Harmony Remotes

[CatLogitech]

Hello Airshark,

Thank you for the feedback. Can you send me your case number through PM so that I can pass that along?

[roronoa_zorro]

Maybe you overrecharged the remote that is why the battery got swollen.. Batteries should not be charge past the required charging time because it can cause swelling and it will also shorten the lifespan of your battery

[rhachey]

That doesn't apply to Li-ion batteries, I have Harmony remotes, 2 880, 2 Ones, and 2 900, that have been on the charger every night, some for over 4 years with no problem.  There was one Li-ion Harmony battery that had this problem, and it has a blue stripe on it, the white batteries do not reflect this swollen battery problem, as I said some are over 4 years old, I did have this problem earlier and it was the battery with the blue strip, that Logitech replaced free of charge.

[medicfx]

same problem here with a 890 Harmony. No warranty. Customer service initially was willing to... help me find where I can buy a replacement battery on their site and a replacement battery cover since it had been broken by the swollen battery! That is $30 for the battery and $2 for the cover. I persisted a bit, but he still said the 1 year warranty was up and nothing could be done, but he could offer a 50% discount towards a new remote... I ended up getting a battery and a cover online (e-bay) for ~$10 both and used the 50% discount to purchase something else from the website, not a remote...

[medicfx]

it is not true, at least in the US,  that swollen batteries are replaced out of warranty. At least in my case, I was told that since it's been over a year, I had to buy a new one

[Jason17976]

Hi I too have had the same problem.  In fact I have purchased over 5 Harmony 900 remotes in the last 2 years.  The last set of 3 that I purchased back in May of 2011 are not working due to the swollen battery.  I have contacted customer support to purchase a battery and after 20 minutes of searching on the website and not finding the replacement battery they informed me that they would replace for free.  So they looked up my order ID verified the televisions that were connected but wouldnt do anything without the P/N Numbers.  So after arguing for over 45min i gave up and hung up.  I was so frustrated I am sending an email to the CEO Mr Delluca.  I have very poor vision and now I am looking right at the P/N but cannot read what is says in size 2.5 font.  I guess I will just end up purchasing a different brand remote in the end.  I will not pay 29.99 for a battery that costs them less than 5.00.  I would rather go and spend 300 more for a Philips or Elan remote that would stand behind their product when it malfunctions.

[Maek]

Made the unpleasant discovery that despite a 1-year warranty, contacting them via phone is only fully supported for 90 days.  After that I have to pay $29 for the privilege of customer service.

I have a swollen battery and my remote can't even hold a charge during the same day anymore and that was after charging it for 12 hours straight.

I have no means of contacting them directly for something that should be covered under warranty and even then I have to pay $29 for the chance that someone MIGHT help me...I feel that I shouldn't have to pay at all for a 1-year warranty which most OTHER companies would argue is a simple standard of care.

Has anyone else been able to contact Logitech via any other means?  I'm EXTREMELY upset.

[taz65]

I am sorely disappointed in Logitech's concept of customer service, particularly as it applies to this widespread issue with their Harmony remote battery swelling problems.  I have experienced the same pathetic excuse for "support" as addressed multiple times in this forum.  My mistake was taking care of the problem myself the first time.  I have two Harmony One remotes.  I love the remotes, but after about a year noticed the charge hold time deteriorating.  I ordered two replacement batteries online without thinking much about it, making sure I was getting the same OEM Logitech battery.  When I replaced them I noticed that one was bulging to the point it took some "persuasion" with tools to extract the battery.  The other was similar, but not as bad, so i moved on.  Fast forward another year, and I'm having the same problem with the two replacement batteries.  When I start looking for similar problems I found a flood of information on this battery problem. 

Having seen all the customer service issues and subsequent solutions, I thought Logitech would have figured it out and fixed the support problem and would replace the batteries in short order.  Instead, the support agent began with saying he would be glad to help, and that it could be a "user problem."  He then began to describe the "correct charging process" to include 1) only placing the remote on the charger when the touch screen indicated "low charge," 2) not routinely leaving the remote on the charging cradle, and 3) removing the remote from the charging cradle after 6 hours of charging.  I was quite offended that Logitech's response to a either a faulty battery or poorly engineered charging circuits was to blame the "customer" for not charging it's batteries properly.  I quickly countered his accusation of incorrect battery charging that none of that information is provided in the literature (which I do still have...the only thing in the documents is that the "green light indicates charging is complete.")  I also stated I was not happy about being blamed for a Logitech technical problem rather than accepting responsibility for the faulty product.  He attempted to back peddle by saying he wasn't blaming me for the problem, but would not acknowledge that the advised charging procedures basically put the responsibility for keeping the battery from swelling on the customer.  In the end, he said there was nothing he could do because both remotes were out of warranty, in spite of acknowledging that Logitech had experienced problems with these batteries.

With all that, I'm done with Logitech.  If a company will not stand behind it's products, particularly with such a widespread problem as this battery, I will not entertain that company's products, and I will advise all the people I have contact with of my experience with Logitech's horrible customer service.  To me this is a major black eye for Logitech, and unless they figure it out quickly, the begining of the end of what has been a pretty decent tech company in the past.

<<stepping off of soap box>>

[davidpjr]

I too ran into a stonewall. I started out with the promises of help followed by you are stuck with your piece of junk and on your own. Too bad so sad that we gave you a defective battery. I've already told my friend who has one to beware and will not advertise for them again.

[netbeans]

I wonder if Logitech is taking this issue seriously.

My Harmony One can no longer hold it's charge for more than 5hrs. Decided to take out the battery and get the part # to buy a replacement battery. I can't take out the battery. Seems to be stuck in the remote. Contacted Logitech support and awaiting for response. The case was logged as 'not able to remove Harmony One battery', and Logitech support asks for a photo of the battery? Sigh...