Sony Ericsson's BST-33 Li-Polymer batteries swelling into a lawsuit?
by Thomas Ricker 
posted Jan 28th 2009 at 7:31AM
We've seen plenty of swollen and exploding batteries 'round here, but this is the first Li-Polymer battery (a technology generally assumed to be more stable and less prone to swelling and fire than Li-Ion) that we can recall ballooning into such a possible danger. Reader Christian sent us these pics of what's normally a 4-mm thick battery (pictured right) inside his W880i handset now swollen to a full 7-mm. The BST-33 sits at the heart of a long list of SE phones, a list we've included after the break along with one more picture. Do let us know if you're seeing similar issues.
List of compatible Sony Ericsson phones: C702, G502, K530i, K550im, K800i, K810i, M600i, P1i, P990i, W300i, W302, W595, W610i, W660i, W705, W850i, W880i, W950i, W960i, Z320i, Z530i, Z610i, Z750i
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mingkee @ Jan 28th 2009 9:22AM
TM506 also use this (new type) battery
I have several old type (from W300 and K790), and a new type (from TM506), no problem so far (some used for 2 years)
vaxick @ Jan 28th 2009 9:40AM
Wow, this is the last thing Sony needs right now.
jrk @ Jan 28th 2009 10:21AM
*looks inside his w960i*
*quietly closes the back cover*
shhh... don't give it any ideas!
deasine @ Jan 29th 2009 2:09AM
No problems with mine... and my phone has gone through the torture test being drenched in the toilet, lost for an hour in -15 temperatures while being buried in the snow, concrete, etc.
mohamed @ Jan 28th 2009 2:28PM
yes , this is happening to me !!!
Sid @ Jan 30th 2009 4:53PM
My w880 has been turning off by itself lately. Is that the first sign my battery is expanding?
PH0ENIX @ Jan 28th 2009 7:15PM
Just push it back into its original shape!
*BOOM*
joebu @ Jan 28th 2009 10:26PM
...The battery can swell up.....but only for those idiots that charge their phone every night, all night. Its not a battery defect its a heat issue. I have used SE for years and no problems.....ever.
Eric @ Jan 29th 2009 12:00AM
Yeah, because it's perfectly reasonable to ask users to only charge their cell phones once a week for only a few hours to keep the battery from swelling and exploding. Only an 'idiot' would do otherwise....
RedBean @ Jan 29th 2009 12:26PM
Just took the battery out of my K800i and while it doesn't wuite look like the one in the picture, there is some swelling of the battery. But it works fine, so hopefully it doesn't become a problem.