Does this AW appear to be counterfeit

[rastapete69]

Normally, I buy my AW batteries from RTD Vapor, who I see frequently used as a trusted vendor, as well as ProVape, which I have no doubt about.

I was reading about counterfeit AW batteries and compared an 18650 that I had purchased off EBAY (I know!). I had this before becoming educated enough to know.

A few things stood out as suspect, like the ROHS rather than RoHS print on the others, slightly different bottom, placement of the AW sticker, to name a few.

I am aware of the new hologram sticker after December 2013, (edited from 2012) and am wondering if I may have an older version.

I also realize the photo may not be conclusive.

I contacted the seller expressing my questions, and he was very nice and mentioned he has sold over 1000 with no complaints and also offered to refund my $9 to Paypal and said returning the battery would not be cost effective and to keep it.

I am grateful for any thoughts.

I will say, the performance is not bad and not yet noticeably different than the AWs I am sure of.

 

[rastapete69]

bottom view.
Questionable AW 18650 on left

 

[BlueSnake]

Unless they are very old that bottom doesn't look right. None of mine look like that. But mine are all 1600 mah.

 

[Baditude]

I agree with BlueSnake, none of my AW batteries from the last 1.5 years have bottoms like that. Plus, the ROHS is different, as already pointed out.

 

[rastapete69]

I'm putting that battery on flashlight duty and accepting the refund.
Lesson learned


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DaveP]

Mine have the bottom contact in the right side of the picture. They also don't say made in China, but AW is a Chinese company. Mine are two years old, though, and don't have the CE ROHS stamps or the icons for recycle and disposal.

Mine look like this and came from Provape (photo linked to Provape's site). Notice the end wrap on the heat shrink label.

Here's a thread that talks about discerning the difference.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/super-t-manufacturing/250739-warning-fake-aw-batteries.html

And another. The original poster's batteries look like the ones in post #8 in the thread below. Others in the thread say they may be fake. It's obviously hard to tell.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/provari/495166-my-aw-imr-batteries-fake.html

 

[Baditude]

The AW batteries now in production will have a new holographic AW logo to help consumers know if they are authentic or counterfeit.

previous AW sticker (pre-2014)

current production AW hologram sticker

 

[rastapete69]

Just out of curiosity, are there any risks in using counterfeit AWs?

The reason I ask is because until I knew about fake batteries, I was using what I am now sure is a fake battery in my ProVari and, honestly, didn't notice any difference from my genuine ones in regard to performance.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DaveP]

Just out of curiosity, is there any risks in using counterfeit AWs?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Good batteries use Japanese cells. Battery makers buy the cells from a factory (usually Sony or Panasonic) and add their own wrapping and logo to personalize. AW is a seller that cherry picks Japanese cells through in house testing of the Japanese cells. The best get the AW label. The rest are wholesaled out to other companies, but they are still probably good batteries, just not up to the high AW standards.

CandlePowerForums is a good source of information. Basic to Advanced Battery Information from Battery University is another.

As Baditude said above, AW has changed its logo markings.
AW IMR batteries (red label) now have a holographic label

 

[Baditude]

Just out of curiosity, are there any risks in using counterfeit AWs?

The reason I ask is because until I knew about fake batteries, I was using what I am now sure is a fake battery in my ProVari and, honestly, didn't notice any difference from my genuine ones in regard to performance.

You run a risk of using a lessor quality battery for sure.

Fake batteries can be either the rejects of the better manufacturers in Japan. Or they may be harvested batteries from old lap top computers, re-wrapped and sold as new batteries. The battery market in China is very competitive and there are many dealers who are, should we say, unscrupulous or unethical? Their only motivation is to make a quick buck off of unsuspecting consumers.

 

[rastapete69]

Not worth risking an expensive ProVari I'd say


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jwag1973]

I've got a couple "fake" 18490's I suspect. They look identical to the one in the OP's picture. That really bothers me considering I was vaping a .6-ohm coil all weekend with them.

 

[rastapete69]

I had a dillemma
When I found out I received fake batteries, I left negative feedback warning others
The seller refunded my money and asked me to remove his only negative feedback as he sells a lot of flashlights
I did


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jimi D.]

I've got a couple "fake" 18490's I suspect. They look identical to the one in the OP's picture. That really bothers me considering I was vaping a .6-ohm coil all weekend with them.

That's scary ! Where did you get them ?

 

[zapped]

As luck would have it, I just bought some new AW batteries that are still in the packaging from RTDvapor.

Heres a pic, please forgive the poor quality but I hope it helps. Ive included your original to the right of my photo for comparison.



It looks counterfeit to me....notice the "Made in china". Its more closely spaced to the "do not trash symbol", its also off center and the font appears larger than in mine.

The RoHs text is different as well, notice how the "0" in mine is lower case while yours is all upper case?

Additionally, if you spin that battery slowly in your fingers back and forth in good light you should see a rainbow colored ring around the outside of the oval hologram.Yours has a ring as well but it looks thinner to me.

The bottom of my brand new batteries look just the one pictured on the right in your photo as well.


**The captions are probably a bit of overkill but wanted this out there as an easy reference for anyone else who may encounter this problem.

 

[jwag1973]

That's scary ! Where did you get them ?

Vaporizeforless on ebay, will never make that mistake again. I just heard about fake AW's from a friend. I looked it up here and what do ya know found my fake batteries on the first try.
I don't even know what I truly have here, sucks!

 

[Jimi D.]

Vaporizeforless on ebay, will never make that mistake again. I just heard about fake AW's from a friend. I looked it up here and what do ya know found my fake batteries on the first try.
I don't even know what I truly have here, sucks!

That does suck bro ! Here are the counterfeit kings of AW batteries Aw 18490 Battery-Aw 18490 Battery Manufacturers, Suppliers and Exporters on Alibaba.comRechargeable Batteries

 

[DaveP]

That does suck bro ! Here are the counterfeit kings of AW batteries Aw 18490 Battery-Aw 18490 Battery Manufacturers, Suppliers and Exporters on Alibaba.comRechargeable Batteries

I was surprised that one the vendors (maybe more) on that list sold Brillipower AW IMR batteries and advertised the specs with a protection board integral to the cell. Who do you go to in China to report knockoffs?

 

[jwag1973]

Update!!! I contacted Vaporizeforless concerning the issue with my fake AW Batteries. The owner (I believe) said they'd been reassured the batteries were genuine by their supplier. They were unable to confirm 100% who had the real ones, so they stopped selling AW brand products.

What's even more shocking is she automatically refunded my total purchase cost immediately.
Not asking for the product to be returned, or taking the shipping cost off.

She told me to have a great weekend, and said they'd not had any complaints reguarding the small lot of AW's they'd received and sold.

I believe her, and with basically perfect feedback and a truck load of transactions she's a class act in my book.

I'd buy from her again. I think sometimes vendors unknowingly buy fakes, believing their genuine.

Worked out as good as I could have expected.

 

[Lucky1384]

That's a great result! I tend to stay away from batteries and memory cards from eBay, as I've had so many counterfeits, probably more than genuine. I'll only buy if the seller is an already reputable store with a website. I've had batteries that leak or hold a charge for minutes, and 16Gb cards and sticks that I'm lucky if they're 1Gb!