Great purchase. Yes, the original battery is bad, mine only lasted about 6 months. If it starts throwing lots of error codes, it usually means it needs a new battery, but upgrade lithium batteries (which Neato doesn't recommend) with a 3-year lifespan for $80 every now and then. on lithium batteries it throws, let my battery cool down but i can start or something like that but take it off the charger for a few minutes and it starts. The vacuum cleaner itself does a great job, the only thing missing is a side brush like the newer models, but I've had it for a long time and it still works as it should which could be happier.