Safety Concerns of Aftermarket Smartphone Lithium Batteries

When it comes time to replace the battery in a mobile device, consumers have options. They can purchase original equipment manufacturer (OEM) approved batteries from an OEM authorized service provider, purchase OEM-approved replacement batteries, or they can choose to purchase aftermarket (non-OEM) batteries and have them installed by a third-party repair shop or follow the instructions available on the internet to replace the battery themselves. The latter choice of purchasing aftermarket batteries brings with it safety risks.

This white paper presents the findings of a series of tests and evaluations conducted by UL Solutions of various aftermarket smartphone replacement batteries sourced from different publicly available outlets to assess the compliance of aftermarket smartphone replacement batteries to battery safety standards.

Thirty-three aftermarket battery brands (totaling over 1,200 battery pack and cell samples) were assessed against key evaluation and test requirements from several regional battery standards. None of the battery brands purchased were safety-certified to the applicable regional standards. Twenty-nine of the 33 (88%) battery brands exhibited failures to such standards.

All of the failed battery brands exhibited fire and explosion events either at pack or cell level. Such findings highlight a concerning trend — uncertified aftermarket smartphone replacement batteries often fall short of meeting established safety standards, posing potential concerns for consumer safety. In extreme cases, this could lead to thermal runaway, explosions, or fires, causing immediate harm to consumers. To minimize such risk, consumers should purchase batteries meeting applicable safety standards from trusted and reliable sources.