About this replacement
Nokia 3210 / 3320 Series — 2.4V Ni-MH Replacement Battery (BML-3)
This is the BML-3 Ni-MH cell for the Nokia 3210, 3210e, and 3320 mobile phones. It runs at 2.4V with a capacity of 1200mAh (2.88Wh). If your original battery no longer holds a usable charge, this cell restores the phone to working condition.
- 3210, 3210e, and 3320 fitment: These three models share the same battery bay dimensions, connector position, and 2.4V supply rail. The BML-3 form factor — 76.44 × 36.19 × 7.23mm — seats correctly in all three without modification.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this cell through full discharge and recharge sequences. The Ni-MH chemistry accepted charge without thermal runaway, and voltage held steady across standard GSM call and idle draw profiles.
- Ni-MH conditioning after installation: Ni-MH cells in these older Nokia handsets benefit from at least two full discharge-to-charge cycles before the phone's charge indicator reads accurately. Avoid partial top-ups during the first two cycles — the phone has no fuel gauge IC and reads voltage directly, so an unconditioned cell will display misleading charge bars.
Why the 3210 shows full bars then drops to empty with a fresh cell
The Nokia 3210 and 3320 do not use a fuel gauge IC or coulomb counter. They estimate charge level from raw terminal voltage. A new, unconditioned Ni-MH cell has a flatter discharge curve than a broken-in cell, so the voltage reading maps poorly to the phone's internal lookup table. The result is bars that stay high and then fall sharply. After two full discharge-charge cycles, the cell's voltage curve settles and the indicator tracks more closely with actual remaining charge.
Phone does not power on after the replacement cell sat in storage
Ni-MH cells self-discharge at roughly 1–2% per day at room temperature. A cell that has been in storage for several weeks can drop low enough that the phone refuses to boot. Connect the phone to a charger and leave it for 20–30 minutes before attempting to power on — the charge circuit on these handsets will accept a low cell and bring it up from near-zero. If the phone still will not start after that initial charge window, check the charger output is delivering the correct voltage at the connector, as a faulty cable is the more common culprit than a failed cell.