For the last six months I've just been using a laptop as a mini pc with no battery.
That is one of the advantages of the bigger name brands, replacement parts are generally a lot easier to find.
They don't manufacture batteries and never have, I've always had mixed feelings when it comes to "supporting their goals".
I appreciate their work to get Linux working on those models, but they can't provide long term hardware support.
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-97-wh-6-cell-lithium-io...
If I search for battery stuff shows up, but they only ship bare batteries to the 48 states and Canada.
Contacting support should be able to help you too.
> The hardware supplier that we use no longer has the battery. Therefore, we cannot sell you the battery. What we can do is provide you with the part numbers so you can source it elsewhere. If you're considering sourcing the battery for the Darter Pro 5 from another supplier, please note that the model number for the battery is N150BAT-4, and the original part number is 6-87-N15ZS-51E01. Third-party battery sellers may display one or both of these numbers and might also list other compatible part numbers that are suitable for the same model.
It's actually a Darter Pro 6, but the battery part number is correct in that text.
You can not purchase this battery, it no longer exists. There are a few sketchy websites which say that they sell it, but they will cancel your order a few days after placing it and tell you that there is "lack of material".
I love the idea of the Framework. I don't love the lack of a trackpoint, or the pricing. I'm willing to forgive the latter since it's a small company with a mission I appreciate. There's likely a Framework 16 in my future eventually.
Unfortunately the quality of Thinkpads went downhill after Lenovo took over, they used to be really good. But there is nothing else with trackpoints these days, which I vastly prefer over touchpads. (And even on some old Dells that had trackpoints, they never felt as good as on Thinkpads.) Also, Linux support was always very good, though that is less of an issue these days.
Never had to replace a battery though, but I always used that "don't charge more than 80%" mode. My old Thinkpad with a Core 2 Duo from 2009 still gets over a hour of battery (though the laptop is largely unusable for any practical use these days).
I don't mind repairing electronics in general, even on a component level if need be (as long as the components are large enough that I can see them, which really isn't the case any longer with tiny SMD components). And I tend to use things for a very long time rather than replace them. I'm still rocking a Dell monitor from 2013 for example.
At the end of the day it's probably worth replacing it with something that probably won't burn my house down.
I almost pulled the trigger on a mini PC over the summer, but said "the laptop still works, you don't really need this" and now it would be 30 or 40% more because of ddr5 and NVMe cost spikes.
It's not a money thing, it's the principal of it.
Hope you find your batteries.
I found a few which said "in stock" but was refunded each time as the part didn't actually exist.
It’s too bad there isn’t standard cells anymore. I did notice my Bluetooth speaker (which had replacement batteries available) also had instruction videos floating around on buying replacement cells and rebuilding the battery pack.
Laptop packs I don’t think are typically made of replacable cells.