Battery not present

[romi2]

Hi,

I am new into this. What has made me write is that my VGN-SZ1VP bought in April 2006 needs some TLC... The battery is "not present" and the laptop will only work on AC power. I have read some posts but no clear solution. Sony is not replying to e-support and by telephone they only offer me a replacement battery for £133.77 including delivery and VAT. Sony says batteries are "consumable items" and the warranty does not cover this... how are they sure the problem is the battery without looking into other options? Is it just a problem with batteries? By the way, I have all updates from VAIO download and MS Windows XP Pro... but the battery still not being recognised. Help, please.

[Thalamus.]

Hi romi2,

Welcome to Club Vaio,

Are you able to try another battery in your SZ , according to Vaio-Link the VAIO VGN-S, VGN-SZ, VGN-FE, VGN-FS, VGN-FJ, VGN-C and VGN-AR series notebooks all use the same VGPBPS2C battery.

This would allow to prove if the battery is the problem..

[romi2]

Tx Thalamus!

I am not able to try any other VGPBPS2C battery. All laptops at work (and they travel all around the world) are not Sony

I am thinking about going to a SONY shop and ask them to try another battery or try my battery in one of theirs...

I expected this sort of advice from SONY support, instead of "you need to buy a new battery at a cost of...". Thanks again Thalamus!

[kee-lo_]

You're outside the warranty period for the battery too

[Thalamus.]

You're welcome romi2, hopefully the Sony shop will allow you test one of their batteries on your system..

[romi2]

Hello - I should start with yesterday Friday 1 December.

I rang SONY support in Spain and after explaining the problem with laptop not recognising the battery, she immediately said that I need a new battery... I asked if they have to check other things (maybe a laptop/software problem?) and she said... yeah...well.... anyway, i couldn't progress anymore but she promissed me to reply by e-mail and I told her about going to a SONY shop... good idea!! She said that batteries in Spain have 6 months warranty!! Overall she was understanding :smileylove:. She said that they have no information as to this problem ever happening before... I think this is part of their employment contract and training... they only have to do a small search within this forum (hosted by SONY?) to see that I am not alone.

At night I had the following message from e-support: "Please be advised that an analyst will contact you by phone as soon as possible" - they haven't called yet.

Saturday 2 December - I went to Enfield SONY shop (London) and I explained the problem... no questions asked, I tried a brand new battery and.... and.... are you ready?... SONY WAS RIGHT!!! My laptop is fine!!! the battery is dead!! My laptop worked, no problem, with the new battery. The guy from the shop said "good luck with SONY support" and when I mentioned to another guy in the shop that this confirms that one of the weaknesses of SONY has yet again been confirmed in that they make unreliable batteries, he put an expression in the face as "what can we do?, that's the way things are" :smileyshhh: .

Now I shall wait the call from SONY.

I will keep you updated.


Romi2

[pannonica]

Same problem - Suddenly my Vaio VGN-SZ2XP/C buied agost the 2nd, don't recognize the battery - No battery seems to be present and the notebook works with AC Power only.

[Blencogo]

Hi pannonica,

I would phone Vaio-Link first thing on Monday morning HERE

I am not sure but I think Sony have a 90-day policy on batteries - if so you may be a few days outside this limit and need to argue your case.

[Thalamus.]

Hi Romi,

At least you now know for certain that it's the battery..

It may be worth searching via google to find the cheapest battery prices...

[romi2]

I received a call from Sony Vaio this pm. Same story... consumable item, 90 days warranty... you need to buy one. I spoke with a supervisor, but of no use. It is not about warranty, it is about customer services!! They even accussed me of wanting a free battery!! I told them that my battery is dead (confirmed at a SONY galleria centre) and I suggested to send my battery so their quality department could try to find out why this battery failed as to improve them, but they don't want it; I think they know why they fail, but they do nothing about it. Sorry, but they cannot quantify their loss. For Xmas I thought of buying an extended battery (before this one failed) and a docking station... no chance now... I am looking forward to becoming an ex-customer of Sony. It is not worth it.

I have put all notes with Sony, judge by yourself. It is quite long, sorry!!


battery not recognised

*** NOTES 26-Nov-2006 Action Type: Info
*** Performed by contact
1. Installed service pack: WindowsXP Pro SP2
Still using service pack: yes
2. Boot language: English
3. Detailed problem description: laptop will only work on AC power. It doesn't recognize battery and/or faulty battery/connection...????
4. Checked for upgrades or patches: yes
5. Additional SW: MS Office
6. Additional HW: none
7. Extra memory added: no
8. Additional remarks: It started 3-4 days ago.


*** NOTES 27-Nov-2006 Action Type: Info
*** Performed by contact
Action type is not "info". A solution is required.


Phone Log 30-Nov-2006 SONY
Action Type: Incoming call
Customer called and advised that he created a case in e-support
He advised that unit does not work on battery and he would like to exchange that
Advised that battery is not covered by warranty as it is consumable item
Customer advised that it is known issue that sony batteriezs are not reliable
I told him that I do not know where this information comes from and I can not be responsible for this info
Gave the price of the battery
Customer advised he wants to sent a complaint - gave email and case ID


Case Close 30-Nov-2006 SONY


Reopen 30-Nov-2006 Customer
Sony notes (the person I spoke with after 4 days of not receiving a reply from SONY) are not accurate. I do not know what the problem is... what I know is that the computer will not work on battery. Sony immediately offered me a replacement battery at a cost of £133.77 including delivery and VAT; there are batteries in stock and delivery would take 1-2 days. Sony has closed the case even when a solution has not been reached. I believe that no company should treat customers this way. I have been a SONY customer through digital cameras for a number of years with no problems, always buying SONY accessories and this is the first time that I have to replace a battery after 6/7 months of use. These batteries are supposed to be the state of the art with a long life of up to 6 hours. I do not expect to change a battery every 6/7 months. Furthermore, the battery would show to be in charging mode (in the laptop light and/or power meter) all the time if it was discharged, but this is not the case, it just not "recognised" at all. Would you please be so kind to offer an acceptable solution?

According to Sony... "Customer advised that it is known issue that sony batteriezs are not reliable I told him that I do not know where this information comes from and I can not be responsible for this info" - SONY is recalling a lot of batteries due to safety issues. It is surprising that Sony is not aware of this.

regarding the problem of the battery, this is well recognised... see http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/16087/

Please, would you find a workable solution to this? Why SONY will immediately offer a replacement for the battery without exploring other possibilities? It sounds as this is a well known problem and it is due to batteries.


Notes 01-Dec-2006 SONY
Please be advised that an analyst will contact you by phone as soon as possible.
If you didn't enter the best daytime phone number to reach you at, please adjust your registration details (preferably add a mobile phone number).
Please feel free to add notes in the case to advise one or more alternative phone numbers.


*** NOTES 01-Dec-2006 Customer
Thanks for your notes. My mobile is XXXXXXXX. Looking forward to your call. Regards.


Phone Log 05-Dec-2006 Sony Action Type: Outgoing call
I called customer on XXXXXXXXX
I advised that we should need to PU unless he can test with another battery
He has tested anther battery and it is ok
I adivsed that we can sell a new battery so
He advised that this is a know issue
I advised that it is not
He advised that there is safety issues with Sony batteries
I advised that we have a voluntary battery replacement scheme but his unit is not valid for this
He advised that we should give him a credit note or 50% off a new battery
He has work in quality contro lpreviously and this is how they have worked
He asked to speak to a supervisor
I transferred call