Best place to buy genuine BA700 batteries?

[glazios]

Hi.

The battery in my Xperia Neo MT15i is several years old now, it drains faster these days, and I'm looking to replace it. I'd like to buy it direct from Sony, if possible, or at least a licenced stockist, and I was wondering where the best place to do that might be. Can anyone point me to a Sony site where I can order an officially-licenced replacement? I've tried the Sony Store, but it doesn't seem to concern itself with support and accessories for older models, and links from support sites just run me in circles.

I've already tried Amazon, but the MT15i is an older model, and I don't trust the Marketplace; too many of the licenced batteries available on there are listed as 'New', but are actually recycled from other phones; also, the place is flooded with cheap 'compatible' replacements that I don't trust to be safe. In that vein of thought, Duracell have recently come out with a line of replacement Smartphone batteries, but they only produce replacements for the Sony BA600, 800, and the 950; the BA700 doesn't seem to be available. This is probably a stupid question, but can anyone tell me if the BA800 is compatible/safe to use with the MT15i?

[Uliwooly]

@glazios

perhaps amazon 

[CameronT]

Sony aren't likely going to be able to sell you aftermarket batteries. If anyone has them it would be your local Sony repair centre. It might be worth contacting your local Sony support using the link in my signature and see what they say, or as @uliwooly suggests, check Amazon/Ebay etc.

[glazios]

Thanks for the link, I'll see if the Chat Support team can help me tomorrow, when the service starts back up. As I mentioned in my original post, I've already tried Amazon before now, and I've also looked on eBay as well; I don't trust either of them to supply me with a genuinely-new BA700 battery, as so many batteries labled as 'New' on either platform are actually recycled from broken, stolen or parted-out handsets. Also both eBay and Amazon Marketplace are flooded with cheap alternatives which may or (more-likely) may not be safe to use, and there's no telling if a seller might just send you one of these instead.

[CameronT]

@glazios,

Yeah I get it. The main issue is that we simply do not manufacture the batteries for this handset anymore, so sourcing one will become increasingly difficult. Hopefully your local Sony support team can help you out, otherwise you'll have to try your luck.

Good luck to you!

[glazios]

I spoke to what I assume is my local Support Team via the Chat system today; they say they'll get back to me at some point next week, and that they can't say one way or the other as to whether the battery, if they can get one, will be new or recycled, which is understandable. On another note, the person I spoke to didn't know whether or not the BA600/800 batteries would be compatible or safe to use with my MT15i, which I thought was a bit unusual - usually the tech support can tell you either way.

[CameronT]

In tech support we primarily deal with software based issues, so when it comes to the hardware side of things we tend to be limited, especially when it comes to such specific questions haha.

It is my recommendation that you only use the battery that was designed for the phone. While it may be possible to use a battery not intended for the handset, we can not guarantee the functionality or safety of your device afterwards.