BlackBerry FAQ

For Singapore Users!

BlackBerry FAQ - For Singapore Users!

The Blackberry Battery

Japan


China

First and foremost, the most critical stereotype: Made in Japan batteries are better than Made in China batteries.
whilst, personally i can’t confirm this, it does seem to me that the stereotype is true.

It seems to me that many local sets come with china made batteries, but there’s no need to panic! These are most likely to be RIM-certified battery already. As you can see above, both are the same make of battery, D-X1, both are original. The first one came with the phone, and was made in Japan, whilst the latter was from the original extra battery packing, and was made in China. Even the new series, J-M1, there is various manufacturing and finishing factories.

Warning: Do not get a battery that is not genuine or certified by RIM for your device. Doing so, you might result in your device getting damaged or destroyed along with your battery. Also, typically such batteries are of lower quality and does not last as long as the original batteries. In newer devices (ie: 9800), holograms have been included on the batteries in light of the rise of pirated batteries. Batteries such as F-S1, F-M1, J-M1, E-M1 comes with the hologram. On older battery models, such as D-x1, M-S1, C-s1. C-X1, do not have such holograms. One way to check such battery is to feel the battery. Typically, the original battery will come with a smooth and nice feeling to it, whilst the non-original latter would be rougher. Some pirated ones will also have a “off-colour”

See the comparison below:

Hologram


no hologram


totally missing hologram


Off-colour


Original


M-S1 Original vs knockoffs


M-S1 original vs knock offs


M-S1 Original


M-S1 Fakes


Original J-M1 battery

There are reputable 3rd party vendors, however, providing OEM or extended batteries which packs more juice for your device. Whilst they are not genuine RIM or made by RIM, they have proved themselves to be reputable and reliable over the years. For example Seidio is a well known reputable company providing OEM high capacity solutions

Now batteries these day’s are using the Lithium-ion technology. Hence, there is NO NEED to discharge a battery fully before charging again. In fact, by doing so, you are actually spoiling the battery!

Well, in short, this is the recommended way of charging and taking care of your battery:

  1. First time you get your battery, let it charge for at least 8 hours.
  2. Never ever let your battery go below 7%
  3. Once your battery is about 20-30%, its a good idea to start charging it.
  4. If possible, charge with your device turned off.
  5. Always give space to the charger/device when you are charging (good airflow) to moderate the temperature.
  6. If you are not going to use it for a long time, charge the battery to full then remove the battery and store it properly. (More recommended to get a new battery after such a long time of not using it)

Battery conserving tips:

  1. Instead of using 3G (highspeed) network, try to use 2G (aka gprs – slower).
  2. Set the screen to auto detect the ambience light, setting the default to the lowest possible setting
  3. Try to reduce the amount of apps running at any one time (hold the bb button to see which apps are actually running)
  4. Wifi and bluetooth do take up considerable amount of power.

Admin’s note: Do send in any additional tips if you have them!

  • Nick says:

    THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! This is the most inciteful, detailed article available on the various types of official batteries, complete with pictures. It was driving me crazy that my RIM-supplied backup battery was made in Korea and was slightly different than the Japan battery that came with my phone! Obviously I’m crazy about my phone, but you have put my mind at ease.

    For the J-M1 Battery, my additional observations:

    The specific difference that the Korean-made batteries have is that the wrapping only hooks over one end of the battery, while the Japanese batteries have the Blackberry wrapping run over both the bottom and top between the contacts and the water sensor paper!

    Also, there are different regulations in each processing country, which is why, in the bottom-right corner of the back of the battery, there is a separate round circle with three capital letters (or, for China, lack thereof!) Indonesia denotes [BTM] and Mexico [MTY].

    The last subtle difference is that the bottom edge of the batteries made in Korea are distinctly thinner than those made in Japan, and they do not have the 4 mini holes in the bottom edge that the Japanese batteries do. No idea why.

    Thanks again. Keep up the good work!!

    April 29, 2012 at 6:16 am
  • GeorgeMcK says:

    Thanks for the great information. Looking forward to BB10 to advance Blackberry battery technology!

    July 15, 2012 at 5:28 pm

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