Batteries died. It was a puzzle to disassemble it. It was booby-trapped with fragile self-destructing mechanisms like hair-thin wires ready to snap wrapped around the battery which had welded tabs soldered to wires. Requires surgical delicacy. Had to buy rechargeable batteries with tabs welded on where the tabs were not oriented in the direction the device was designed for so in one joint I had to put the soldering iron directly on the battery terminal. The battery pair costed 1¼ big macs because tabbed nippleless batteries are not a competitive market and only sold at retail prices. A new toothbrush probably would have had the same price.
I was able to do the job without breakage and it works. So I would like to send a very big fuck you to Philips who tried to force me to buy another toothbrush, which I bought before I started boycotting Philips due to their shavers having the same disrespect for a #rightToRepair.
gvsteve@lemm.ee 6 months ago
I just replaced my Sonicare I bought in 2007 last year.
My Philips TV from 2007 is still working great despite two other TVs bought since then needing replacement.
I’ve never tried to repair their stuff but in my experience Philips is significantly better quality than the rest of the market.
activistPnk@slrpnk.net 6 months ago
So your original batteries lasted 14 years? I suppose it’s possible. I have some AA batteries that are probably nearly 20 years old but they can only be used in low-load situations (couldn’t drive a motor).
My Sonicare original batteries lasted ~8¾ years. I suppose that’s decent but still unacceptable that they can’t be replaced. We have to wonder if sometime between 2007 & 2015 Philips decided to switch to batteries that last half as long in order to sell double the number of devices.
gvsteve@lemm.ee 6 months ago
Yes, and on top of that I would add I bought a pair of these and the other one of them sat unused under the sink for 10 years, then I charged it up for my daughter and she used that one for a year or two before the battery died.