Seidio 4000 mA battery first impressions

[MikeBinOK]

I received my 4000 mA this afternoon. First impressions, based on less than half an hour since opening the package include:

1) This is indeed a big battery. The wisecracks that appeared in comments such as "Baby got back!" and "But she has a great personality" when the first photos of this battery were released are totally justified. Side-by-side with my E4G and the Seidio extended battery for that phone, the E3D extended battery combo looks significantly larger. Of course, the cutout for the camera is larger on this phone. Other than looking slightly odd, that doesn't really matter. Of course, I don't carry my phone to look at it (display excepted). This is going to increase the bulk of the phone in my front pants pocket, though I don't think it will be unacceptably bulkier.

2) Fit of the replacement phone back is excellent. I think it may be easier to snap on and off than the OEM back shell. There are no excessive gaps or irregularities in the fit onto the phone. There is a nice grippy coating on the back that appears identical to that on my E4G extended battery back. It should make the phone fairly secure in handling. I don't think it looks as nice or distinctive as the hatching on the OEM back but again I did not buy my phone nor the battery for their looks.

3) The on-off button (technically I suppose it is the "sleep" button) is replaced along with the back. This is very different than the OEM button, which I considered too easy to press by accident, and mushy to boot. The new button takes some force to press. More force than ideal, but it is usable. I'll like not accidentally sleeping the phone, but it does mean you really have to have a good grip and PRESS the button (just squeezing hard with the index finger is enough) to start the phone.

4) On initially installing the new battery and back, I was alarmed when the phone seemed to hang during startup, showing the "Sprint" graphic on a white background. I removed the battery and reinstalled it, and the same thing happened. But I found that clicking the power button on and off started the phone moving along normally. The phone turns on and off normally once you get past this, including actually shutting off if you press it and hold it down.

 

[tbonejazzcat]

Thanks for the first impressions. I have been looking at this battery myself. What is the total thickness of the phone with the new battery?

Thanks

 

[boriqua2000]

i ordered the seidio 3400 mah from mobilecityonline for 59.95. how much did you pay for the 4000mah? they told me that the battery isn't avaliable yet. can you post some pics to see how bulky it looks. let us know how long it lasts on a full charge and how you use it.

 

[maximumac52]

Well, just to let u know guys, i found some extended batteries at ebay from honk kong selling two 3500mha bateries and cover for $23 bucks. I had ordered bateries before from there when i had the evo 4g n had a good experience with them so, i felt confident n ordered again but this time for my evo 3D. I'll let u guys know about quality asap when i get to try them.
PS: Dont feel like paying 75 bucks for just 1 seidio extended battery 4000mha. Hehe

 

[IAmSixNine]

4) On initially installing the new battery and back, I was alarmed when the phone seemed to hang during startup, showing the "Sprint" graphic on a white background. I removed the battery and reinstalled it, and the same thing happened. But I found that clicking the power button on and off started the phone moving along normally. The phone turns on and off normally once you get past this, including actually shutting off if you press it and hold it down.

FYI, if you have fast boot enabled on your device, and you happen to shut it down and remove the battery, it will boot up the old fashioned way, really slow.
At least that is what i think happened to mine.
I hav fast boot enabled and last night i took my battery out to look under the battery, and when i reinstalled it and turned it on it too seemed to hang on the Sprint screen. But i left it. I have learned to be patient when i THINK my device is hanging. (bad experience with a rooted EPIC and Journaling OFF) so it did eventually turn on.
Test it out and see if thats the case.

Good review. Interesting to see how well the battery door is molded so well but the power button is so much different from the stock door.

 

[onthehunt]

I received my 4000 mah battery today. I expected it would make the phone bulkier because I have the 3500 on my old Evo 4G. I actually didn't mind the extra width, I liked the feel and grip of the phone better. This new battery width isn't that much wider than my old Evo. The only issue I have is there is a noticeable gap at the bottom of the phone. The battery cover seems to fit snug everywhere else. I am concerned dirt, lint, etc. could get into the phone at the bottom. For those who have the 4000, how snug is the battery cover at the bottom of your phone?

 

[mdallen5]

Mine fits perfectly flush on all sides. No gaps. Only a bump up top by the headphone jack.

 

[elder_shawn]

Been using my 4000 mA extended battery over the weekend and love it. The fit is excellent and as mentioned above, the power button is a little harder to press than I would like, but it keeps the phone from turning on in my pocket.

 

[onthehunt]

I called Seidio and they are going to send a replacement cover. I noticed there isn't a hole at the bottom for the mic. Do your covers have a mic hole? If not, how well do other people hear you? Would like feedback as to how long the 4000 battery lasts with what kind of usage, i.e. light, moderate, heavy. Thanks.

 

[franky_402]

I called Seidio and they are going to send a replacement cover. I noticed there isn't a hole at the bottom for the mic. Do your covers have a mic hole? If not, how well do other people hear you? Would like feedback as to how long the 4000 battery lasts with what kind of usage, i.e. light, moderate, heavy. Thanks.

no there is nomicrophone hole but i had a friend call me while i was standing in the wind and i whispered some explitives and he heard everythign i said so dont worry about the lack of a micorphone hole. its oneless hole for dust to get into

the 4000mA battery is by far the best accessory yet. i literally play games and emulators and have the brightness all the way up and 4G on and texting and for real, the battery lasted from when i got up at 6:15 a.m. until 10 at night. i couldnt beleive the difference, its like 3 sotck batteries.....

YOU MUST FOLLOW instructions as far as how to charge properly. for the first 5-6 charges, charge thebattery all the way up (now when it reaches 100% restart the phone then it will say like 56% or so, keep doing that until when you restart itthe number isnt different, THEN recalibrate the battery otherwise your phonethinks its the stock battery still.) SECONDLY do not use rapid chargers the first 5-6 times use a trickle charge im tellin you it makes a difference. i cant explain why and some would disagree but i realized the difference through my ownexperiementation. i orderd the active extended case and itcame it two days ago...i feel like that along with the extended battery, screen protector and 32Gb class 10 memory card that i am holding a work of art and possibly shouldconsider a body guard for the phone...just sayin...

 

[iEd]

Nice. sounds like a winner. I just ordered a 1900 mA for everyday use and plan on getting a 3400 or 4000 for when I travel.

 

[onthehunt]

Received a new battery cover the other day, and it fits much better than the first one did. The second cover has a little mic hole and the first one did not. Maybe there has been a design change. After using the battery for about almost a week, I am very impressed with it. I am a moderate user, few texts, phone calls, play some games, etc., and I have 9 email accounts pulling data about every 15 min. In a 12 hour period, my phone still has about an 80% charge. That's awesome! Had the 3500 in my old Evo 4G and it did ok. The 4G Dec. update screwed up my battery life big time. My 3G stock battery lasted a decent amount of time but it would drain by the end of the day. This 4000 battery lasts an incredible amount of time. Glad I got it.

 

[Dismaster]

I've ordered the 4000 battery, and will need to get a belt pouch that will fit, any suggestions?

 

[IAmSixNine]

no there is nomicrophone hole but i had a friend call me while i was standing in the wind and i whispered some explitives and he heard everythign i said so dont worry about the lack of a micorphone hole. its oneless hole for dust to get into

the 4000mA battery is by far the best accessory yet. i literally play games and emulators and have the brightness all the way up and 4G on and texting and for real, the battery lasted from when i got up at 6:15 a.m. until 10 at night. i couldnt beleive the difference, its like 3 sotck batteries.....

YOU MUST FOLLOW instructions as far as how to charge properly. for the first 5-6 charges, charge thebattery all the way up (now when it reaches 100% restart the phone then it will say like 56% or so, keep doing that until when you restart itthe number isnt different, THEN recalibrate the battery otherwise your phonethinks its the stock battery still.) SECONDLY do not use rapid chargers the first 5-6 times use a trickle charge im tellin you it makes a difference. i cant explain why and some would disagree but i realized the difference through my ownexperiementation. i orderd the active extended case and itcame it two days ago...i feel like that along with the extended battery, screen protector and 32Gb class 10 memory card that i am holding a work of art and possibly shouldconsider a body guard for the phone...just sayin...

I am a bit confused on the second part. use a trickle charger for first 5 or 6 times.
I have never seen a trickle charger for our devices.
The concept of a trickle charger is to keep batteries topped off.
With cell phones there are only 1 type of charger. Its a rapid charger untill the phone reaches a certain percentagae then the internal software limits the amount of current going to slow or trickle. But thats only when the device reaches a certain point. Otherwise its always trying to rapid charge the battery.
Back when i was in the 2-way radio biz we had Slow and Rapid. Newew Rapid would slow to trickle to keep a battery topped off if it was left in the charger. But thats not LiIon batteries.

 

[FrostyGTA]

I have one of those cheap TPU cases since I don't need a hard box. Do you guys think that the added thickness of this battery will prevent my case from fitting?

 

[onthehunt]

I haven't found a decent case yet. I actually found a camera case at Best Buy that isn't too bad. It's hard to find cases that fit phones with extended batteries. 4000 battery rocks......16 hours since I took it off the charger and still have 75% charge! It's a powerhouse.

 

[stanlm2]

Just got my 4000 too, it's much slimmer than I thought, after reading forums, I was expecting something really big, but it's not that bad. miss the red trim some, but a decent if not quite OEM feel to the phone with replacement case. Certainly still easily fits in any of my pants pockets.
But it's going to be really fun to use gps, 4g and some of the more power hungry apps w/ less care about power, I'll write again if this battery doesnt let me do that, sounds like it's going to though

 

[xchan89]

Just wondering, does not having a a mic cutout effect any of the sound quality. I heard it does.and doesn't that's a big selling point for me.

 

[fkpalm]

Just took the plunge and purchased it from amazon a little cheaper from them. looking foward to receiving it does anyone know if it works with I grip car dock.

 

[xchan89]

Just took the plunge and purchased it from amazon a little cheaper from them. looking foward to receiving it does anyone know if it works with I grip car dock.

I just bought it too. I bought it for 65 bucks how about you?