I wanted to order a replacement battery for my old Librem v15; but the batteries are always out of stock and they don’t ship to Europe without a laptop.
I think this kind of breaks the proposition that we are free to replace parts if we can’t get them. Is there a white brand battery i could order from europe instead that works? What can i do? I know nothing about batteries…
Thanks
Yeah 
We could ship to Europe! But the shipping charges would be outrageous, that’s why we do not offer this in the shop.
Spare batteries are considered dangerous goods and for the past years regulations for these have become tighter and tighter Right now shipping one battery would cost at least $150 surcharge (I would need to double check the exact current rate). This does not make any sense, I’m afraid.
I am really sorry…
Cheers
nicole
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for explaining the reasons. That certainly helps understand Purism’s policy.
Still: I was planning to use my Librem 5 for many years. That’s one of the main reasons for me to buy a Linux-based phone. The thought of having to give up the Librem due to spare batteries being unavailable worries me big time.
Has Purism looked into shipping (or maybe even drop shipping) spare batteries by sea freight?
As far as I can tell from a quick web search, there seems to be zero paperwork for lithium batteries < 100 Wh (e.g. phone batteries) and one single form to fill out for larger ones (e.g. laptop batteries).
I’m willing to bet that rather than having no spare battery at all, most Librem owners would be perfectly fine waiting ten weeks for their spare battery to arrive by sea.
In fact, many of us have an excellent track record of being patient. 
Thank you for the transparency!
I totally understand. Are there any alternatives though? Purism has a very attractive hardware repairability model, but doesn’t work if we can’t get spare parts …
Is there any white label batteries (from other manufactures maybe) that would work with Librem v15? Or a list of trusted vendors?
I would also be willing to pay extra for europe shipping if that means i can use my laptop without having to be 100% of time plugged in to the grid.
My battery is totally dead and i chose LIbrem to by my main work laptop for over 2 years. 
Thank you
I asked this (can they ship by “ship”) of Purism long before they hired Nicole and I have asked it multiple times. I have been told that they will look into it, but it seems that this has not resulted in Purism deciding to actually offer it. I have assumed this indicates they have way too many things to do and saw this as likely not achieving goodness corresponding to the organizational effort it would take. However, it would be good to hear the explanation from @nicole.faerber or some other Purism personnel as to why they won’t ship batteries by “ship”.
when my librem 13 battery was dying i searched and found multiple suppliers in china and south america. the librem 13 battery is also used by other computers, so it can be found. i suppose the situation is probably similar for the librem 15. many of these suppliers are unfortunately dodgy companies with unethical practices, e.g., mislabeling the contents of the shipment to avoid both the battery insurance charge and tax. they also sometimes say they will charge one amount and actually charge another. but often they will ship you the goods. so you can take your chances.
Has Purism looked into shipping (or maybe even drop shipping) spare batteries by sea freight?
Any news regarding sea freight @nicole.faerber?
I wanted my next phone to last many years. That’s my #1 reason why I ordered the Librem.
Am I supposed to keep my Librem 5 until the battery no longer works, and then throw it away? The thought of that is breaking my heart.
Any advice?
It can work without the battery, from the power outlet, unlike Pinephone. (But your question remains relevant.)
Concerning other transport ways, well, it is not as easy as you might think, I’m afraid.
The larger carriers, at least to what we have figured out so far, like DHL Express, UPS and FedEx do not offer a way to specify the kind transportation and intercontinental will then pretty much always default to air. The only carrier that allows explicit air service or not is the international postal service, in that case originating from the USA this would be USPS. And USPS again does not allow “dangerous goods” at all.
So I’m afraid we are stuck here.
Cheers
nicole
hey @nicole.faerber
How about giving instructions how to find batteries that are compatible? Maybe the battery / electrical specs so that we can find alternatives on our own?
I really like Purism but this can be a deal breaker for a lot of people outside the US if we can’t find parts to maintain the hardware to work as designed.
Thank you
I totally get your frustration and believe me, we are at least as frustrated as you are
Because our intention totally is to provide batteries and stuff! Batteries weir out over time, it will become necessary to replace them. But shipping regulations really make it close to impossible to do this at reasonable cost.
I honestly have no good solution for the problem.
The batteries in the L13 and L15 are as far as I remember compatible with some Topstar types which can sometimes be bought from second sources.
The L13 battery type is: TU131-TS63-74, 7.4V, 45Wh
The L15 battery type is: U753-TS44-111, 11.1V, 48.8Wh
Maybe this helps?
Cheers
nicole
Thanks again @nicole.faerber for your honest response. I’m sure that if Purism could do it, they would.
But maybe there’s still hope?
IATA has set up a certification program for freight forwarders so they can ship stuff legally. But the program has only started in late 2021. So it’s a brand new program.
It may take some time until this gains traction. It takes time for freight forwarders to hear about the program, and then more time to get certified if they decide to do so. Handling batteries properly is not rocket science, and eventually some company will make that affordable. It may just take a couple of years.
And I don’t care whether shipping a battery to Europe under that program is going to cost me an extra $50, $80, or $100.
If it means I’m not going to have to throw away a perfectly good $1000 phone, I’m going to happily eat those $100 every two or three years.