Duracell DR202 Replacement Battery 10.8V 6600mAh Li-ion

Duracell DR-202 — 10.8V Li-ion Replacement Battery (DR202, ME202BB, EMC36)

This is a 10.8V Li-ion replacement battery rated at 6600mAh (71.28Wh) for Sony VAIO laptops that use the DR-202 cell. It fits models cross-referenced under OEM part numbers DR202, ME202BB, EMC36, NL2020, and SMP02. If your original cell is swollen, failing to charge, or no longer detected by the VAIO's firmware, this is the direct swap.

• Sony VAIO DR-202 platform: These VAIO models share a common 10.8V three-cell serial architecture and a matched connector pinout. The BMS handshake on this cell matches the voltage rail and communication protocol the VAIO firmware expects — preventing false "unknown battery" flags on most units straight after install.
• Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this cell through full charge and discharge on VAIO hardware. The BMS held the charge curve steady with no premature cutoff, and the fuel gauge IC accepted the cell data without throwing a health error during initial calibration.
• Post-swap calibration cycle: After installing, run one full discharge down to the hibernate cutoff, then charge uninterrupted to 100%. This resets the BIOS battery learn cycle and clears the inaccurate health warning that appears after most cell replacements on Sony VAIO platforms.

BIOS reporting battery health as poor after fitting a new DR-202 cell

Sony VAIO firmware stores battery health data in EEPROM tied to the original cell. When a new cell goes in, that stored data no longer matches actual cell capacity, so the BIOS flags it as degraded or unknown. This is a firmware artefact, not a fault with the replacement. Running one full discharge-to-hibernate then a complete charge allows the learn cycle to overwrite the stale EEPROM values. After two full cycles, the health indicator on most VAIO models returns to normal.

Laptop shuts down at 20–30% charge shown after battery swap

This happens when the fuel gauge IC still holds calibration data from the old, degraded cell. The percentage displayed doesn't reflect what the new cell can actually deliver under combined CPU and display load. At high draw, voltage drops faster than the uncalibrated gauge expects, and the system cuts off before reaching true empty. Run two full discharge-to-hibernate cycles and let the gauge IC recalibrate against the new cell's actual voltage curve — the cutoff threshold should stabilise above 10% after that.