Rechargeable batteries -- replaceable or not?

@WhiteHat. My impression was people let the battery be replaced just before the end of the 3 year warranty period, even if the battery wasn’t empty yet.
Like @philbob57 wrote: "I think you need to negotiate with your provider to perhaps get them replaced before your warranty has expired. My Costco has twice offered to send HAs in for a pre-warranty-expiration check and battery replacement.
And @tom12010:"Most venders will send your HAs in to the mfg before the warranty is up to replace the batteries’

@Ed14 said:

let the battery be replaced just before the end of the 3 year warranty period, even if the battery wasn’t empty yet.

The audiologist couldn’t provide loaners for the replacement period. I’d have been without aids. And she agreed they would pay for the “repair” when I got new aids later, so I will soldier on.

@MShumaker said:

Are your next new aids going to be Phonak?

I hope in the May contract renewal that the Phonak Sphere Infinios are available. I’d have ordered them last week if they were available. There are a handful of reasons.

WH

From 2027 onward it will be required for all portable devices in EU to have easily replacable batteries.
The first earbuds geared towards this requirement just came out.

@Reginald_II said:

From 2027 onward it will be required for all portable devices in EU to have easily replacable batteries.

Welcome!

I read this:
The European Hearing Instruments Manufacturers Association has requested an exemption for hearing instruments from the battery replaceability requirements. They argue that replacing the batteries in hearing aids may be challenging and unsafe for the users, who are often elderly and have limited manual or visual abilities.

We’ll see, I guess.

WH

@WhiteHat said:

They argue that replacing the batteries in hearing aids may be challenging and unsafe for the users, who are often elderly and have limited manual or visual abilities.

That’s funny. Because so many oldsters here are fine with replacing tiny disposable batteries routinely. The rechargeable batteries would be larger and would only need to be replaced annually at most. And now regulators have made the packaging for the tiny disposable batteries more difficult, requiring the use of a sharp tool. Which is more difficult than inserting disposables, and likely more difficult than inserting a replaceable rechargeable battery. Few will be injured inserting any type of battery but I guarantee many emergency room visits arising from the packaging issue. The more likely reason the makers are against replaceable rechargeable batteries is the cost. I’d think it would be worth it to them in end but I accept that they know the economics better than I. Regardless, first-world problems.

It’s unfortunate that hearing aids are in effect a ‘distress purchase’. That typically pushes up pricing of any product until real competition arrives. It’s been helpful to hear the downside here of rechargeables (short battery life, impossible or costly to replace) as well as the news that there’ll be some regulation
around that. Might be good, also, if Apple were restrained from making it extremely expensive to take advantage of their ‘affordable’ earbud initiative.
New phone required for so many of us. Grab, grab.

I hope they will lose

@flashb1024 said:

the batteries are being soldered in

Yes, but the regulators want to change that. The makers could absolutely build the aids with easily replaceable rechargeable batteries. Unitron did it years ago with the (horrid) Zpower batteries which could even be swapped with standard disposables. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuSoDlWErAk6 Seems like a successful design would have a larger battery not handicapped by being swappable with a standard size disposable.

But the makers want an exemption from the new rule, likely for many reasons that we commenters can mostly only guess at. So it’s impossible to know if the change would be good overall. Which should by no means be an impediment, of course.

@Dusty said:

Unitron did it years ago with the (horrid) Zpower batteries which could even be swapped with standard disposables

Ah yes, they even did the Zpowers with the Oticon OPN, which led to much chagrin!

Great caption there, I thought the bottom one would say “Wait, I need my charger”.

There are a number of factors that probably go into the reticence to go with easily replaceable rechargeable batteries. Waterproofness. Size/appearance. Reliability of the electrical contacts and physical door. Overall size of the body without sacrificing strength. These issues may be behind why we’re seeing fewer disposable battery aids as well.

WH

My Phonak Audeo Marvel M90 R still performs well, but the battery life is significantly less. Now I have seen in an older topic how you can replace the battery yourself. And I could, the warranty has already expired. But I can’t find a good replacement battery anywhere.

@knutsel The battery you need is M7854S1 or ICR7854 or LIR7854
Ali Baba has the M7854S1 but shipping cost is outrageous.
Search the LIR 7854 on eBay. They are available from a Chinese seller at about $25 for two.
I bought some of these but never used them as I sold the hearing aids.

Maybe this. https://shorturl.at/px0M730

What about thepower, whil it last a day when charged?