Summary: Tom asked: "I have a Dell Vostro laptop that is giving the message to consider replacing the battery. In searching for one to by, I notice there are generic batteries that claim to be compatible and cost considerably less than a genuine Dell battery. Can you advise whether these off-brand batteries are worth considering, or should I just stick with the real thing?" This is a tough question because there is not one set answer. The truth is, generic batteries are far cheaper that most genuine batteries, and more often than not they are safe and work just as expected. It seems like looking at a generic version might make sense, the thing is when batteries fail, they fail in pretty scary ways. You may get lucky and it will just stop working, but it may also swell up, release toxic fumes, catch on fire, and sometimes explode. Odds are you will get lucky and you won’t experience anything like that, just make sure that if you do get one to save money, that you have a close look at it for a little while, especially while it’s charging and stop using it if at any point it begins to swell up. If the price difference is not huge, you may be better off just paying for the original with it’s quality control. And you will find, if you shop around enough on Amazon.com and other online retailers, that you see the same brand names turning up in third party laptop batteries. When the brand isn’t advertised at all, that’s a warning sign that you’re buying a very generic battery. But when the brand name is prominent, it’s clear that making batteries is what this company does, and the reviews are all generally positive (the more reviews, the better), you may find that quality at a bargain price is indeed possible.
