Battery questions - AlphaSmart Neo 2

Hey all,

I recently obtained an AlphaSmart Neo 2 from Ebay. I decided it would be a good idea to replace the batteries, since who knows how old the ones it came installed with are. I replaced both the coin cell CR2032 battery and x3 AA’s.

After I finished the battery installs, I pressed the power button. It booted up to a warning screen asking if I replaced the internal lithium battery. I pressed “Y” for yes, and then it proceeded to open file one (which was blank, due to the internal data being cleared).

Now, I wanted to test the CR2032 battery to confirm that my data will be saved even without AA batteries installed (for example, when the AA’s die and need replaced).

So, I removed the x3 AA’s, waited about 15 seconds, replaced them, and powered the unit back on. To my surprise, I was presented with the same warning screen asking if I replaced the internal lithium battery. I repeated this test a few more times and received the warning each time.

Then, I tried the test again, but waited less time before replacing the AA’s (about 5 seconds) and it booted up normally without the warning. I am not sure why it worked in this scenario… perhaps doing it faster prevented the data stored in RAM from discharging?

Am I correct in thinking that this is abnormal behavior? I doubt that the CR2032 battery is bad, as it was from a fairly new pack of Duracell.

NOTE: I have also tried factory resetting the device, however the issue persists.

Thank you very much!