For the conclusion go down to the bottom of this post.
Some of you might have read my earlier review of the aftermarket HB5N1 battery, sold by ElectroPapa for Huawei phones. We value their quality and we have bought quite a lot of them for the Austrian Fairphoners. Recently I found out that ElectroPapa now also sells a battery that replaces the original FP1 battery F1B101 or F1B201. For testing purposes I got one of them together with our usual order. Here is the review.
The battery comes in a small cardboard box.
Cardboard box next to F1B101 battery by vhbw
Inside there is a black battery that at first sight looks pretty much like the Huawei battery. Disappointingly it is exactly the same as the Huawei battery. The only difference are two silicon spacers that are included with the battery. More to them later.
HB5N1 battery next to F1B101 battery by vhbw
Apart from the different stickers the only visual difference can be seen at the top of the battery (F1B101 on top): (1) The plastic pins on the sides are a bit thinner and (2) the middle connector seems to be a bit wider than the one of the HB5N1 battery.
Top sides of the F1B101 (above) and HB5N1 batteries by vhbw
I also inserted the battery and the spacers into the battery compartment of my FP1. The result wasn’t satisfying. The side spacer fits well, but the bottom spacer is too short and doesn’t hold the battery in place tightly. When you move the battery down there is still a pretty big space left at the top of the battery and the phone doesn’t even boot in this situation. Only when you press the battery up towards the pins the phone boots up.
F1B101 battery by vhbw in my Fairphone 1
A quick test on my booted FP1 (pressing the battery towards the pins) showed no changing temperature reading, which leads me to the conclusion that in this case too there is no (FP1-compatible) thermistor built in.
Conclusion
I cannot detect any significant difference between the HB5N1 and the F1B101 batteries by vhbw. The only hefty difference is the price: 9,59€ vs 17,89€. This means ElectroPapa basically sells a battery for 9,59€ and a non-fitting spacer for 8,30€. In my eyes this is a scam and I will ask the money back.