# How To Spot A Fake Sony Vtc5 Battery



## Alex (9/7/14)

*source: And all credit to original poster
How to Spot a Fake Sony VTC5 battery.*

Sun Vapers learned that fakes were being sold on ebay from a concerned user on Reddit. We have purchased the same batteries and tested them ourselves just to see what a fake looks like and how it would perform if someone chose to ignore it. The first half of this will show pictures comparing a fake to a real Sony, and the last half will show its performance.





Fake Seam Sony VTC5
I think the most obvious is the nasty seem. I would think almost everything would be overlooked by the average user but this seem is a dead giveaway since NO other battery maker has this issue it really catches the attention of the user.




Fake Dot Matrix VTC5
The one on the left seems to be burnt in. The fake seems to be printed on the label in a neat square. NOTE: there seems to be some variance on the QR code either being slightly different or not present on real batteries. If needed, I will update this with more specifics.





Font Alignment VTC5
You can see the text alignment and font is slightly off. The logo seems a bit larger as well.





Postive comparison VTC5
In the image there is not much to see, both fakes I have came with sticky stuff on the positive. The positive seems only slightly raised. But this difference was hard to photograph.
Negative side Fake VTC5




The negative post will be raised on the fake. This is usually the sign of a China made battery. MNKE, Efest and other China brands I come across usually have this raised negative.
This part was more or less fun for me since I am a fan of batteries and what it could possibly mean for our future. Honestly the battery itself is NOT TERRIBLE it works and will probably get the job done if needed.

*The issue is the lack of credibility*, we just don’t know how dangerous it could be and because of the credibility issue can we ever trust what the manufacturer would claim???? It does not produce 2.6 Ah and at 30 amps it WILL get super hot.

I have tested the battery and compared it to a real Sony VTC5!




Fake VTC5 capacity
Properly charged and discharge at 1 amp.




Fake Sony VTC5 discharge curve
Not even close the VTC3 LOL.




Fake VTC5 50 watts curve
Wattage test can illustrate more accurately how the battery will perform in a regulated scenario. You can get different capacities at different wattages.

Final notes:
This will continue to happen, as time goes by I am not surprised. The vape community loves counterfeits and I would say in my experience this is the first industry where the majority of users love counterfeits more than the idea men who created the brands the fakes attempt to imitate. And because of that everyone is jumping on the fake bandwagon! I have so many emails of just fake product even of other Chinese companies!!! The question I have is when are e-lqiuids going to start being counterfeited? HAHA Peace out!

*TL;DR 
Obvious seam and wrinkles in shrink wrap, ie a bad job shrinking. Top connection had residue on it. Printing of text and qr code isn't applied the same way (etched or burnt on authentic, printed on fake). Big thing to take away from it is the bottom of the battery isn't flat, but raised and smaller surface area exposed compared to authentic. *
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Reactions: Like 1 | Winner 3 | Thanks 1 | Informative 4


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## Riaz (9/7/14)

good info, thanks @Alex

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Al3x (9/7/14)

@Alex they have already started making fake e-liquids, I have experience with Liqua and Feellife, the liqua looks exactly the same as the original but the juice itself is extremely sub-standard. When i first started did a lot of liqua so the wife knew this brand, on she and the kids rock up from a shopping spree and go "we bought something for you and cheaper than what you get 1 for" Liqua from durban China mall @R40 a 30ml or 20ml can't remember, from that day onwards I have stopped Liqua completely (not dissing any Liqua fans or suppliers just my personal preference).

And then Feel life, the one with the liion is fake but still a decent vape until I tried the original, which I first thought was fake until I researched a bit on the internet, the original has a octopus on it, and sho beeeg difference in flavor.

I now only buy my juices from trusted vendors, dunno what these guys are using whether its the same ingredients and just diluted, but I am not willing to take the risk.

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Alex (9/7/14)

Al3x said:


> @Alex they have already started making fake e-liquids, I have experience with Liqua and Feellife, the liqua looks exactly the same as the original but the juice itself is extremely sub-standard. When i first started did a lot of liqua so the wife knew this brand, on she and the kids rock up from a shopping spree and go "we bought something for you and cheaper than what you get 1 for" Liqua from durban China mall @R40 a 30ml or 20ml can't remember, from that day onwards I have stopped Liqua completely (not dissing any Liqua fans or suppliers just my personal preference).
> 
> And then Feel life, the one with the liion is fake but still a decent vape until I tried the original, which I first thought was fake until I researched a bit on the internet, the original has a octopus on it, and sho beeeg difference in flavor.
> 
> I now only buy my juices from trusted vendors, dunno what these guys are using whether its the same ingredients and just diluted, but I am not willing to take the risk.


 
I know that certain e-liquid brands are cloned, but thanks for the valued info.


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## Mike (9/7/14)

All this makes me question is, where can we get legit ones?


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## Al3x (9/7/14)

@Mike I have ordered the VTC5 from @KieranD his first batch is sold out but I am sure that he will be bringing in more, I would also like to get another one when the second batch comes in


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## Mike (9/7/14)

Oh cool. Thanks!!!


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## KieranD (9/7/14)

Thanks @Al3x 
I can confirm the cells my girlfriend picked up in the US are 100% authentic cells 
I am speaking to the supplier now and getting freight quotes to get another batch in for all those who missed out

Reactions: Like 3


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## Cat (9/7/14)

> Font Alignment VTC5
> You can see the text alignment and font is slightly off. The logo seems a bit larger as well.


 
The counterfeit looks better in that respect. Why Sony have it so shoddy?

There are one or two good threads on it on ec forum, but nothing conclusive; not clear like this one.
A major reason for this problem seems to be that Sony has not been able to meet the demand for VTC5.
There are so many sellers but i assume they're all fake. When it's ebay and the seller doesn't state "genuine", it's obvious enough they aren't - to people who're aware of the problem, but there are so many vape suppliers who don't say, so I assume they're fake. 
mtbaker is a reputable supplier, so I ordered some there, but it turned out they were out of stock...and they say they're waiting for a forward order batch from Sony. So that satisfies me that they're genuine - they get them from Sony USA and they're having to wait. 

PS: Kieran, what's the price.


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## KieranD (9/7/14)

@Cat 
The initial price was R189.00 each but please understand that these are being hand carried back on a plane
The price will increase slightly when I need to ship them in and pay VAT and duty but should be no more than R10-R20 more

Reactions: Like 3


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