Pregnant Tablet Battery

[Pib]

I have a low price Chinese 10" tablet (an Onda V971 Dual Core) that I've owned for exactly 2 years. About six months ago it became obvious the battery's ability to hold a charge was significantly deteriorating....it was a 6000mah battery. About a month ago it reached the point of only holding a charge for about 20 minutes of operation with a very inaccurate charge indication. And then it reached the point of only holding a charge for only a few minutes...and then it reached the point of not even being able to operate/turn-on the tablet even though when attempting a charge the charge icon would say fully charged.

Anyway, I noticed one day the tablet seemed to be "swelling" a little...and the tablet had been turned off for days since the battery would not allow it to operate. I figured the lithium-ion battery was swelling so I opened up the tablet (not too hard but not easy either) and sure enough it was swelling. I removed the battery, placed a replacement battery on order from AliExpress (hard to find physical size battery and I ordered a 7800mah replacement), rec'd the new battery which has 30% more MAH rating after 22 days, and installed it yesterday....tablet is operational again.

During that time the old battery continued to swell. Below are a couple pictures of the old pregnant battery after 3 weeks of swelling next to the new battery. It got just a "little" fatter everyday and it was completely unhooked. I placed a 5 baht coin in the pictures so a person could get a better sense of battery thickness---new and when pregnant. Durn good thing I noticed the swelling of the battery in the early stages and removed it; otherwise it would have probably destroyed my tablet.

First time I've used AliExpress...it worked out pretty well....battery arrived 22 days after the order. First tried to find the battery on Ebay but couldn't due to the battery's odd size...didn't even want to try looking around Bangkok. Now I'm both satisfied and dissatisfied with my AliExpress order as I got the battery pretty fast (from mainland China), at a good price with free shipping and no customs; but as luck will have it the seller is now selling a 9000mah battery for my Onda (50% more mah than the tablet's original battery) at $1.50 lower cost than my 7800mah battery I just got. Oh well...but I'm definitely happy my tablet is working again and with a battery that has 30% more capacity...hopefully it will last two years.

[naboo]

I had the same tablet, took it on an aeroplane when it was 9 months old, the same thing happened to the battery, whilst still in the tablet, tore the thing apart. The shop I bought it from helpfully told me not their problem, I shouldn't have taken it on an aeroplane.

[endure]

If you haven't already done so you might want to dispose of that battery safely. They are very dangerous in that state.

[Loptr]

Don't screw around with lithium batteries once they begin to swell... They are apt to explode and burst into flames, no joke... Best to put them in a bucket of salt water to draw off the remaining amps before disposing of them...

[dddave]

This is why air express companies have made shipping devices with batteries much more difficult lately. Even Thai EMS is restricting batteries internationally. Last week, I was shipping a phone up-country EMS but the clerk initially thought I was shipping it internationally and quickly said "Can not send phone with battery!!" Domestic was OK.

I have had two tablet batteries and one smartphone L-ion battery go "Jiffy-Pop" on me. All three times, the device was 2 plus years old and INACTIVE...not on a charger or in use within the previous three months. Just like "Pib's" experience, it completely popped the case of both tablets. I caught the phone one early, when it was just slightly expanded. I have to say I am impressed with the durability of the Mylar-like containment envelope encasing these batteries. They stayed completely intact even though it was obvious the pressure inside was considerable. I was actually in a quandary as to how I should safely dispose of them. Couldn't find anything locally on the 'net so I boxed them up and put them out with the trash...yah; I know.....

There is a real danger in putting old, inactive devices into storage, whether in a drawer or closet...these batteries are far more unstable than people believe. Note that all three of these devices were "budget" devices so maybe there is an increased risk with cheap batteries. Take the batteries out of inactive devices if you can. If you can not, then store them someplace where they can not cause harm if they do go "POP!!"

That picture of one burning is really scarry!!

[Pib]

The replacement lithium-ion battery I bought off AliExpress/shipped from mainland China just had "Gift" listed on the customs slip. Same thing happens quite often on Ebay buys...just "Gift" is used as the description of the contents. Not much the postal system can do other than take the shipper's word for what is in the package....or reject the shipment if it's not clear what is in the package (I expect that rarely occurs regardless of the postal regulations).

Edit: by the way, today I punctured the pregnant battery with a hoe standing a meter away...the battery just deflated as it was gas causing it to swell within the airtight outer packaging.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Pib

[Turkleton]

Same problem with an Onda V972 after ~six months, rarely used.

Firstly, the charger died in a cloud of smoke, shortly after that the batteries got swollen.

However, this junky "Retina" tablet has never run properly, no matter which firmware.

They (Onda) are selling just crap, customer beware.

[dddave]

Same problem with an Onda V972 after ~six months, rarely used.

Firstly, the charger died in a cloud of smoke, shortly after that the batteries got swollen.

However, this junky "Retina" tablet has never run properly, no matter which firmware.

They (Onda) are selling just crap, customer beware.

I have both a Onda Vi-40 & a V972. Though I have not had any battery problems yet, the tablets are both quirky and undependable. While the V972 does have a beautiful display, I crashes frequently and apps "Stop Running".

I admit that I could never penetrate the arcane directions on their website to update either tablet and "rooting" remains a process of which I have no understanding.

I now use a 5" smartphone for most things I used to use a tablet for...They pretty much sit on a shelf. This battery puffing seems to occur when devices are left unused for a while so I suppose I should fire them up once in a while...maybe deplete the batteries and recharge them again.

Edited January 8, 2015 by dddave

[Pib]

Same problem with an Onda V972 after ~six months, rarely used.

Firstly, the charger died in a cloud of smoke, shortly after that the batteries got swollen.

However, this junky "Retina" tablet has never run properly, no matter which firmware.

They (Onda) are selling just crap, customer beware.

I have both a Onda Vi-40 & a V972. Though I have not had any battery problems yet, the tablets are both quirky and undependable. While the V972 does have a beautiful display, I crashes frequently and apps "Stop Running".

I admit that I could never penetrate the arcane directions on their website to update either tablet and "rooting" remains a process of which I have no understanding.

I remember PIB had several ONDA tablets and he was able to do updates and tinker with the OS.

Hey Pib!! Do you still have the Onda's and are they working?

Yeap, the Onda V971 Dual Core is the one that had the pregnant battery...and it's working just fine with the new 7800mah battery (the original battery was a 6000mah battery). I've only had the one Onda V971 tablet which is now 2 years, 1 month old.

I've lost track of how many times I've flashed the Onda V971 firmware trying various version of ICS and Jelly Bean, both manufacturer provided and custom to include rooted and not rooted versions. I use the manufacturer's ICS rooted version versus JB since JB made the tablet a little slower benchmark-wise and definitely used more battery juice.

I've long got over my urge to have a rooted device (which the Onda is and one of my Samsung smartphones) and having the latest and greatest firmware as soon as it comes out mainly because unless you are a techie/geek that likes to play with some apps that only work on rooted devices or just "gotta have" the latest firmware, I feel each major firmware update like going from ICS to JB to KitKat is mostly selling hype and changing around menus & themes with no really major improvements. I feel this way after watching my Samsung tablets and smartphones update from ICS to JB to KitKat and all the firmware flashing/playing I've done with the Onda tablet. Yea, the thrill of having the latest firmware (rooted or not) is gone.

Edit: P.S. If not using a device for an extended time that uses a lithium-ion battery like a laptop, tablet, smartphone DO NOT fully charge it and then store it away...that's bad for a lithium-ion battery as it will degrade its useful life and of course if it decides to fail while in storage a fully charged battery will probably burn/puff up faster. When storing a lithium-ion battery for extended periods, whether you can remove the battery or not from the device, only charge it to 40 to 60%. My Lenovo laptop has a lithium-ion battery and the battery driver/utility for my laptop will actually pop up a warning if the battery has been fully charged to 100% for an extended times (i.e., like several days) it tells me I should turn on the "conservation mode" in the battery software utility which basically stops the charging until it reaching 60% and then maintains it at 60%. But I have to remember to turn on the battery utility conservation mode each time I turn the laptop off and as the setting is intentionally not maintained/saved. The intent of this conservation mode utility is to extend the battery's life when the laptop is plugged in all the time which would cause the battery to charge to 100% and stay there unless I set it to battery conservation mode only allowing it to charge up to 60%.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Pib

[IMHO]

Looks like a Li-Po battery. It's dead and is now a fire hazard, Time to put it in a bucket of water.

[dddave]

Edit: P.S. If not using a device for an extended time that uses a lithium-ion battery like a laptop, tablet, smartphone DO NOT fully charge it and then store it away...that's bad for a lithium-ion battery as it will degrade its useful life and of course if it decides to fail while in storage a fully charged battery will probably burn/puff up faster. When storing a lithium-ion battery for extended periods, whether you can remove the battery or not from the device, only charge it to 40 to 60%. My Lenovo laptop has a lithium-ion battery and the battery driver/utility for my laptop will actually pop up a warning if the battery has been fully charged to 100% for an extended times (i.e., like several days) it tells me I should turn on the "conservation mode" in the battery software utility which basically stops the charging until it reaching 60% and then maintains it at 60%. But I have to remember to turn on the battery utility conservation mode each time I turn the laptop off and as the setting is intentionally not maintained/saved. The intent of this conservation mode utility is to extend the battery's life when the laptop is plugged in all the time which would cause the battery to charge to 100% and stay there unless I set it to battery conservation mode only allowing it to charge up to 60%.

That is really helpful information, Pib I will look for "Conservation Mode" on my HP and Gateway laptops as I have almost always used them with power cord attached and batteries in. I remember searching for information on what was the best way to deal with a laptop battery when it is most often used in line power mode but got a lot of contradictory information.

I agree that the more new "flavors" of Android come out, the less excited I get. Most new features (gesture sensing, voice commands, ect.) are ones I will never use. My cynical self also suspects every new version contains stuff that snoops around our private lives to an even greater extent than previous versions.

[Pib]

Looks like a Li-Po battery. It's dead and is now a fire hazard, Time to put it in a bucket of water.

It could be but several battery Apps I have used with the tablet all identify it as a LiFe (Lithium Iron Phosphate) lithium ion battery. Also, a LiPo designation on a lithium-ion battery is mostly hype and does not mean it's built radically different among the various lithium-ion types nor does LiPO truly describes it chemistry. See these links for more info: Link 1 Link 2

[Pib]

Edit: P.S. If not using a device for an extended time that uses a lithium-ion battery like a laptop, tablet, smartphone DO NOT fully charge it and then store it away...that's bad for a lithium-ion battery as it will degrade its useful life and of course if it decides to fail while in storage a fully charged battery will probably burn/puff up faster. When storing a lithium-ion battery for extended periods, whether you can remove the battery or not from the device, only charge it to 40 to 60%. My Lenovo laptop has a lithium-ion battery and the battery driver/utility for my laptop will actually pop up a warning if the battery has been fully charged to 100% for an extended times (i.e., like several days) it tells me I should turn on the "conservation mode" in the battery software utility which basically stops the charging until it reaching 60% and then maintains it at 60%. But I have to remember to turn on the battery utility conservation mode each time I turn the laptop off and as the setting is intentionally not maintained/saved. The intent of this conservation mode utility is to extend the battery's life when the laptop is plugged in all the time which would cause the battery to charge to 100% and stay there unless I set it to battery conservation mode only allowing it to charge up to 60%.

That is really helpful information, Pib I will look for "Conservation Mode" on my HP and Gateway laptops as I have almost always used them with power cord attached and batteries in. I remember searching for information on what was the best way to deal with a laptop battery when it is most often used in line power mode but got a lot of contradictory information.

I agree that the more new "flavors" of Android come out, the less excited I get. Most new features (gesture sensing, voice commands, ect.) are ones I will never use. My cynical self also suspects every new version contains stuff that snoops around our private lives to an even greater extent than previous versions.

Yea, when you leave a lithium-ion fully charged 100% for an extended time it stresses the battery...causes a chemical reaction within the battery that degrades its lifespan and also overtime its capacity/runtime.

I think this short Battery University article gives a good overview of charging lithium-ion batteries...you'll find numerous sentences/paragraphs throughout the short document that basically says that sure charging a lithium-ion to 100% gives you more capacity/run time but you pay a battery lifespan price for that full charge if leaving it in that state of high charge...and "maintaining" a lithium-ion battery at full 100% charge for an extended time is definitely a bad thing. Not a big deal for devices where you can easily change the battery but for tablets that usually involved a shop-visit with the tablet being popped open/pried apart which is not something the typical person would be able to do nor solder in the new battery. And in some laptops (like my Lenovo Z510) it requires some laptop dis-assembly as the battery is not an external plug-in type...it's installed internally pretty much like a tablet battery except it does have a plug connector which don't require soldering.

Regarding that battery software utility with a conservation mode setting you will need to see if your laptop manufacturer provides such a utility. For my Lenovo Z510 laptop the software utility is called Energy Manager and can control various battery modes of operation and other things. Like below is cut and paste were the utility talks about leaving the battery fully 100% charged for an extend period.

Now the warning message that pops up when I forget to turn on conservation mode (i.e., keeps charge at around 60% with the battery plug in) and the battery is charged to 100% for a couple of days whether I have left the computer on continuously--which I don't---or whether it has just been at 100% for several days even with me turning it off at night and back on in the morning is something along the lines of "leaving your battery charged at 100% for an extended time reduces battery lifespan...recommend you turn on conservation mode." But now I'm pretty good about turning on conservation mode just as soon as I turn on my laptop each morning, but sometimes I forget for several days in a row and I get the warning.

You might wonder why the conservation mode setting is not saved once you turn the computer off...that's probably to prevent conservation mode being accidentally turned on, the owner don't know/remember he turned it on, and then thinks the laptop has a charging problem because it will never charge above 60%. Or someone who uses the laptop in the office plugged in and also on the go, has it set to conservation mode keeping it at 60% in the office, but then he needs to go mobile with the laptop for many hours and then runs out of battery juice early because it was only charged to 60% vs 100%. So, the utility don't save the setting which hopefully gets you into the mode of manually managing and remembering the setting to prevent problems such as above.

[A1Str8]

That's not pregnant. It's just going to explode. Take a few shots when it happens.

[tolsti]

You could always offer it to Boeing for spares for the Onfireliner!

[IMHO]

Looks like a Li-Po battery. It's dead and is now a fire hazard, Time to put it in a bucket of water.

It could be but several battery Apps I have used with the tablet all identify it as a LiFe (Lithium Iron Phosphate) lithium ion battery. Also, a LiPo designation on a lithium-ion battery is mostly hype and does not mean it's built radically different among the various lithium-ion types nor does LiPO truly describes it chemistry. See these links for more info: Link 1 Link 2

People like me call those Life-Po's - same action needed (bucket of water).

[Pib]

Yea, LiPo has become pretty much a marketing term whether the Lithium-ion battery has any Polymer resin it it or not. Kinda like saying "fuel" for my car although the fuel could be distinctly different like diesel, gasoline, gasohol, etc.

[Chicog]

You could always offer it to Boeing for spares for the Onfireliner!

It probably came off the Screamliner production line.