Nikon EN-EL15 Battery Exchange Program

<p>As some of you may be aware, there are two types of Nikon EN-EL15 batteries, Li-ion01 and Li-ion20. I happen to have a lot of EN-EL15 batteries, dating back to 2010 when I bought my D7000. At least among the ones I have, those made between 2010 to 2012 are of type Li-ion01. The newer ones from 2013 (came with my D7100) and on are Li-ion20.</p>

<p>It turns out that on the new D500, only the Li-ion20 type work well. The older Li-ion01 ones don't last very long on the D500. Nikon now offers to exchange old Li-ion01 battery for the newer Li-ion20 ones to D500 owners. You need to supply a receipt for your D500 to get this free exchange.</p>

<ul>

<li>Nikon Europe: http://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/66512</li>

<li>Nikon USA: http://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/19541</li>

</ul><div></div>

<p>These old ones from 2010 are Li-ion01.</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks Shun. This also explains why a number of third party batteries work on some Nikon DSLR's (D700, D800, etc...) but not the D500. I'll have to check how many Li-ion 01 batteries I have.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I called NikonUSA today. As a D500 owner, NikonUSA will exchange all of your older Li-ion01 batteries for newer Li-ion20. I had to wait about 30 minutes but once I reached a live person, things went smoothly. It helps if you have already registered your D500 with NikonUSA. <br>

If you own certain Li-ion01 batteries, they are being recalled. You need to check the serial number to see if a E or an F is in position 9 as I recall. Owning a D500 is not a factor. More here: </p>

<p>http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Service-And-Support/Service-Advisories/h0ndzaip/EN-EL15-Battery-Recall-Service-Advisory.html</p>

<p>Joe</p>

<p>Thanks for sharing your experience, Joe. I would rather not wait on the phone for 30 minutes. I'll wait a bit.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>If you own certain Li-ion01 batteries, they are being recalled.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That recall took place over four years ago in April 2012: <a href="/nikon-camera-forum/00aJHo"> EN-EL15 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery Service Advisory</a><br>

Apparently that involved EN-EL15 batteries manufactured between late 2011 to the first couple of months in 2012. Needless to say, those are all Li-ion01 types, but that is pretty old news.</p>

I called Nikon USA today and was directed to the Nikon website to open a serviceficket and upload my D500 receipt, which I did. Now

waiting for instructions.

 

I do remember that battery recall from a few years ago. If it's the same recall just being resurrected then it's a non-issue for me. But that

recall was about potential fire hazards while this one is related to the D500. I can't help but think that the reason for this advisory is

different. We'll see what the next steps are for my service ticket.

Shun, thanks for the update and clarification about the old and out of date recall. If I had known that, I would have ignored

it.

 

Joe

<p>This is exactly why you don't run out and buy a new Nikon (or any camera) the first day it hits the market. "BUY IT NOW BEFORE THEY RUN OUT!!!". Even when Nikons were purely mechanical I would wait a year for them to sort out the kinks.</p>

<blockquote>

<p><a href="/photodb/user?user_id=127625">Sanford Edelstein</a><a href="/member-status-icons"><img title="Subscriber" src="/v3graphics/member-status-icons/sub10plus.gif" alt="" /><img title="Frequent poster" src="/v3graphics/member-status-icons/1roll.gif" alt="" /></a>, Jun 03, 2016; 02:37 p.m.</p>

<p>This is exactly why you don't run out and buy a new Nikon (or any camera) the first day it hits the market. "BUY IT NOW BEFORE THEY RUN OUT!!!". Even when Nikons were purely mechanical I would wait a year for them to sort out the kinks.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>On the flip side, I'm enjoying birding so much more NOW when using a D500 with my 200-500 versus my D800e with the same lens. That enjoyment is worth the minor inconvenience and certainly outweighs a year-long wait for a 'kink-free' body.<br /> <br />Besides, it's not the body that has the kinks. It is just a minor inconvenience that impacts only 2 of my batteries.</p>

<p>Good points Keith.</p>

<p>Thanks Sanford.</p>

<p>I just heard form Nikon Support - they need my D500's serial number (which I'll update to my online service request when I get home tonight). Once they confirm the proof of purchase and serial number, they'll send the shipping label so I can ship the affected batteries.</p>

<p>BTW, the service rep said that this advisory applies to ALL Nikon EN-EL15 Li-ion01 batteries.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>On the flip side, I'm enjoying birding so much more NOW when using a D500 with my 200-500 versus my D800e with the same lens. That enjoyment is worth the minor inconvenience and certainly outweighs a year-long wait for a 'kink-free' body.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Very well said, Keith.</p>

<p>I didn't pre-order any D500 either. Instead, after Nikon started shipping it, I waited about 3 weeks and monitored various forums as well as checked with true pioneers such as <a href="/photodb/user?user_id=2199211">Barry Clemmons</a>. Once I determined that the D500 is mostly trouble free, I bought one. There was a bit of shortage such that I had to wait a couple of days, but the delay was minimum.</p>

<p>There are some minor issues such as battery usage is on the high side, partly due to the Li-ion01 battery difference addressed by this exchange, and problems with some Lexar 1000x and 2000x UHS-II SD cards. Overall I am extremely happy with the D500. Why there are so much discussion on various D500 "issues" on the web is beyond me. I wish people would instead focus on the new features on the excellent Multi-CAM 20000 AF module. I am still figuring out how it differs from the previous Multi-CAM 3500. For example, apparently Expeed 5 is now much faster such that we should involve more AF points to get better result. Consequently, nowadays I use Auto Area AF a lot lot more than before.</p>

<p>I captured the following image this morning. I was photographing other birds and all of a sudden this pelican entered from my left. The new AF system and a fast frame rate helped me capture this moment. This image is uncropped, only scaled down to 700 pixels across.</p><div></div>

<p>We've had a real Pelican shortage in the Monterey area the last few years. Maybe they are all up your way.</p>

I just got by email from nikonusa, my shipping label to use to send my Li-ion01 batteries back to Nikon for exchange.

 

Joe

<p>I received my UPS label from Nikon today also and sent four batteries in for replacement. The Li-ion01 battery draining quicker than the Li-ion20 is the only issue I have noticed with the D500, and I believe that is more of an issue with the battery than the D500. I have a couple of Lexar SD cards that I used at first and never had a problem with them. I ordered the MB-D17 battery grip and optional insert to use an EN-EL18A battery. The D500 now feels and balances very close to my D5 when I use them together, plus I should get over 3,000 shots between the EN-EL18A battery in the grip and EN-EL15 battery in the D500. Like Shun I am very pleased with the D500 thus far, especially the new AF system. It pairs very well with the 200-500mm lens which I have used handheld only thus far.</p>

<p>I did the same yesterday. 30 minutes is about right. The rest is smooth. I have 2 batteries that fall with in that range. I will be sending them both back on Monday. </p>

<p>On a second note, I also received my grip for my D500. It feels much better in my hands now. For some reason the display only shows one battery. I know they both are working because when I pull out the tray, I can see the display change over to the primary battery. But I digress.</p>

<p>I am glad that the exchange seems to work well for most of you, other than the rather long wait on the phone. It turns out that I have 11 EN-EL15 batteries in total, and 6 of them are Li-ion01. I'll probably hold onto one of them for future references and get the other exchanged. I just took a picture of all 11. The trick was to find a DSLR that doesn't use EN-EL15 to capture that image, and the D700 served that purpose.</p>

<p>It looks like 2013 was actually the transition year. I bought a D7100 in mid 2013, and the early 2013 battery that came with it was still an Li-ion01 type. The extra "free" battery (with a late 2013 manufacture date) that I got later on from another purchase was a Li-ion20.</p><div></div>

<p>UK Amateur Photographer magazine has an article on this topic:<br>

<A HREF="http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/latest/photo-news/nikon-warns-d500-battery-life-79779">

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/latest/photo-news/nikon-warns-d500-battery-life-79779</A>

</p>

<p>According to Nikon's support centre (in the UK, I assume):</p>

<blockquote>

In the summer of 2013, we modified the electric discharge characteristics of our EN-EL15 rechargeable battery without changing its capacity.<br /><br />

</blockquote>

<p>The date is consistent with the difference between my February 2013 and November 2013 batteries.</p>

<p>I had two of the older batteries. It took only 3 days for the exchange. Nikon customer service is awesome. I have had 4 dealing with them now and all resolved very quickly. 100% satisfied.</p>

<p>I got my four replacement batteries today from Nikonusa. . </p>

<p>Joe</p>

<p>I received my four replacement batteries this past Wednesday 6/22. All charged and ready to go.</p>

<p>Since I was traveling in late June, I didn't initiate the battery exchange until today. Called Nikon first thing in the morning, and there was no waiting any more. I suppose most people have already exchanged their batteries.</p>

<p>I have six of those old EN-EL15 Li-ion01 batteries and would like to keep one for historical reference. It turns out that you are allowed to exchange a maximum of five batteries anyway. That is a limit not specified on Nikon's web site, and I suppose not many people run into such limit.</p>

<p>I have uploaded my D500 receipt as a PDF document. Hopefully the rest of the process is smooth.</p>

<p>The rest of the process is indeed quite smooth. I shipped my 5 Li-01 batteries to Nikon with their UPS shipping label a week ago. In my case, Nikon in Los Angeles shipped the new batteries to me two days after my old batteries had arrived. I know in another case, they shipped them the following day. For me, round-trip took just over a week.</p>

<p>Nikon batteries maybe more expensive than clones, but Nikon is responsible when there are issues. In this case, Nikon really doesn't need to exchange those old Li-01 batteries, which still work on the D500 but don't last as long. In any case, I now have 5 brand new Li-20 batteries.</p><div></div>