Need replacement battery for HP 620 laptop (PH06)

[floridaboy]

HP reports that mfr has discontd. the battery structure (6 x Li-Ion cells, 2.2 AH, 47Wh)

[David_J_W · Accepted solution]

Your laptop was announced in late 2010. Even on business laptops, my understanding is that HP only guarantee parts availability for 5 years - I think that time runs from the product being discontinued.

The reality is that there is likely to be zero commercial demand for parts for a budget laptop that is some seven years old and was of modest specification when announced. If you do find any batteries for sale, they are unlikely to be of recent manufacture. Lithium ion batteries deteriorate over time even if they are not used - so your "new" battery may well not perform any better than your existing one. I once made the mistake of buying a manufacturer branded replacement battery from a major supplier to try to extend the life of a still useful mobile phone that was a premium product at launch. The battery had been sat on a shelf for something like two years (the manufacturer in question marks date of manufacture on battery packs) and was really no better than the worn out battery it replaced. Fortunately, it did not cost very much.

A quick search does not reveal anyone offering even off-brand batteries of questionable quality that would fit your laptop. Moreover, I question the wisdom of spending any money on a laptop that is now past its design life. Even the cheapest laptop sold new today, or a second hand laptop that is no more than two years old, will be much more power and have better user experience than your old HP. The chances are that other components will be wearing out. The hard disk is a standard SATA 2.5" by 1/8" model - though the BIOS will probably only support 512 byte sector drives (or 4K drives that have 512 byte emulation mode). All other components - keyboard, fan, screen and so on are almost certainly unavailable.

If you are desperate, you might find a firm that is able to dismantle your existing battery pack and rebuild it with new cells - but even if such a service is available, I doubt it makes any economic sense for an ageing budget laptop. If you really cannot live with a bad battery, I suggest you consider your options to replace the laptop - but be aware that the latest systems only support Windows 10.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, @floridaboy

This vendor on eBay claims to be selling genuine HP batteries with the part number you need...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Battery-for-HP-587706-751-587706-761-593572-001-HSTNN-DB1A-ProBook-...

The part number 593572-001was used in over 200 models...

[David_J_W]

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@Paul_Tikkanen wrote:

Hi, @floridaboy

This vendor on eBay claims to be selling genuine HP batteries with the part number you need...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Battery-for-HP-587706-751-587706-761-593572-001-HSTNN-DB1A-ProBook-...

The part number 593572-001was used in over 200 models...

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Something doesn't quite ring true with that advert - it claims "Genuine battery" and later says shipping is "direct from OEM manufacturer" - but how can these be genuine batteries shipped directly from HP if HP says they've discontinued this battery? If they have come directly from HP's OEM supplier without HP involvement, then the HP branding is fake as they are not HP brand products. An OEM manufacturer applying HP branding to batteries and selling them into the supply chain would be like an automotive OEM such as Bosch selling parts they manufacture for Mercedes-Benz direct to the trade as Mercedes-Benz official parts. The Bosch part might be identical to what they supply to Mercedes-Benz, but it is only an official Mercedes-Benz part if it was supplied by Mercedes-Benz.

If HP have discontinued this battery, then either these batteries have been sat on a shelf for a while deteriorating, or they are clone batteries badged as HP. The financial risk is low - the item is inexpensive and the seller offers 30 days to return the item. What makes me uneasy is that there is a lot of energy stored in an laptop battery and there have been fires resulting from defective batteries. I understand that sometimes a good quality clone battery is the only option - but I would feel more comfortable if clone batteries were acknowledged as such and the source was traceable. Fake products could contain anything and are likely impossible to trace back to the true source.

Original poster - if you buy this battery, I would not leave the laptop unattended with external power connected for the first few charge cycles.

[floridaboy]

I thank the Teacher for the best reply I have ever gotten on tech subject!!!! Kudos, kudos, kudos.

[floridaboy]

And furthermore the Teacher's advice was straight, factual, honest, and comprehensive.  I really appreciate his/her time in answering my post. Great Answer!!!