Fake VTC4?

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UncleChuck

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Went to a vape shop today and picked up an IPV2, I wanted to use it on the way home and VTC series batteries are getting hard to find so I picked up an extra one and had them put it in the mod.

I went to change the battery and this is what came out, see if you can ID the questionable cell:

CAM00986.jpg

(It's obviously the one in the middle)

The first thing that struck me was that it's obviously a used cell, there was a few minor dents in the battery case and there was some wear on the contacts like you normally get with a mod, so I was upset that they sold be a used (and badly taken care of) cell as a new one. But after settling down about that, I looked a bit closer and I'm pretty sure it's also a fake.

The wrapper color is off, it's a bit more shiny than my other ones too. While that little square barcode thing has worn off quickly on all my other Sonys, on this cell that's obviously been well used it's still super bright, so it appears a different ink has been used.

Most alarming is that the text doesn't even say VTC4 it just says "VT4" and the font is different and more messy. I thought maybe there was a different cell from Sony without the C, but I can't find anything. Both positive and negative terminals look identical to real Sonys.

I don't have the gear here to test the cell but the IPV's display was showing a big drop in the battery bar while firing, which means a large voltage sag I believe. I didn't experience any abnormal heat or anything but still it worries me I was pushing 50 watts with this battery.

I'm absolutely furious at this vape shop for doing this, I'm hoping it was an honest mistake as we had a bunch of batteries and mods getting played with and maybe they put a shop-use battery in there or something, but even that is worrying as it looks to be a fake. They had some left to sell still and I'm planning on informing them that the cells are fake if that's the case, and if they try any funny business I'm going to let it be known.

So are these fakes for sure or some odd uncommon cell?

Thanks guys!
 
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UncleChuck

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Here is what I used to figure out all three of my VTC5 batteries I bought on ebay were fake.

How to spot a fake Sony VTC5 battery

Hope it helps.

Most likely is fake, the terminals matching so well is what threw me off, since the fakes usually have the different negative terminal like in the link but the one I got has identical terminals.

Also odd how they didn't even print a "C" in the VTC4 name

I can't wait to hear what the explanation will be, I'm going to bring in a bunch of real ones to show as a comparison because they aren't even good fakes and I can't imagine people who run a vape shop wouldn't be able to spot a fake Sony, and we even had a conversation about how VTCs were getting hard to find. The more I think about this the more angry I get heh I was hoping someone would tell me it was real, just an old crappy sony cell or something like that.
 

eLefAdEr

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No need to make a new thread when a few for this topic already exist.

Just received 2 Sony VTC4 batteries from a high-volume eBay seller with solid feedback, but they are fairly different from the Sonys I already own (also from an eBay seller). It's possible both could be fakes, or they could both be genuine. I don't have benchmark gear to test, so here's an album a few pictures I took. Judge away!

https://imgur.com/a/wIH4t

I just noticed that one of two batteries in question does have "Sony 31" printed along with the internal code information, and it has a less-than-perfect seam on the wrap. Could take pics of that and add to the album as well if anyone thinks it'll help I.D. them.
 

inswva

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No need to make a new thread when a few for this topic already exist.

Just received 2 Sony VTC4 batteries from a high-volume eBay seller with solid feedback, but they are fairly different from the Sonys I already own (also from an eBay seller). It's possible both could be fakes, or they could both be genuine. I don't have benchmark gear to test, so here's an album a few pictures I took. Judge away!

https://imgur.com/a/wIH4t

I just noticed that one of two batteries in question does have "Sony 31" printed along with the internal code information, and it has a less-than-perfect seam on the wrap. Could take pics of that and add to the album as well if anyone thinks it'll help I.D. them.

The cell on the bottom is almost certainly not a Sony. It has the same gap at the top of the cell as the Samsung 25R. The fake VTC4s I received last week are nearly identical, crappy seams included. FWIW, the two I received from Lightning Vapes today are the real deal.
 
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