Battery life in Pen - anybody have to replace yet?

[jnjroach]

I just tore apart an energizer 9V.... what little flat metal connector? right now it seems like the positive end is not tall enough to touch the right part of the pen or something.

You need to leave enough to make the contact....

 

[hughlle]

Just to chip in on this. Got my Surface on UK release, 28th August. Didn't use the pen whatsoever until the 20th of september. My battery on my first pen failed about 2 days ago. Typical use was about 5 hours of note taking a week. Given i had a month off uni over christmas, and am only just back, it looks like i got a whopping 75 hours of use. Not quite the 9-12 months cititanic suggested.

Anyone else had to change the battery out yet?

 

[VickiFL]

Anyone else had to change the battery out yet?

Not yet, and I've been using it 2 months.

 

[ynohtna]

You need to leave enough to make the contact....

Did I lose something when I ripped it all apart?

 

[jnjroach]

Did I lose something when I ripped it all apart?

My experience is using Duracell and there is a bit of metal flash that makes the connection

 

[ynohtna]

Hmm neat... energizer I opened, the metal flashing is not attached to battery but that rectangular piece. Also your positive end is showing a lot bigger and protrudes more. maybe putting some foil at the tip will help reach properly.

 

[drolem]

Brand name AAAA batteries can be had for under a buck from ebay if bought in a six or eight pack. While that is probably still slightly more expensive then getting them by a 9V battery teardown, I think with everything (time, hassle, etc.) factored in, that's actually a better overall deal.

Also, not all 9V batteries are made from AAAA's -- I've seen some that were made of stacked rectangular cells.

 

[ynohtna]

I think with everything (time, hassle, etc.) factored in

That's the fun part!

 

[wertzius]

Be aware! The polarity of the batteries inside the 9V-block can be different.
Button top = minus. You should measure that.

 

[bluegrass]

Come on folks. With the price we paid for our Surfaces, it doesn't make much sense to make a big deal about the price of these AAAA batteries. Just go to Walgreens and pick up a pair for around $5. I can see if you're a Prime customer with Amazon and you see a good deal on a Prime purchase, go for it but if you need to pay for shipping, go local.

 

[hughlle]

Come on folks. With the price we paid for our Surfaces, it doesn't make much sense to make a big deal about the price of these AAAA batteries. Just go to Walgreens and pick up a pair for around $5. I can see if you're a Prime customer with Amazon and you see a good deal on a Prime purchase, go for it but if you need to pay for shipping, go local.

Have to agree. I am a student, and because of my situation, every single penny counts. However for the convenience offered, £1 for 3 months of pen use is an acceptable expense for me. Heck, it would cost me £1 to print out one lecture in the university library if i wanted to annotate with traditional pen and ink (I have to annotate by hand, pretty much anything I type is forgotten within minutes, things i actually write stick around a lot longer)