NEW YORK, 5:16 AM, SAT JUL 19 | 19 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@consumerist.com | RSS
Posts Tagged “

Batteries

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customer service

Target To 80-Year-Old: Yeah, We Sold You The Wrong Watch Battery, But We Won't Take It Back

David cc'd us on a letter he recently sent to Target:

My mother in law, recently went to Target to get a battery installed for her watch. The watch was a common Timex model and the associate told her that she would have to buy the battery first. So she purchased that battery, and the associate attempted to install it in the watch. The battery did not fit the watch, so the associate said "sorry, we don't have the right battery" and then refused to take the battery back and refund her money. She was told they don't take back opened battery packages.

More »

10:00 PM on Sun May 25 2008
By Carey
13,614 views, 89 comments

Heavens, another Macbook has exploded. Apple is sending him a new one. [Appeltell]

15 comments

failures

Circuit City's AA Battery Packaging Is Remarkably Sturdy

Reader Dave has an issue with Circuit City's battery packaging.
I ordered some batteries on sale from Circuit City, recently. When they arrived, the package made insane amounts of noise. I opened it up and found that the packages were basically destroyed and dozens and dozens of batteries were loose. For some reason, there's something really disquieting about having a box full of loose batteries come in the mail - maybe it's the low-toned clacking sound they make?
Yikes. It's like AA battery confetti in there.

11:48 AM on Thu Mar 13 2008
By Meg Marco
2,464 views, 28 comments

Latest by n/a: I used to work at CCity. Here are some fun facts. 1. All Nexxtech products have poor packaging. All of them. 2. That is because, Nexxtech is made by CCity. Nexxtech, Verge, and Element are made by CCity. Just hope to God you more »

Rumor has it that the RIAA is plotting to steal from anyone who has ever illegally downloaded music a single hour of sleep early Sunday morning. Adjust your clocks accordingly.

30 comments

batteries

Fourth AT&T Cable Box Explodes, Darn You, Lithium-Ion Batteries!

Another of AT&T's big metal cable boxes placed on people's lawns has exploded. The system's lithium-metal-polymer batteries are the culprit, prompting AT&T to replace 17,000 of them. Four of the U-Verse cabinets have exploded since the program began. More »

10:05 AM on Thu Jan 17 2008
By Ben Popken
3,875 views, 14 comments

manufacturing

Poison: The High Cost Of Cheap Batteries

Cadmium batteries are cheap and safe to use, but hazardous to manufacture. They'll save you money—about $1.50 for the average cadmium-powered toy, says the Wall Street Journal. More »

1:19 PM on Tue Jan 15 2008
By Meg Marco
3,243 views, 24 comments

travel

Some Spare Batteries Banned On Flights

Because some have been known to spontaneously combust, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is banning some lithium batteries from your checked-in luggage. In the spring, a laptop battery related fire erupted in the overhead compartment of a Jetblue flight, and on an American Airlines flight from Argentina, prompting the DOT to issue a warning about packing spare batteries. Lithium batteries are commonly used in laptops and cellphones. However, the rules mainly apply to professionals and/or people who travel with spare batteries. For the most part, batteries installed in the electronic device are fine. Inside, a handy chart to tell you what's been banned. More »

8:47 AM on Wed Jan 2 2008
By Ben Popken
2,178 views, 15 comments

Latest by Shinobuu: Eh, I'm assuming I can still carry around my hearing aid batteries. I'd hate my battery die in the middle of a flight and I can't hear what someone is saying. more »

tsa

No More Loose Non-Rechargable Lithium Batteries In Checked Luggage

The TSA has announced a ban on loose non-rechargeable lithium batteries in checked luggage, because they've realized that "fire-protection systems in the cargo hold of passenger planes can't put out fires sparked in lithium batteries." More »

1:58 PM on Sat Dec 29 2007
By Meg Marco
6,785 views, 50 comments

How To Extend Your Battery Life Reader Don felt compelled to share this tips about proper love and care of your electronic items' batteries so they last longer and you don't have to buy more unnecessarily...

33 comments

followups

6v to 32 AA Batteries Video Is A Hoax

About a month ago, a video was going around (that we, regrettably, linked to) saying that if you pried open a 6 volt battery, you would find 32 AA batteries, but it now turns out it's a hoax, riffing off the (truthful) reports that 9v batteries contain 6 AAAA batteries. 6v batteries, however, contain four 1.5 volt D-cell batteries.

If that the video was from a site called "Gagfilms.com," and being featured on their home page next to clips titled, "Video Proof That Ghosts Really Exist" and "The Girl With 2 Pussies," wasn't enough of a tipoff, the images sent in by reader Roberta who tested it out should do it for you. Full deconstruction sequence, inside...

More »

10:08 PM on Tue Oct 16 2007
By Ben Popken
12,149 views, 48 comments

customer service

PowerBook Explodes, Man's Apple Crush Grows

Jimm Lasser went to sleep with his PowerBook sitting underneath his bed, and woke to find it bursting into flames. From the pictures, it looks like there was a battery malfunction. More »

2:36 PM on Wed Oct 10 2007
By Ben Popken
6,535 views, 33 comments

complaints

Cellphone Battery Designed To Fail At First Drop Of Water?

Does one of the LG cellphone batteries have a sensor on it to cause cellphone failure after the first touch of water? Even though no significant amount of water has penetrated the actual battery or cellphone itself. That's what Tim wonders after conducting a little experiment and paper hack following dropping his cell phone into a tiny bit of coffee. More »

12:07 PM on Sat Sep 22 2007
By Ben Popken
43,272 views, 62 comments

UPDATE: This is a total hoax. Inside a 6 volt battery is 4 D batteries. So it seems you can open a 6 volt battery and find 32 AA batteries inside. Consider that a 4 pack of AAs costs around $5, and you can get a lantern battery for about $5, and that's some powerful savings. [Lifehacker]

6 comments

defects

Dell Laptop Catches Fire In Shanghai Office

Just when you thought it was safe taste to eat a pomegranate... a Dell laptop catches fire and self destructs! This time, on 9/03, in a Shanghai office.

We're guessing a defective battery is the culprit, thus illustrating the perils of ignoring global product recall announcements.

More pictures in the indecipherable forum where they first appeared: Dell [Hi-PDA via The Raw Feed]

8:17 AM on Wed Sep 5 2007
By Ben Popken
5,188 views, 32 comments

chinese poison train

Nokia Recalls 46 Million Defective Batteries

Nokia has recalled 46 million defective Chinese-made batteries according to the New York Times. The batteries can overheat and dislodge during charging. Nokia promises to replace the batteries at no cost to the consumer. More »

11:29 AM on Wed Aug 15 2007
By Meg Marco
1,961 views, 11 comments

vacation

If You're Out Of Cellphone Service For A Long Time, Remove Your Battery

If you're going to be in an area with no cellphone service for more than a few hours, consider removing your cellphone battery during that time or it might go dead. It seems that turning your cellphone off isn't enough; the cellphone may continually try to resync with the mothership grid, and the successive abortive attempts are very draining on the battery level. More »

9:49 AM on Mon Aug 13 2007
By Ben Popken
3,281 views, 56 comments

recalls

Acer Laptop Batteries Recalled Due To Fire Hazard

Just when you thought that this whole laptop battery recall thing was over: Enter Acer computer. They're recalling certain models with (you guessed it) Sony lithium-ion batteries. Reader Joe writes:
It seems Acer fell asleep during the whole Sony battery recall thing and is just recalling them now. Well, I do have a couple of affected Acer laptops, and so far the process is painful. The operators on the other end answer the phone in a language unknown to me (though one time I think I heard the operator say South Africa?) though they promptly switched to very understandable English after I spoke.
More »

10:59 AM on Thu Apr 26 2007
By Meg Marco
601 views, 7 comments

Latest by tenofdiamonds: It's still a hassle, but if you need a replacement battery, definitely use the online form interface and don't waste your time on the phone. http://www.acerbatte did it last night, and Acer sent me a tracking number for my more »

iphone

Rumor: iPhone Battery Lasts For Only 40 Minutes Of Talk Time

The iPhone battery lasts for only 40 minutes of talk time, according to intel tech guru John Dvorak received from an inside Cingular source. More »

1:15 PM on Thu Apr 5 2007
By Ben Popken
4,360 views, 52 comments

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