Harmony Remotes

[dbergey1013]

Where do you get these batteries?

Mine is swollen too - safe to put another one in - Where do you get replacements?

[farmerbob]

File a trouble ticket with support.That'll start the process.

[greywing]

I have an 890 Pro which gave me battery/charging problems early on but didn't totally fail until last year.  It swelled up so badly that it broke the cover.  I made the assumption that this was a unique issue with my remote and since my unit was way out of warranty the fix would on my nickle.  When I called to obtain replacement parts, there was not a hint of any on-going problem with batteries and I stupidly paid Logitech grossly inflated prices for replacement battery and cover.  Unfortunately, I hadn't bothered to check out this site at that time or I wouldn't have been so gullible.  The only reason I recently checked this site is because my 890 Pro totally crapped out a couple of weeks ago and I'm currently waiting for a response from Logitech (support?).  BTW the replacement battery is currently OK.

It is my opinion that the battery problem may not be a bad lot but rather something is amiss with the charger and/or the charge management circuitry in the remote(s) that allows the battery to be overcharged.  My swollen battery was not the so-called bad blue lot but biege in color.  Sadly I didn't keep it for reference.

It has been my experience that Logitech support is not bad when it comes to programming issues but with bad hardware, there is little or none.

[farmerbob]

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greywing wrote:

. . . It is my opinion that the battery problem may not be a bad lot but rather something is amiss with the charger and/or the charge management circuitry in the remote(s) that allows the battery to be overcharged.  My swollen battery was not the so-called bad blue lot but biege in color.  Sadly I didn't keep it for reference.

Was the label on the battery Blue or White? All the batteries were/are beige(ish) with a colored label. It was a bad lot of batteries that were identified with the "Blue" label. I have a white label battery in a remote that had the blue label battery problem and all is well. If it were the charger or circuitry, then the replacement batteries would experience the same problem. Mine haven't. I had two, one was in a new replacement remote. If yours was a "white" label, there still may be a problem with the replacement batteries. Or that may have been the tail end of the "blue" label lot that they started putting "white" labels on them. But I haven't had any issues with the "white" labeled battery in the time that I had with the "blues".

It has been my experience that Logitech support is not bad when it comes to programming issues but with bad hardware, there is little or none.

They're really bad in programming too. It took "us" 4 hours on the phone, when they still did that, to find that a stupid problem that I discovered was theirs and that their so called "hardware library" isn't as inclusive as they profess. When they realized that it was on their end, they hung up on me. Still no resolution on the issues. Since, I file trouble tickets, to have it in writing, and get responses with no or little help, or nothing to do with what I wrote and all attitude back.

They have a great concept, but the execution is bad in materials used (for all Logitech gear) and support. I was hoping someone at CES would introduce a new line of remotes to rival Logitech/Harmony this year. But haven't seen anything yet.

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[greywing]

I misspoke about the battery - I meant the label.  As a matter of fact my replacement battery which seems still functional has a blue-green label.  While we are not in a position to establish fault beyond a reasonable doubt, the charger management electronics could still be responsible for overcharging some but not other batteries dependent on parameter variations in the batteries.  But it matters not.   The problem is longstanding, it is Logitech's to resolve and they clearly have chosen instead to shine it on where ever they could.

[CatLogitech]

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farmerbob wrote:

They're really bad in programming too. It took "us" 4 hours on the phone, when they still did that, to find that a stupid problem that I discovered was theirs and that their so called "hardware library" isn't as inclusive as they profess. When they realized that it was on their end, they hung up on me. Still no resolution on the issues. Since, I file trouble tickets, to have it in writing, and get responses with no or little help, or nothing to do with what I wrote and all attitude back.

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Hello Farmerbob,

I would like you look into your case a bit more or see what I can find out for you.

If you can PM me the background information about your issue as well as the case numbers I will see what is going on and let you know what we can do from there.

[Airshark]

I have an issue where I was issued a replacement Harmony One remote that also now has a swollen battery.  Logitech refuses to replace this one because they say it was already replaced.  I've spent a lot of money only to have two remotes have their batteries dangerously swell.  After a 40 minute frustrating language barrier-filled phone call, I was offered a discount code and told basically "too bad."

If anyone from Logitech can help me, I'd appreciate it. 

I feel like posting this on as many websites as I can to get the word out that Logitech does not care about dangerous, swollen batteries.

[wcattey]

I just attempted to get a battery replacement today.

My unit was purchased in 2010.

They would only replace the battery cover -- with a different colored one from the Harmony 890 because they don't have any Harmony 880 battery covers.

They won't offer any discount on battery purchase.

So they've discontinued their best remote, failed to support it with replacement parts, failed to properly design their battery/battery compartment, and failed to deal with a battery that damaged the unit.

VERY DISAPPOINTING.

I'll be signing onto everybody's favorite e-commerce site and spending less than half of list price for a battery like the one I bought last year for my other Harmony 880.

[farmerbob]

From way back when I was having issues and went looking for new batteries, in the event Logitech told me to take a leap, I found a couple of links to these batteries on Amazon and eBay. There's tons of them out there with a fraction of the CSR problems as one has with Logitech. Even some of the listings describe the "colored label" problem and assure that their battery is not one of the defective ones. Google or search the model number in those market places and you should come up with a bunch of listings that if you have to pay the bill will be cheaper in the long run and you will know that you got the right battery and if not have far better recourse that with Logitech.

[Pursya]

I checked my ONE last night. It has a Blue label battery, but no swelling.

I just bought another new ONE a couple of hours ago and it also has the blue label battery.

Hopefully I dont hve issues.