I which the next receiver “RS3” has replaceable batteries.
Maybe it could use common NP-F batteries used in photography, they are used for everything from lights to screens.
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Hi Andreas
Well, the hot-swaps of batteries seem to be a bit old-fashioned now. Any specific reasons you’d like it to happen?
For example, Reach RS2 utilizes a LiFePO4 industrial battery that handles both high and low temperatures well. There’s no need to replace it: the battery handles 2 000+ cycles of charging and discharging while maintaining its original capacity. The battery lasts for 22 hours if you’re working in Static and up to 16 hours in RTK with cellular on.
Of course, there are some general recommendations on the storage. They are covered in our User Guide. The main idea is to check up on the unit every 3 months during long storage and charge it up to 60%. That’s about it.
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Since the RS2’s are so great - we would like to see them last forever and the battery might the weakest link in that wish being fulfilled.
Hi Adrian,
I can say I totally understand the desire to keep RS2 forever 
Don’t know if the replaceable batteries are a way to go, but something worth talking about for sure!
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There’s nothing “old fashioned” about being able to swap batteries, I use top of the line Trimble equipment at work and there’re swappable batteries in them.
I’ve read some posts about dead batteries in the RS2 and I worried it can happen and that it can’t be fixed. Even a cellphone can have a battery replaced in a store nowadays.
To need to buy a new RS2 because battery failure is pretty bad. At least make it possible to change the battery. Have a plate with four screws with the battery behind it.
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Andreas,
There are no confirmed cases of any hardware issues with the RS2’s batteries. If you have doubts, you can always contact us here or at support@emlid.com, and we’ll definitely look into the issues.
The industrial batteries inside the receiver are made to be long-lasting. Specifically so that you don’t have to change them on the go. As they handle a few thousands of recharging cycles, it means their life span is well into the future. That’s why now we don’t see the need for any kind of replacement.
As we always listen to our customers, I’ll note this topic as something to discuss further on. Still, I can’t promise you the implementation.
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There was a guy on the Emlid Facebook group that let he’s Emlid rest for a long wile when there was covid.
It didn’t take charge anymore.
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Not sure what case you’re referring to, but feel free to point it out to me in the PM. We’ll figure it out.
Anyway, each case should be discussed separately. The fact that the unit is fully discharged doesn’t mean that the battery is faulty. The same symptoms may have different reasons so we need to be careful about generalizing them.
It’s still true that we specifically chose a battery that can last a rather long time. So there’s no need to worry about it.
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I’m not sure which cases @andreas8001 is referring to, but I know there were some issues and discussions about battery-level indication and charging issues.
I also do know that I’ve had 2 devices where emlid did investigate because of battery-issues after only 10-50 cycles, and the conclusion was something was wrong. But following the RMA-procedure the devices were properly replaced under warranty.
If batteries were easily replaceable, the exchange probably would be faster, now it took months between detection of failure and getting a new working RS2. (for investigation of logs, confirmation batteries were the problem, sending in old device, shipping new device, …) If we we could/were allowed to change batteries, I’ld just swap/send in batteries, easier to diagnose and I could have continued using the device with just a spare battery.
I do agree the batteries of RS2 are great (if they work properly), they provide sufficiently long running time. But it looks like the issues with the battery level indicator don’t get properly fixed which do lead to lot’s of confusion. 2 weeks ago I also took a RS2 off the shelf after some months, and the battery indicator again showed 0 LED’s, the level indicator kind of has it’s own mood, personally I don’t trust them, I’m estimating battery level based on voltage and usage since previous charge.
I gave up waiting for the fix 
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It might be that it’s a good battery inside the RS2 but I would feel better of with a changeable battery.
There’s very common batteries like the NP-F that would be appropriate or the new NP-Fw.
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Hi Andy,
I see. Indeed, a battery indication issue was confusing. We’ve investigated it and worked on a solution for some time. However, with the new 29 Beta 3, we’ve released a new algorithm for the charge level calculation. So the issue shouldn’t be present anymore.
The battery replacement also touches on the question of the IP67 protection of the devices. It’s almost impossible to ensure that after the opening the device is still fully protected.
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To conclude this topic, I can tell you that we hear you. Now I can’t promise you anything for sure but we’ll take a closer look at all of our options here. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!
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I’m not planing to take a bath with a receiver, it just need to handle rain really.
I mean why do the Trimble R12 have a battery that’s changeable if it’s so bad.
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