HELP! Achos 605 battery doesn't charge anymore

[vrf3]

My Achos 605 suddenly does not keep it's charge anymore. After fully charging it will only last a few minutes! Evfen when the mini dock is connected it will only last a few minutes longer. The only way I can use my Archos now is with the dock.

While searching I found this:

Never turn off the 605 while it is charging.

If you do the charge light will never flash and you risk leaving it in a permanent trickle charge state which is not good for the type of battery used in the 605.

I think I did turn off my Archos one time it was charging.
What does "a permanent trickle charge state" mean? and can it be fixed?

Any help will be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[psionic1]

Mine is the same. After about 2 years of use, suddenly, the battery only lasts a few minutes. Then it shuts down. I put it on the DVR station, and it tries to start up, but kinda goes in and out a few times before it just totally shuts down. After about an hour on the DVR station, it will be useable again(but only on the DVR station).

There seems to be very little support from Archos on these untis at this point, so I figure I have a brick. One of these days, I will try the battery swap out.

[lizzyjm]

I've had mine nearly two years, since they came out, and my battery's suddenly down to about half an hour of use before giving up. But I've never turned it off while charging - I've never even found that possible!

[vrf3]

I was able to turn my Archos off by using the Settings menu. I didn't know that it was gonna ruin my battery! Now I can only use my Archos when it's on the DVR Station. Even when I use it via the Mini Dock, the battery runs our after a few minutes! Don't really know whwy but I see that the Mini Dock Charger is only 5 volts while the DVR Station uses a 5.2 volt charger.....

[eddie32818]

My Achos 605 suddenly does not keep it's charge anymore. After fully charging it will only last a few minutes! Evfen when the mini dock is connected it will only last a few minutes longer. The only way I can use my Archos now is with the dock.

While searching I found this:

Never turn off the 605 while it is charging.

If you do the charge light will never flash and you risk leaving it in a permanent trickle charge state which is not good for the type of battery used in the 605.

I think I did turn off my Archos one time it was charging.
What does "a permanent trickle charge state" mean? and can it be fixed?

Any help will be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

You should look into a battery replacement. Unfortunately, these rechargeable batteries usually fail, over time.

Search this forum for a tutorial; there are a few good ones with pics.

[Hanny]

I have exactly the same problem. I use the archos every work day on the train and charge it via the TV dock overnight. I have been doing this for around 16 months and I guess that the battery has expired.

Any idea how much it costs to get Archos to replace the battery?

[lizzyjm]

I've just sent an email to [url=mailto://rma-uk@archos.com]rma-uk@archos.com[/url] asking that very question. I enquired on the Archos website and got a response telling me to email that address - but I forgot until your reply reminded me

When/if I get a reply, I'll post on here.

[lizzyjm]

Got a reply and the estimate is £72.72, though that's just an example and it could be different.

They also included the following suggestion:

With general charging and general use, it is in your interest to recharge the unit "prematurely".

Sometimes the battery on your unit needs to be refreshed. Please follow the steps below to do this:

-Run your player until it is fully dead and turns off.

-Turn it on and allow the unit to get more discharged, and turns itself off again.

-Do this several times, until the unit is fully dead and will not even turn on.

-Fully charge the unit. Use a desktop PC if possible or use a mini dock, battery dock or the DVR station. These can often give more power to the unit allowing it to charge quicker and fully. Use the unit normally and allow it to fully discharge again and repeat the above.

-Do this a couple of times and it should increase the battery life of the unit.

I tried this at the weekend with mine (though admittedly only once as it took AGES) and it didn't help at all

[eddie32818]

Got a reply and the estimate is £72.72, though that's just an example and it could be different.

They also included the following suggestion:

With general charging and general use, it is in your interest to recharge the unit "prematurely".

Sometimes the battery on your unit needs to be refreshed. Please follow the steps below to do this:

-Run your player until it is fully dead and turns off.

-Turn it on and allow the unit to get more discharged, and turns itself off again.

-Do this several times, until the unit is fully dead and will not even turn on.

-Fully charge the unit. Use a desktop PC if possible or use a mini dock, battery dock or the DVR station. These can often give more power to the unit allowing it to charge quicker and fully. Use the unit normally and allow it to fully discharge again and repeat the above.

-Do this a couple of times and it should increase the battery life of the unit.

I tried this at the weekend with mine (though admittedly only once as it took AGES) and it didn't help at all

If you send it to Archos for service, not only will you be billed for the new battery and labor, but you will have to wait for them to receive/fix/ship the unit which may take weeks until you get it back.

If you or someone you know is confident with disassembly/soldering, then you should consider buying your own battery and doing the exchange yourself. You would save a lot of money and time.

[lizzyjm]

Yeah, I saw the thread on that and it's way out of my capabilities and I don't know anyone who could do it either, sadly.

[eddie32818]

Yeah, I saw the thread on that and it's way out of my capabilities and I don't know anyone who could do it either, sadly.

Sorry to hear that. It would be a good idea to definately backup all your stuff to your PC, before you send it in for repair at the Archos service center.

[lizzyjm]

I've actually found someone willing to do it as long as I absolve him of all responsibility if goes horribly wrong! I think £15.90 for a new battery instead of £72.72 minimum is edging me towards that idea!

[PolloLoco]

I've actually read that it doesn't matter if you turn off your archos while docked. Just leaving it on the dock for extended periods of time while it's already charged, even if the light is blinking - is enough to diminish the battery. That's yet another defect of this generation. So general good procedure is to only charge it when you need it. My 605 is sitting on my desk undocked right now.

[lizzyjm]

That is really silly. I always left mine charging overnight. Or it would charge itself fully while I was watching something on my telly and therefore needed it in the dock! I guess if I manage to get a new battery in it I'll make an effort not to leave it on there.

[albertkinng]

send it to Archos, it will take 4 weeks they will put a new battery , will call you to replace the HD you say NO and then it will be just more or less 80.00 dollars.. I didi it and my unit it's working great!

[mdm]

My battery just stopped working for me. I have kept it on the docking station. I kind of don't like what I hear about the batteries going out in these. I'll just keep using mine to record programs and take to work and watch my shows. I'll have to use the power cord. But I don't think I'll be looking at buying achos crap when the unit breaks completely down.

[mdm]

I may have changed my mind the thread on battery replacement by ecsw looks good. I may try it.

[BlueFrog]

Well, my 605 is pretty much dead. Leave it on for 2 mins and the screen starts to fade, and the colors change. I've had mine for over a year, so the warranty isn't valid, BUT I have extended warranty because I used my credit card.

Does anyone know if a battery replacement like this would be covered under the original warranty? If so, then my credit card warranty should cover it and I can get it replaced for free. I'm a bit annoyed with Archos though, as I submitted a service request on August 13, and they took 7 days to get back to me and they asked me to send them info on the unit (90% of which was already in my first email). Now I'm waiting for them to respond again. A bit frustrating.

I have the dock as well, and when my unit isn't being used, it's sitting on the dock. That's a pretty major design flaw if having the unit plugged in wrecks the battery. Oh, I'd also fully charge/drain the unit once a month, thought that apparently didn't help the battery at all.

BlueFrog

[eddie32818]

If credit card protection warranty is still good, then request a free replacement, rather than a warranty repair.

Note that you might not be able to keep your files (unless you backed up) when you send it in. If your files are intact, you may be able to get them off, providing you physically remove the ide-drive from the archos and connect it to a pc via usb encloser. (Then opening it might void the warranty with the credit card dudes)

Good luck.

[BlueFrog]

eddie, looks like your "good luck" comment sure paid off!

I put a claim through my credit card company and sent in the Archos to them, assuming they would pay to have it fixed. Wrong assumption, as they just sent me an email stating that I'd receive a check for $419.99 (the purchase price with tax) in the mail in the next week or two.

So, for those of you who buy things on a credit card, definitely look into whether you have an extended warranty, as it may save your butt sometime. I got about a year and a half use out of my player, and now I'm getting a full refund. The question is, will I buy another Archos product? If I do you can bet it'll be on my credit card with the extended warranty!

BlueFrog