Chosen Solution

About four and a half years ago I bought an ASUS UX32LA-R3019H, and while most things still work fine, the battery life now got to a point where I can barely use it as a portable machine anymore. So I ordered a replacement battery from an unofficial reseller and found a guide on how to open the laptop and change the power source. The process itself was quite easy (just a few screws for the case and battery) and I quickly replaced everything, but then I noticed some differences: Old battery:

New battery:

While the new battery has the same part number, it’s rated for 4400mAh instead of 4300mAh. There are some other small differences as well, and I’m starting to get worried that this might be a different part. The laptop also has trouble to wake up from sleep or properly shutdown after upgrading to Windows 10, and I fear that these problems combined with this new battery could result in some damage (or worse, cause an explosion). Will this replacement battery work fine? Are there certain things I should do before using the laptop again (fully charging the battery, etc.)? Or should I just live with the subpar old battery to be on the safe side? Any answer would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

My recommendation is: be careful. Replacement batteries always work best if they come from the original company that manufactured the laptop. Your replacement battery isn’t (as far as I can see), and thus might cause problems with your laptop. As long as everything seems to work mainly fine without any errors, I’d leave it in, but the second you start smelling smoke or hear strange sounds, get it out immediately. Keeping the old battery would be a good idea if you could keep it in a cool and dry place, otherwise dispose of it responsibly. The problems you are having with sleep and shut down might be related to the battery, but also might have to do with the upgrade to windows 10. If you have some time, first try putting your old battery in and then seeing if you have power issues with sleep and shutdown. Otherwise you could install a different OS (Such as Ubuntu) and see if the problem still occurs there. All in all, you can never be too careful, but honestly I think you’ll be fine! The best option (also the priciest of course) is to order an original battery for the laptop. Carpe Diem, Minas