Samsung Galaxy 7 Tablet Question

[kinuta]

I have a Samsung Galaxy 7 Tablet that I bought in Hong Kong several years ago.

Recently the battery has been draining very quickly; an hour using Kindle Reader reduced the battery from 100% to 74%.

I've tried turning off WiFi and GPS and all the other recommended tips for power saving.

Nothing works.

Samsung in Japan can only replace batteries on domestic models.

Does anyone have any advice, other than buying a new one ?

[Dave Garrett]

I'd bet the battery's on its last legs. The batteries in smartphones and tablets aren't designed for longevity, as people tend to replace the entire device every year or two in the case of phones, somewhat less frequently in the case of tablets as they don't achieve perceived obsolescence quite so quickly as phones do. I have definitely experienced a very noticeable dropoff in the ability of batteries to hold a charge in every smartphone I've ever owned after two years.

There are tutorials on YouTube documenting how to replace the battery in a Galaxy 7 tablet, for instance:

If you're not up to tackling it yourself, are there not third-party electronics repair shops in Japan that specialize in phone/tablet repair? They're all over the place in the US, with the only caveat being that going that route almost always voids the device warranty, which wouldn't be an issue for you since the tablet is several years old. They usually charge much less than a factory service center for most common service tasks like battery or cracked screen replacement. Replacing a battery should certainly be much cheaper than buying a new tablet. 

[kinuta]

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply.

Your advice about asking a repair shop to change the battery is sound and sensible.

I'd obviously thought of that myself, the fly in the ointment is non availability of Samsung batteries.

I don't know of a single place in Tokyo that stocks them. The retail outlets are totally dominated by domestic products, even finding a shop that sells Samsung products is a major challenge.

I know that sounds incredible given Tokyo's reputation as a technology leader.

If you know where I could buy a replacement battery in the US, I'd certainly appeciate it.

At the moment I'm using the tablet plugged into the mains, which curtails mobility but is better than nothing.

Once again, thank you for your kind advice

 

Edited June 28, 2016 by kinuta

[mjzee]

1 hour ago, kinuta said:

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply.

Your advice about asking a repair shop to change the battery is sound and sensible.

I'd obviously thought of that myself, the fly in the ointment is non availability of Samsung batteries.

I don't know of a single place in Tokyo that stocks them. The retail outlets are totally dominated by domestic products, even finding a shop that sells Samsung products is a major challenge.

I know that sounds incredible given Tokyo's reputation as a technology leader.

If you know where I could buy a replacement battery in the US, I'd certainly appeciate it.

At the moment I'm using the tablet plugged into the mains, which curtails mobility but is better than nothing.

Once again, thank you for your kind advice

 

Two thoughts:

1) Amazon.com.  A quick search revealed many replacement batteries such as: https://www.amazon.com/Outecc-Samsung-GALAXY-T4000E-T2105/dp/B0118UBB80/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467084330&sr=8-1&keywords=samsung+galaxy+7+replacement+battery

2) Contact Samsung.  I'm sure they have a customer service office in Tokyo that you could call.

[kinuta]

Thank you for your advice.

I've already contacted Samsung's main distributor, and explained the problem but was told they can only replace batteries on Japanese domestic models that are marketed in conjunction with DoCoMo.

They will not service any model bought outside Japan.

I then went down the road to my, rather large, local appliance and electronics store where I consulted with the service head and was told the same thing.

 

However the link to Amazon is appreciated. I'll look into it.

 

[Dave Garrett]

Amazon would be my first suggestion as well, assuming you're looking for a US vendor. eBay is also a good bet (there are 200 listings currently for "samsung galaxy tab 7 battery"), but assuming you're going to require shipment to Japan as opposed to a US address, that will rule out all the sellers who will not ship internationally. 

[kinuta]

1 hour ago, Dave Garrett said:

Amazon would be my first suggestion as well, assuming you're looking for a US vendor. eBay is also a good bet (there are 200 listings currently for "samsung galaxy tab 7 battery"), but assuming you're going to require shipment to Japan as opposed to a US address, that will rule out all the sellers who will not ship internationally. 

Cheers, Dave.

[JSngry]

https://www.batteriesplus.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwwMi7BRDGptbvwOCDj8oBEiQAIALyDKXGO41ERYrMMJdlFAc5LOJgnCWBytq1UHrblzuijBIaAjzN8P8HAQ

THis is a store that has a location in Plano. No idea if they'll be an option for you, but they pretty much specialize in batteries,  and now, bulbs. We have nevernot found what we needed there.