Question Any place I can get a replacement battery for my Lenovo ThinkPad T480 without breaking the bank?

Cyber_Akuma

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Oct 5, 2002
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I know that Lenovo sells them (Or did, I can't find them anymore) but they charge more for the battery than I paid for the laptop, I got this laptop used about 2-3 years ago for under $100. I recently had to pull both the internal and external battery out because they were swollen, so now I would like to replace at least the internal battery if not both:

View: https://i.imgur.com/dZFDiIJ.jpg


The internal battery has a model number of "01AV489" and the external "01AV424" though I know that there are several model numbers that work.

Yes, Lenovo has/had them, but they charge more for the battery than the laptop itself cost, if they are even still available. And yes also places like Amazon has them, but they are all suspiciously cheap from random third party sellers most of which have random letters for names and many have bad reviews complaining that they did not work at all or stopped working after 6 months or so.

Batteries Plus was a no-go, so was Microcenter (which appeared to have batteries for EVERY model of Thinkpad.... except the T480 (yet hundreds of of T440, T450, T470...)), CPR said they would charge even more because they would have to install the battery themselves, the only other place I saw was CDW for around $65 but the label was nothing like the label on my battery so I worry if it's just another cheap clone just being sold for more than the ones on Amazon.

I also heard some suggest that they had good luck with refurbished batteries on ebay, but this sounds dangerous if they didn't do it right. Are there any trusted sellers or something that do it properly? Or is it not worth the risk at all?

What are my options if any that won't involve me paying more for the battery than the laptop?
 
Came across these two listings;
https://www.laptopbatteryexpress.co...7eaGB8_83JWg1tVEYprZMJgyouEbcope3RhjxLEzrE1x3

You seem to want something cheap yet question the authenticity of the battery. You've found genuine batteries but question their price. What a conundrum.

If the laptop is dispensable, then you can go with refurbished batteries but if I was in your shoes, I'd get a genuine battery and call it a day. To add, if the laptop isn't an integral part of your work/life, then you should forgo spending on the laptop and work with the power brick.
 
Not sure the 14" models were as prevalent as the 15" models of the older T series. Everyone was moving onto the carbon line up when they wanted it to be a little smaller.

Still, if you paid so little for the laptop, why does it matter that you are getting a cheap battery. How long are you expecting it to keep going? A cheap no-name should be sufficient.

ifixit carries them? Or at least has an affiliate.

https://www.ifixit.com/products/lenovo-thinkpad-t480s-battery
 
You seem to want something cheap yet question the authenticity of the battery. You've found genuine batteries but question their price. What a conundrum.
I'm not saying it has to be cheap, I even said the ones on Amazon were suspiciously too cheap. I'm just saying it's a bit unreasonable to have to pay more for the battery than the Laptop itself cost.

Not sure the 14" models were as prevalent as the 15" models of the older T series. Everyone was moving onto the carbon line up when they wanted it to be a little smaller.

Still, if you paid so little for the laptop, why does it matter that you are getting a cheap battery. How long are you expecting it to keep going? A cheap no-name should be sufficient.

ifixit carries them? Or at least has an affiliate.

https://www.ifixit.com/products/lenovo-thinkpad-t480s-battery

That's for the T480s, it actually uses a different battery than the T480.