REAL STORIES OF AFTERMARKET BATTERIES
- Thread starter DONI
- Start date
I hesitated for a long time buying 3rd party batteries, but recently did buy 2 powerextra batteries for my P3 for less than the cost of one OEM dji battery. Read many reviews, particularly with them having compatible FW and reliability and most was good. I have the same issue as was stated in post 2 of this thread. Both batteries have identical serial numbers in the app. Both also report "cell broken" in the app and both also make the "clicking" sound from somewhere inside the AC after being powered down after flight. Removing the battery and taking a voltage reading at the terminal (while powered off) still shows a reading of over 15volts. Letting them rest for abit solves the problem. The voltage drops to zero and reinserting them into the AC makes no clicking sound. Nor do they make any noise after fully charging them. Flight times are exactly the same as the OEM and all cell voltages are equal and normal. During testing (to gain some trust in them) I've noticed that the exact same flight time in the exact same temperature the 3rd party batteries finish about 4°C higher than the OEM battery. TBH I'm wondering if it was money wasted because I'm not sure I'll ever completely trust them as much as my OEM battery. Summer is soon here so I'll be more comfortable testing them in better and warmer weather. But as of this moment? Any cold weather flight over any questionable terrain (particularly over water) is only flown with my OEM battery.
I have 3 PowerExtra batteries for my P3S. All 3 have performed just as well as my original DJI battery. PowerExtra #1 has 76 charge cycles and 84% reported life, PowerExtra #2 has 69 charge cycles and 86% Life, PowerExtra #3 has 38 cycles and 92% Life. My only DJI battery that came with my P3S has 98 cycles and 92% Life. The DJI battery seems to be degrading at a slower rate than the 3 PowerExtra batteries and will likely last a bit longer. This does not surprise me as it is likely a better quality battery, but at a much higher cost. I have been happy with my PowerExtra batteries and likely in the near future it will be harder to find original P3 batteries since the P3 drones are not being made anymore, making the aftermarket batteries the only source for P3 batteries.
I have flown with my PowerExtra batteries since I got them in cold (-25ºC) and hot weather (35ºC) and they have behaved exactly like the DJI battery. My PowerExtra #2 and #3 battery have the same serial number (likely cloned) and all of my PowerExtra batteries have dimmer LED status lights making them more difficult to see in bright weather. I consider the tradeoffs acceptable considering they were less than half the cost of DJI batteries.
Chris
Mine also have the dimmer leds which is really no big deal but do you have the clicking issues and cell broken messages?
No clicking issues or cell broken messages. If you got the batteries from Amazon, I would get them exchanged. The cell broken message would definitely make me not want to fly with that particular battery.
Chris
I've returned them both for a refund. Amazon happily accepted the return with free return shipping. Think I'll stick with OEM now. Thanks Chris!
I have just bought two aftermarket batteries for my Phantom 3 PRO, and charged OK. However when I started up the A/C i got a Firmware update message, saying battery firmware need updating. I have the latest firmware installed, do I ignore this message or try to reinstall the firmware?
I would let the AC update the battery firmware. It should update just like an original DJI battery. If it doesn’t then return the batteries for an exchange or refund.
Chris
Many thanks Chris, I was a bit nervous about updating the firmware, because I knew that I already had the latest version. However, I downloaded it again and after a couple of abortive attempts (I eventually re-formatted the SD card) the firmware updated and the batteries are all working. I now have 4 good wroking P3PRo batteries and more flight time to enjoy!
Ronnie
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