after installing; adjust app setting to allow display in the notifications; have the phone and screen on towards maximum charge; pull-down the notifications to monitor the battery voltage as it peaks.

        Most fake phone batteries, still - these days, anyway, hopefully - contain the required, properly wired-up, proprietary chips to provide over-voltage and over-temperature safety-backup.

        If you have a low-capacity battery, you should get a pretty keen sense of that. If you have a low-capacity battery of very poor manufacture, the capacity it has can diminish further in just a handful of cycles. You should a get a pretty keen sense of that too, if it happens.

        This has become a very, very, long thread, SaberX.
        Best of luck, battery-wise and otherwise.

      • 

        SaberX on 23/07/2014 - 14:17

        @Tas:

        Just ran it down to 5% for first time. lasted 2.5 hrs of screen time, woulda thought my original battery came to 3hrs, but 2.5 hrs is still above the 2 hrs or less i'd normally get, will do a c omparison on a second discharge and then switching back to my old battery.

        Installed battery indicator widget, it's charging now and in notifications it's stating 3.769V, 32.1Celcius, should be done in 2.5 hrs of charging….

        Is the test for 4.20V only meant to be done when close to finished charging? Or whenecer it's charging is relevant? IN which case I seem to be quite short of that figure? What's a charging or usage temperature that a battery should be kept under (for safety purposes) so that I can monitor? I guess my biggest fear is an electrocution or blowing up battery becuase it's a fake (post the news about the person who died with the cheap usb charger to their laptop).

        DIdn't know AMOLED screens take up more battery, thought it was the other way around (less) than LCD backlit. Ill try to lower my brightness when in sufficiently bright areas.

        Given my suspicions of a fake do I just go ahead and notify paypal of a potential dispute prior to speaking to the seller? I've never had an issue claiming a dispute before so I've never gone about it.

        One final thing - what app can I install that will 'test' that NFC Is working? Probably the first thing that would spot a fake as it has "NFC" enabled on the outside… I never used this function, but in the blog post on spottting fakes, this was the first way they found out about their fake(NFC didn't work for them). I don't know how to use or run a NFC test otherwise.

        THanks for the advice and apologies for the long thread.

      • 

        donbot on 23/07/2014 - 15:13

        @SaberX: Got a paypass card? Anytime I put my phone on my wallet, it beeps and make noise as its trying to read the NFC chip in the paypass card.

        Make sure NFC is turned on your phone, and if you put a paypass card up to the back of the phone, it should make noise. Test it with your original battery first to see what I mean.

      • 

        SaberX on 23/07/2014 - 16:33

        @tizey:

        I do have a paypass credit card.

        I assume I dont' need an app for NFC to be used? I just turn it on in settings or something?

        I can report that i switched from usb computer charging to the ac usb powerpoint charger, went up to 4v straight away, much faster charge time. It's close to 97,98% charged, the voltage has now passed 4.2 its hovering around 4.33vs and around 25-26celcius give or take.

        I'll test out my proper batteries voltage but I assume if it goes past 4.2V is this a sign of a fake? Or do original batteries charge in this 4.2-4.35 voltage area too? What's considered 'dangerous'/unsafe voltage wise?

        EDIT UPdate: Ok so i tried it on the dubious battery since it's charging, cant use the old one yet. Switched on NFC and the device on credit card makes a sound, like when you get a computer error or dialogue box popup sorta sound? So that's a good sign. Do fakes add in NFC usually? or surely next to none do?

      • 

        SaberX on 23/07/2014 - 16:49

        @Tas:

        Ok full charge done. At 100% battery, 4.327Volts and 26.4Celcius per notification window.

        Should the phone shut off voltage to a trickle now? left it charging ot see if it continues to up voltage, although i may have misunderstood how charging works.

        This link seem sto indicate it should be closer to 4.2Volts,and life issues/exploding batteries if pushed past 4.3Volts? Should I be concerned?

        http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s4/275963-ba…

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 23/07/2014 - 17:29

        The presence of the NFC chip is good.
        The measured voltage is fine.
        I own a Motorola Razr HD (released just prior to the S3).
        The battery it contains also employs the different-to-regular lithium chemistry that allows charging to 4.35 volts.
        I was unaware that Samsung responded in kind for at least some S3 model variants.
        Good for battery-life in-use, but not great for ultimate battery longevity. Rarely used these days, but that's as an aside.
        Charging doesn't switch to 'trickle' as such for almost all modern lithium-equipped devices, but stops, and then will 'float' if charger is left plugged-in continuously.

        SaberX, let's leave the thread here.
        Enjoy your phone!