Authentic Sony 18650's??

[Surrealist]

Hello all, I recently purchased some supposedly authentic vtc4's & vtc5's, from a seller that sells only authentic vaping gear. They were sold as authentic, but there are several things that concern me. It does not have the characteristics of some other listed fakes, like the top groove gap, the dark printed QR code, sticky positives, raised negatives or bad seams. They all weigh out to 44-45grams.

(vtc4's on the left, vct5's on the right in pictures)

Here are my main questions, as some say these signs point to a fake, but not much info on it.


1) My QR codes are all the same on the vtc4's, same with the vtc5's
2) Serial numbers are all the same for the vtc4's, same with the vtc5's
3) The JR logo is lined up exactly with the top code line, which I heard it should not be

So any possibility these can these be authentic with the listed concerns?

 

[Romano Cheese]

Looks like a job for the Battery Busters @Mooch and @Baditude

 

[Mooch]

Uh-oh...as you mentioned, the code on the right should be offset...

 

[Baditude]

How to identify counterfeit Sony batteries | E-Cigarette Forum

Who is the seller allegedly selling only authentic vaping gear you purchased from? Readers want to know.

 

[Surrealist]

I've read that sunvapers blog several times, it does seem very outdated though. The only part that doesn't seem to match was the logo on that page. So just the logo placement, makes it a definite clone?

I heard these are manufactured in Singapore, and Japan, with the Singapore batch having the sony 31 on it. Is it possible they have the logo placement on a different spot for different factories/batches? Or is it time to raise hell, and get a refund from the company I bought it from?

 

[Baditude]

This is a tough one IMO. I had read that the original Sony battery factory in Japan was destroyed by the earthquake, and that the recently available VTC batteries were coming from a new plant in the Phillipines.

AW used to be the most counterfeited battery. With the recent popularity of the VTC batteries, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that they are now the most counterfeited battery. Unfortunately, the Sony batteries have few identifying markers on them to know if they are authentic or fakes. I don't think Sony bothers to improve this because they don't want their batteries to be sold on the open market. (They make them for protected cell packs for power tools only.) Some do make it onto the open market, and these are the ones which we are lucky to buy.

The best solution IMHO is to buy from reputable vendors who can verify their sources as being authentic distributors: RTD Vapor, Illumn, Orbtronics, and IMR Batteries to name a few.

 

[Mikecomp93]

i'm gonna go out on a limb here, but the fact that both pairs of batteries you got have the same exact serial number is definitely a good sign of clones.

about two or three months ago, VTC5's reappeared on a few websites i purchase from. one of them being rtdvapor.com recommended by Baditude. i got a few from there. i also got a few from bevapehappy.com and vapordna.com to compare. they all are authentic and i have had absolutely no issues with them. looks like vape happy still has some left, i would pick up a few before they're gone for a long time.

 

[Surrealist]

How to identify counterfeit Sony batteries | E-Cigarette Forum

Who is the seller allegedly selling only authentic vaping gear you purchased from? Readers want to know.

It is a seller based in the US, has a B&M, and does strictly wholesale online for all the big brand names. I have dealt with him in the past to get authentic hardware. Sigelei actually directed me to him, as a listed authentic seller, for a smaller quantity order based in the USA. All his previous stuff has been legit, so I thought he was a trusted seller. It very well could be, if they're actually clones, he might not know about it himself.

I will wait for their reply before I decide to blast them here.

 

[Baditude]

Well, to further complicate this issue, about a year ago Illumn unknowingly got a fake batch of Sony's in and sold some to their customers. I forget why, but they started to in-house test them, and realized they probably were not authentic VTC batteries, but re-wraped Samsungs. Illumn did the right thing and contacted those customers and offered a refund/replacement.

 

[Surrealist]

i'm gonna go out on a limb here, but the fact that both pairs of batteries you got have the same exact serial number is definitely a good sign of clones.

about two or three months ago, VTC5's reappeared on a few websites i purchase from. one of them being rtdvapor.com recommended by Baditude. i got a few from there. i also got a few from bevapehappy.com and vapordna.com to compare. they all are authentic and i have had absolutely no issues with them. looks like vape happy still has some left, i would pick up a few before they're gone for a long time.

I actually bought 10 vtc4's, and 10vtc5's. All 10 vtc4's share the same serial number, and all 10 vtc5's share the same serial number. The QR code is the same, dot for dot, on all 20 of them.

Looks like I will be sending these back, unless someone can convince me that sharing the same serial number is common?

Check this link out, the guy seems to have some knowledge on sony batteries, but is still a bit stumped on the sharing the serial #.

Some interesting replies:
Ryan Hepler 1 month ago
I'm still curious. I bought a set of 2 off of fasttech (they claimed to be legit) and they check off for looking legit in every category, except for they have the same serial number.

I heard they sell authentics on fasttech, as it has 100's of reviews, saying they're in fact authentic. So that's an interesting comment that he says his serial number is the same as well. The plot thickens...

 

[Surrealist]

Looking at this video I posted, that RJ logo is lined up where mine is, and not below where you listed the authentic should be. An interesting comment is that he points out the RJ logo is lined up with the top, and he says that's not his question, implying that hes seen authentics with the RJ logo lined up there...He states the vtc4 is from that trusted seller you mentioned...illumination supply, that tests all their batteries.

Hmmmm the plot thickens further....

 

[Baditude]

Not sure if these will help....

 

[Mooch]

The numbers on the second line are the date and batch codes. They might be the same, for multiple batteries, or they could be different.

As to the UL logo (yea, doesn't look like UL at all), I can't say other than my authentics have the logo offset.

 

[Surrealist]

I have seen both of those videos already, thanks though. I have watched just about every video, and done every search I could before posting here.

That second video, that guys clones are really obvious, not even a QR code on it lol. Supposedly the vtc3's have that raised negative button style though, its only the vtc4's/vtc5's that don't.

I should note I have 6 previous VTC4's ive been using for 6-8 months. They all have the same QR code, same JR logo placement, and serial number as my new ones. I have used these as low as 0.15- 0.2 ohms, and they have performed great. I never checked the serial number back then though, didn't pay attention to the QR code either. I always thought those were authentics, as they passed all the tests on the sunvapers page.

There was a red flag, when I picked up one of these new ones, they felt heavier. I read up on it, and clones tend to be lighter. I put them on my scales, and my old ones are 39-41 grams, all my new vct4-vtc5s weigh 44-46 grams(the real weight). So sounds like my old ones are clones, some really good clones, unless batteries lose weight over time(Sounds silly, but never know)?

I am super paranoid now, and want to get down to the bottom of this.

 

[Mikecomp93]

i actually want to retract my statement from before. last night i was curious and checked all of the VTC5's i've purchased over the past few months since they reappeared. a lot of them have matching serial numbers. so what mooch said is definitely accurate.

 

[Surrealist]

I got through to the company today, they basically told me they were not sure, just stating that "everyone knows they stopped making them in 2010", implying that they might be clones. He said he would give me a credit if I wanted to send them back.

Batteries in question: Sony 18650 Battery | LA VAPORZ Wholesale

Like I mentioned previously, these guys have done me right in the past, with authentic hardware. These batteries are questionable though...

 

[Surrealist]

i actually want to retract my statement from before. last night i was curious and checked all of the VTC5's i've purchased over the past few months since they reappeared. a lot of them have matching serial numbers. so what mooch said is definitely accurate.

So authentic vtc4s/vtc5s can share serial numbers. So we can scratch that myth off that they should all have unique serial numbers. The only other thing is, can authentics share the same QR code as well? Can an authentic have that UL/RJ logo in different locations other than just offset?

Maybe ill hold off on returning these after all, they might just be authentic....

 

[Stinkytofus]

looks fake, the square code is so dark

 

[Mooch]

looks fake, the square code is so dark

I've wondered about that, but the codes on my authentics are dark.

 

[Surrealist]

Here is some interesting pictures, they're from fasttech, where they have 270 reviews saying they're authentic. Fasttech isn't known for false advertising authentics, when they list it as Authentic btw. The first picture is uploaded by fasttech, notice the placement of the UL/RJ logo. The others are from user uploads, notice the new placement of the UL/RJ logo. It appears that the logo placement isn't a reliable method to determine authentic/clones anymore. Link to their batteries & reviews: $10.83 Authentic Sony US18650VTC4 3.6V 2100mAh Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery (2-Piece) at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping .