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Nyko Power Pak triples Wii U gamepad battery life

S

Saint Gregory

Member
I spoke with GameStop CS and they're sending me another. They said to just throw the non-working one away... doesn't sound great for the environment :/
 
T

Trevelyan9999

Banned
So after testing it for 2 days now, I can say that this battery is buggy and just doesn't get the job done.

-Only stays at 4 bars "full" for about 10 minutes then drops to 3 bars - this after charging it for 8 + hours over night.

-Stays at 3 bars for about 2 hours

-Stays at 2 bars for another 2 hours

-Stays at 1 bar for 1 hour and starts blinking


The battery lasts for a good 5 hours, which is not what was advertised. Not to mention it's buggy; sometimes the Gamepad will just shut off completely during gameplay and I'll have to press the power button again to get it to "wake up" and start again and I have checked the connections on the battery and I can't get it connected any better than it is right now. Also when the battery light starts blinking, if I turn it off and on again, it says I have 2 bars of power left......then of course after a couple minutes it starts blinking again and dies quickly.

I'm sending this crap back and either getting a refund or a new one depending on if this is a faulty battery or if the whole line of batteries Nyko made need to be recalled. How many of you actually have not had one problem with this yet?
 
P

Pineconn

Member
Saint Gregory said:
I spoke with GameStop CS and they're sending me another. They said to just throw the non-working one away... doesn't sound great for the environment :/
Click to expand...

I'd bring it to a recycling facility if you can.

Trevelyan9999 said:
So after testing it for 2 days now, I can say that this battery is buggy and just doesn't get the job done.

-Only stays at 4 bars "full" for about 10 minutes then drops to 3 bars - this after charging it for 8 + hours over night.

-Stays at 3 bars for about 2 hours

-Stays at 2 bars for another 2 hours

-Stays at 1 bar for 1 hour and starts blinking


The battery lasts for a good 5 hours, which is not what was advertised. Not to mention it's buggy; sometimes the Gamepad will just shut off completely during gameplay and I'll have to press the power button again to get it to "wake up" and start again and I have checked the connections on the battery and I can't get it connected any better than it is right now. Also when the battery light starts blinking, if I turn it off and on again, it says I have 2 bars of power left......then of course after a couple minutes it starts blinking again and dies quickly.

I'm sending this crap back and either getting a refund or a new one depending on if this is a faulty battery or if the whole line of batteries Nyko made need to be recalled. How many of you actually have not had one problem with this yet?
Click to expand...

Sounds very similar to my experience, although I got about seven hours in my second charge. I can't do my third test until tomorrow, sadly. I'm just gonna let it charge all day...
 
T

Trevelyan9999

Banned
Upon further review of this battery, it seems to have very much to do with the black connection plug that inserts into the slot to keep the battery connected. Mine does not "click" in it just kind of "fits" snugly, on the other hand the original battery clicks or snaps into place and all is well. Both plugs on the original battery and the Nyko battery seem to be the same in shape but obviously they are different enough for the Nyko version to fit just enough too loose for the battery to get efficient power to keep a charge or to charge it fully over a longer period of time.

I plugged in the Nyko battery and held my finger on the plug to keep it tight and it showed 4 bars of charge, but when I let it go it went right down to 3 bars and continued to be inconsistent with it's charge. This is including the Gamepad loosing connection completely with the battery and having it shut off totally even with the battery seemingly still connected.

This all looks to be a design flaw by Nyko and hopefully they fix this and do a re-call.
 
E

ElectricKaibutsu

Member
Trevelyan9999 said:
Upon further review of this battery, it seems to have very much to do with the black connection plug that inserts into the slot to keep the battery connected. Mine does not "click" in it just kind of "fits" snugly, on the other hand the original battery clicks or snaps into place and all is well. Both plugs on the original battery and the Nyko battery seem to be the same in shape but obviously they are different enough for the Nyko version to fit just enough too loose for the battery to get efficient power to keep a charge or to charge it fully over a longer period of time.

I plugged in the Nyko battery and held my finger on the plug to keep it tight and it showed 4 bars of charge, but when I let it go it went right down to 3 bars and continued to be inconsistent with it's charge. This is including the Gamepad loosing connection completely with the battery and having it shut off totally even with the battery seemingly still connected.

This all looks to be a design flaw by Nyko and hopefully they fix this and do a re-call.
Click to expand...
Oops. That's disappointing.
 
M

mjontrix

Member
Trevelyan9999 said:
Upon further review of this battery, it seems to have very much to do with the black connection plug that inserts into the slot to keep the battery connected. Mine does not "click" in it just kind of "fits" snugly, on the other hand the original battery clicks or snaps into place and all is well. Both plugs on the original battery and the Nyko battery seem to be the same in shape but obviously they are different enough for the Nyko version to fit just enough too loose for the battery to get efficient power to keep a charge or to charge it fully over a longer period of time.

I plugged in the Nyko battery and held my finger on the plug to keep it tight and it showed 4 bars of charge, but when I let it go it went right down to 3 bars and continued to be inconsistent with it's charge. This is including the Gamepad loosing connection completely with the battery and having it shut off totally even with the battery seemingly still connected.

This all looks to be a design flaw by Nyko and hopefully they fix this and do a re-call.
Click to expand...

It's amazing how companies fail to notice the simple things :) They must have really been in a rush to get this out the door!
 
D

Deleted member 125677

Unconfirmed Member
24.99 and free shipping on orders over 25. God dammit.

edit: whoops, after reading the last couple of posts, I'm glad I waited a bit
 
W

Waylon Drums

Member
Trevelyan9999 said:
Upon further review of this battery, it seems to have very much to do with the black connection plug that inserts into the slot to keep the battery connected. Mine does not "click" in it just kind of "fits" snugly, on the other hand the original battery clicks or snaps into place and all is well. Both plugs on the original battery and the Nyko battery seem to be the same in shape but obviously they are different enough for the Nyko version to fit just enough too loose for the battery to get efficient power to keep a charge or to charge it fully over a longer period of time.

I plugged in the Nyko battery and held my finger on the plug to keep it tight and it showed 4 bars of charge, but when I let it go it went right down to 3 bars and continued to be inconsistent with it's charge. This is including the Gamepad loosing connection completely with the battery and having it shut off totally even with the battery seemingly still connected.

This all looks to be a design flaw by Nyko and hopefully they fix this and do a re-call.
Click to expand...


YES! I noticed the lack of a click as well, I derped and forgot to post it here. I do hope this thing works out...I'd love to be able to use one rather than Nintendo's better-but-not-better-enough battery.
 
T

tajd

Banned
when i got my nkyo battery , i put it on my gamepad (im in ireland) and charged it till it was charged

i turn on my wii u gamepad and left the title screen on NSMBU on the title screen

i stayed in the same roon watching tv (regular show & adventure time)

9 hours plus it still going strong with two bars left

i cannot remeber any clicks tho sorry

im just glad mine works
 
The Main Event

The Main Event

Member
Give it to Nyko for butchering something as simple as a battery. Looks like I'll be waiting for the official one. Appreciated reading all the impressions.
 
J

javac

Member
I was always wondering why people were hyping this up. I've never trusted 3rd party batteries for stuff like this :/

Hopefully people who bought this get use out of it however or that would be a shame!
 
K

KojiKnight

Member
OzPinoy said:
The user feedback on this product isn't looking good. Will see how the official ones from Nintendo do.
Click to expand...

I don't think there is any doubt in anyone's mind that the official one will do a lot better. I play with mine plugged in most of the time so the battery isn't a big deal for me... but damn it sucks for the people who've been waiting 6 months for this just to be shat on.
 
C

Currygan

at last, for christ's sake
javac said:
I was always wondering why people were hyping this up. I've never trusted 3rd party batteries for stuff like this :/

Hopefully people who bought this get use out of it however or that would be a shame!
Click to expand...


well, Nyko made a superb third party extended battery for the 3DS, so that's why people trust'em
 
O

OzPinoy

Banned
KojiKnight said:
but damn it sucks for the people who've been waiting 6 months for this just to be shat on.
Click to expand...

I was waiting for this but yeh it suck so bad for this product to under deliver. I play the gamepad with full brightness , rumble and max audio. It only last 2 hour without the plug. Hoping the official ones can bring my gamepad setting to 4 hours minimum with no problem.
 
J

JoeFenix

Member
Damn, glad I waited before buying one of these!

Friend of mine was telling me about it, I definitely need a bigger battery before 101 comes out but I had a feeling this thing was going to have some issues.

Sounds pretty bad.... When is the official Nintendo battery supposed to come out?
 
T

tajd

Banned
ok time tested my battery again i got on full brightness i got 6 hours & 40 minutes is that good tho the gamepad turned itself off on my twice has me worried
 
P

Pineconn

Member
Man, what a shit design. The problem is absolutely the connector/wiring. Since the wires are so short and need to be twisted, they're putting strain on the connector and are producing possible open circuits. I opened the GamePad up with it on, touched the wires, and the GamePad went to two bars, one bar, and dead within five seconds. I reseated the connector about six times before getting four bars, and I'll keep it like this for a while. Even though I shook the GamePad furiously to try to dislodge the connector and it held up (still on four bars), who knows if it'll stay properly connected for 5+ years. EDIT: Oh yeah, and there's the issue of the spotty charging light. If the flashing/turning on and off persists, fuck this battery. I'll be getting my money back and buying the Ninty one.

Anyway, time to see how long this damn battery lasts. I'll make a post later tonight...
 
S

Scrawnton

Member
I read all the information in this thread to confirm my own battery issues. Wen I unplug it and plug it back in it works perfectly. I had it sitting in the couch and it was fully charged for thirty minutes. The moment I picked it up the battery dropped a bar. I took the cover off and saw the connector was somewhat loose from me picking it up.

Suffice to say, I am taking the batter yback to GameStop tomorrow after rework and plan on getting a full refund. Maybe I will put the money down on Pikmin 3.
 
T

Trevelyan9999

Banned
Pineconn said:
Man, what a shit design. The problem is absolutely the connector/wiring. Since the wires are so short and need to be twisted, they're putting strain on the connector and are producing possible open circuits. I opened the GamePad up with it on, touched the wires, and the GamePad went to two bars, one bar, and dead within five seconds. I reseated the connector about six times before getting four bars, and I'll keep it like this for a while. Even though I shook the GamePad furiously to try to dislodge the connector and it held up (still on four bars), who knows if it'll stay properly connected for 5+ years. EDIT: Oh yeah, and there's the issue of the spotty charging light. If the flashing/turning on and off persists, fuck this battery. I'll be getting my money back and buying the Ninty one.

Anyway, time to see how long this damn battery lasts. I'll make a post later tonight...
Click to expand...


Amen to that. I'm so pissed that Nyko didn't test the connector good enough before shipping and look at how many times the thing got delayed!
 
B

Beermeister

Banned
tajd said:
when i got my nkyo battery , i put it on my gamepad (im in ireland) and charged it till it was charged

i turn on my wii u gamepad and left the title screen on NSMBU on the title screen

i stayed in the same roon watching tv (regular show & adventure time)

9 hours plus it still going strong with two bars left

i cannot remeber any clicks tho sorry

im just glad mine works
Click to expand...

Seems legit...
 
P

Pineconn

Member
Day three

Well, I've been impressed by how my GamePad has been on for more than six hours and it's still on two bars... but it randomly died just a bit ago. Turned it back on, still said two bars... and then it died again in a minute. So far it's been solidly on for an additional 15 minutes, so I have no idea what's going on.

So yeah, a solid six hours and it's still on two bars. I was wrong two days ago, it's actually on the second highest brightness setting (I said it was on the highest). I'll update when the battery dies legitimately...

EDIT: My tenure as part of Guinea Pig GAF is over. It's going back to GameStop tomorrow. Keeps on dying randomly (it clearly still has charge). There's no way this thing would last another week.

Fuck Nyko. Buy Nintendo. That is all. :)
 
K

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
If all the people getting these from Amazon have a high rate of defective batteries/connectors I do hope they return them and take advantage of Amazon's willingness to rip a product down for investigation.

It is sounding like Nyko deserves to be shamed here.
 
P

Pineconn

Member
Kai Dracon said:
If all the people getting these from Amazon have a high rate of defective batteries/connectors I do hope they return them and take advantage of Amazon's willingness to rip a product down for investigation.

It is sounding like Nyko deserves to be shamed here.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I bought it from GameStop. I'm going to call them tomorrow and I'm sending it back in. I'm tired of playing with the wires and shit. The old battery is in it right now, so I won't be doing any more tests. Heck, I even tried putting a piece of paper towel on top of the connector to see if the lid would force it in, but no dice. It still randomly cut out again.

My advice to people who are strangely still on the fence: it ain't worth it. Go first party. It's a crap design: you have to twist the short wires, and as a result, the connector doesn't stay in solidly.
 
P

Pineconn

Member
abstract alien said:
Isn't it three times bigger? My vanilla battery last about 3 1/2 hours, so 9-10 hours sounds about right. If it works.
Click to expand...

4000 ÷ 1500 = 2.67, so 3.5 × 2.67 = 9.33 hours. If it works.

Hey, if some people get theirs to work and it lasts for years and years, good for you. Mine simply didn't. :p
 
S

sfried

Member
Wow...the Nyko batter pack is actually has some problems? I think I'll stick with the official upgrade in this case.
 
D

DoubleTap

Member
Received mine from an Amazon 3rd party seller yesterday and so far no problems. I charged it in the cradle and got a solid orange light. 2.5 to 3hrs later the light was off and was fully charged.

For a "stress" test I took it off the charger and moved it a few times and put it back on sometime within the charging period.

Played MH3U for about an hour or so and had no issues. The bar remained at full strength. I did use a CCPro to control the game and just used the pad as the second screen.

Turned it off and on again and played a bit of Punch Out and a bit of Super Mario World. No issues.

I did not plug it back on the charger and just left it on the table overnight. Turned it on this morning and it's still fully charged. I didn't put it back on the charger to further check it's normal discharge.

I'm going to try playing Madden using the pad tonight so I can see if the cable comes loose during regular use.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
 
T

Tangeroo

Member
I'm putting mine through a full stress today. No issues during charging (no weird flashing lights or anything). Installation was very simple (although it's true that you have to twist the cable to insert the connector correctly). My connection was pretty snug despite the lack of "click" you get with the official battery. I'll post again once the battery dies.
 
W

Waylon Drums

Member
I bought mine through a 3rd party seller on Amazon and now I'm pretty sure they want me to pay return shipping on my defective battery. It would be awesome if just one aspect of this battery bullshit would go my way but that's apparently asking too much.


/whine
 
P

Pineconn

Member
Aw yiss.

XAM8Y0o.jpg


Good luck to those who still have or are currently receiving their battery, but I'm out. :)
 
P

Projectjustice

Banned
I got a bad battery as well. It never fully chargers even after 10+ plus hours of sitting on the charge station when i turn on the battery its only 3 bars. I only get about 2 hours out of it on 3 bars before its starts blinking red. My original battery out performs it. Im already switch back the original battery and returning it. I personally dont have a problem with the Gamepad battery life but its going to be the official Nintendo battery for me. Besides I really dont like the added weight the Nyko battery adds to the gamepad.
 
T

Tangeroo

Member
Mine just died after 8 hours, 17 minutes on full brightness, full volume with Injustice playing the whole time. I'll take it.
 
T

tronic307

Member
Tangeroo said:
Mine just died after 8 hours, 17 minutes on full brightness, full volume with Injustice playing the whole time. I'll take it.
Click to expand...
A ray of hope! Some of these actually work. It's a brilliant concept, Nyko just needs to work out the kinks. Still, it could possibly take Nyko until the official battery's release window to get this mess sorted. Ouch.
 
alf717

alf717

Member
I was kind of looking forward to this battery because of the 4000 mAh battery life. The official one is only 2550 mAh but will probably work better though.

Saint Gregory said:
I spoke with GameStop CS and they're sending me another. They said to just throw the non-working one away... doesn't sound great for the environment :/
Click to expand...

Any chance you'd be willing to sell it? I like to take things apart to see how they tick.
 
T

tajd

Banned
i imported mine and after fighting with gamestop through email i got my money back , any worries to people who imported also

i am from ireland im just so glad i got my money back

now ill just recycle this piece of junk

ill never buy third party again i just hope nintendo battery comes out in europe by christmas
 
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