suspected stolen battery - how to check if it's the original?

[keepthetip]

My laptop was picked up by lost property in an airport. I collected it one week later, to find the battery performance is now dire. I have noticed some marks around the screws on the laptop underside and suspect someone swapped the battery while the laptop was not in my possession. I do not know the original serial number of the battery, but I have never changed the battery so it should be the original one as shipped with the laptop which I bought brand new. Is there a definitive way to find out if the battery has been swapped out as I suspect? Does HP have a record of which battery was installed in my laptop?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Below is the link to the service manual for your notebook's model series.

HP Spectre x360 Convertible PCModel numbers: 13-w000 – 13-w099Model numbers: 13-ac000 – 13-ac099 Mai...

Chapter 3, page 17 has the battery part number that HP used in the model series.

Battery, 3-cell, 58-WHr, 5.02-AHr, Li-ion (includes cable) 859356-855

Unfortunately, it would be extremely difficult to determine if the battery was stolen--especially if it was replaced with a genuine HP battery that was in worse condition than yours.

HP does not sell the battery for your notebook, so a replaced battery would have to be a worn-out HP original or an aftermarket battery.

HP Parts Store - HP Computer Parts - HP Printer Parts - Compaq Parts

If you were to open up the notebook and not see a battery with the HP logo on it, then you would know for sure it was swapped out for an aftermarket battery that was weak or of poor quality.

However, if you see any HP identifying markings/logos on the battery, you wouldn't be able to tell.

I'm posting links to two batteries to compare for example.

I searched on eBay.UK by the battery part number.

This is what the genuine HP battery looks like.  Notice the HP logo on the upper left.

Genuine Original HP 859026-421 859356-855 SH03XL SHO3XL TPN-Q178 Laptop Battery | eBay

This is a typical aftermarket battery. Notice that there are no HP markings/logos.

SH03XL Battery For HP Spectre X360 13-AC033DX 13-W Series 859026-421 859356-855 | eBay