Harmony Remotes

[Peter17319]

The battery in my Harmony One was not holding a charge anymore, so I checked the battery and found that it had become swollen. And not a little bit -- it literally took me over 5 minutes to wrestle it out with a pair of pliars. In fact, it was so swollen that it has a big split down the side. I'm lucky the thing didn't start leaking and maybe start a fire!

My remote is a little over a year old, so it's out of warranty. The person I spoke to on the phone said I'm basically SOL. But shouldn't I still qualify for a new battery, because this is not normal wear-and-tear or anything -- this is a very serious failure, and I'm pretty disgusted that a battery would do this after 13 months.

[MoparRules]

I agree -- the battery should last much longer than one year, and it certainly shouldn't swell to the point where it breaks the battery cover (which is what happened to mine last night). The thing looks like it's about to explode! What would cause this? It can't be over charging...unless my cradle is defective.  Fortunately I have a spare controller (replacement for a different problem) and I'm using that battery and cover. But there should be a warranty for these batteries that extends past the one year, or at least a decent discount on the replacement cost. If nothing else, Logitech should use a different battery supplier because this is simply not acceptable.

[slp45]

Hello, I went to watch TV last night and picked up my Harmony one and it was hot, also there was a large black dot or spot on the display screen near the blue button. I tried to get the battery out but couldn't. I will try with pliers tonight. I will also call Logitech. I too think my remote is at the 1 yr or a little later old.  This stinks.

[hhatkin]

This a very serious matter in each case and I know that Logitech will take it very seriously.

E-mail the full details to them, all of you, without any further delay.

The idea of a one-year warranty is totally irrelevant.

Do NOT make any effort whatever at removing the battery - definitetely not with pliers! - and if you have to touch the remote at all put on protective gloves.

Also the whole thing will have to be disposed of - after replacement of course - according to local environmental regulations.

[Chappy]

Couldn't agree more, this is a very serious situation and should be rectified regardless of warranty expiration or not! With all the recent problems concerning batteries catching fire in laptops and other devices lately, this is something that Logitech needs to make sure they replace & fix damaged remotes & batteries immediately and with no cost to the consumer, otherwise they may find themselves facing some big civil suit. And god forbid...someone gets seriously injured by one of these things! Or one catches fire in the middle of the night and wipes out some family! As a Firefighter that's what really worries me because I know that something like this can easily cause a major fire. How many people leave their remotes on the couch overnight sometimes? Lot's, and this can be a disaster waiting to happen. 

This has happened enough now, I know there's been a number of these already posted about here, and how many more folks have simply replaced a damaged battery without reporting it...my guess would be allot.

I tell ya, it concerns me now and I'll be keeping a VERY close eye on the battery in my 3 day old H-One.

[albuilder]

I had to replace mine and it was only three weeks old.

[slp45]

I got the battery out of my Harmony one, yes the battery was swollen. I purchased mine from Amazon.com Jan 25, 2009. I also bought the extended warranty. So with the extended warranty I have to pay for shipping it back, but I'll receive a check for what I paid for it. I paid $169.00 It was on sale and a good price. Now I will have to $199.00. Not the best deal but at least I'm getting something back. If I had gone to Best Buy I would have just been able to return it and get another one. I guess sometimes a good deal isn't always the best. I'll be going to Best Buy for my next one.

[cranrob]

Please report this immediately to the Consumer Products Safety Commision at: https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

[bartman]

Had the same issue with my Harmony One.  Battery stopped holding a charge, and I was unable to physically remove it via normal means due to the fact that it had swollen and was stuck in the unit.  I  have several Harmony Remotes and the One (compared to my other remotes) has a major design flaw.  The older remotes have a 'drop in' battery design, where the back comes off and the battery drops straight in.  The newer remotes have a 'slide in' design where you slide the battery in to a slot barely big enough to accommodate it.

To add insult to injury - the Harmony FAQ says it is 'normal' for the battery to swell.

So in short:

The battery compartment was designed to 'just fit' a standard sized battery.

It is 'normal' (per Logitech) for the battery to swell, and this swelling will usually cause the battery to stick in the remote.

The swelling wont normally occur until after the standard warranty is out.

You are SOL - and your options are to use drastic measures to remove the swollen battery (risking injury to self) or buy a new remote.

[harmonydoc]

The BLUE label batteries overheat and swell.  Watch out.  I have three harmony remotes and only the blue labeled ones (2 of 3) had this problem.  White one seems to be ok.