Ascom Samba B3161 Compatible Battery 3.6V 1200mAh

Ascom Samba — 3.6V Ni-MH Replacement Battery (B3161)

This is a 3.6V, 1200mAh Ni-MH replacement battery for the Ascom Samba DECT cordless handset. It fits directly in place of the original B3161 cell pack. Use it for the Samba handset used in business or residential DECT phone systems.

• Ascom Samba handset fit: The Samba uses a 3.6V Ni-MH cell pack at this form factor — 15 × 45 × 53mm. The connector and contact orientation match the original B3161. No modification needed to seat it in the battery compartment.
• Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this pack through charge and discharge on the Samba platform. The handset's charge circuit accepted the pack without error, and the BMS maintained stable voltage through full discharge without unexpected cutoff.
• First-charge protocol for Ni-MH handsets: After installing, place the Samba in its base cradle and leave it for a full 16 hours before first use. Ni-MH packs shipped in a partial state of charge will not reach rated capacity until the cells have completed this slow initial charge cycle.

Talk time shorter than original battery after replacement

A fresh Ni-MH pack rarely delivers full rated capacity on the first few cycles. The cells need three to five full charge-discharge cycles before the chemistry stabilises and capacity reaches 1200mAh. Pulling the handset off the base before the charge indicator clears cuts that process short. Run the handset through several complete cycles — full charge, use until low, full charge again — before drawing conclusions about capacity.

Base station shows no charge or error light after battery swap

Ni-MH packs lose voltage in storage, and some DECT base stations reject a pack that reads below the minimum acceptance threshold — typically around 3.0V for a 3.6V cell. The base interprets the low resting voltage as a fault rather than a discharged battery. If the error persists, remove the handset, let the pack rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, then reseat it in the cradle. If the base still shows an error, check that the contacts on the battery and handset bay are clean and making full contact.