The battery arrived packaged perfectly in a timely fashion. It was easy to install and priced competitively. I will definatley be purchasing from Schneider Electric again!
Unlikely that I speak for everyone, but the cost of APC units compared to others is semi-premium. Those of us who buy are obviously more interested in quality than price.
Therefore, I would beg you to go back to the way it used to be, with each replacement battery including a return shipping label to recycle the old. I would happily pay a bit more for the battery, ($5-7 should cover it), to eliminate the hassle of needing to find a recycler locally. As we speak, I am staring at a box with nine dead APC batteries that I have nowhere to dispose of.
We have had our APC for over 10 years and it has worked perfectly for those years. The battery usually last us 4-5 years. We have several printers, telephones modems connected to this one and has not let us down. As far as I am concerned a great product.
Lifetime is rated 3-5 years. I got 2.5 on a computer I use pretty infrequently. I paid more for the APC one, thinking it would be better than buying a cheaper on over the internet. Not so sure now...
My APC UPS sounded off every few hours with beeps and a flashing red light to let me know it was time to replace the battery. I ordered online and the battery arrived sooner than expected. I installed it and it's been working fine since. The part I especially like, I didn't have to shut everything off to install.