Items tagged with Recall
The FAA has a history of banning devices from commercial flights that are covered in a recall that poses a fire risk. A fire in a commercial aircraft flying at altitude is a major hazard, to say the least. In the past, the FAA banned Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, and now the agency has issued a ban that prevents any of the older 15-inch MacBook Pro notebooks that are covered in a battery recall from being taken on commercial flights. The FAA issued a statement that noted it is aware of the recalled batteries used in some MacBook Pro laptops and that it has alerted U.S. airlines about the recall. The FAA reminded the airlines to follow safety guidelines for the recalled batteries, which means...
Read more...
Recalls due to battery issues are nothing new in the laptop world. Bad batteries have overheated and caused fires multiple times over the years in different notebook brands, as well as cellphones of course. This week, Apple issued a recall on certain MacBook Pro laptops due to a fire risk associated with the battery. The machines were specific versions of the 15-inch MacBook Pro from the mid-2015 era. The company notes on its support site that, "Apple has determined that, in a limited number of older generation 15-inch MacBook Pro units, the battery may overheat and pose a fire safety risk." Apple is taking the fire risk seriously and is advising anyone who owns a machine covered by the...
Read more...
Owners of previous-generation 15-inch MacBook Pros may have cause for concern. Apple has recalled some older models of the machine due to potential battery fire risks. Consumers will be able to get their battery replaced for free, however. The batteries in the affected Macbook Pros may overheat and create a fire hazard. The machines were sold between September 2015 and November 2017 and users will need to check their device's serial number to determine whether or not their machine is eligible for a battery replacement. The affected model is the “MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)”. If the device is eligible, Apple suggests that users stop using the device immediately....
Read more...
Dell is one of the biggest computer manufacturers in the world and has designed some impressive laptops and 2-in-1 devices to its credit. Recently, we put the all-new 2019 XPS 13 in the slick Frost White color through its paces and came away impressed by the premium ultra-portable notebook. Dell makes all sorts of laptop and desktop computers, and over the years one of the more interesting accessories for its laptops is the Dell Power Bank with the Dell Hybrid Power Adapter. Combined those products allowed users to power their laptop computer both at and away from a power outlet. The Hybrid Power adapter is removable from the Dell Power Bank by pressing a pair of tabs. The problem is that...
Read more...
In a letter to customers, Lenovo admitted it has a few loose screws. Or more accurately, the company's ThinkPad X1 Carbon (5th generation) does. Due to this, Lenovo is voluntarily recalling some of these thin and light laptops, as the loose screws could damage the device's battery causing it to overheat, and potentially catch fire. "Lenovo’s investigation and analysis determined that an unfastened, small screw, left in the unit during manufacture, could damage the surface of the lithium ion polymer battery and cause a short, leading to rapid cell discharge of the battery," Lenovo said. "This defect has led to three failures in the field." The recall affects 5th generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon...
Read more...
Energizer is not some fly-by-night brand that nobody has ever heard of—the company's roots date all the way back to 1896 when it was known as the American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Company. But even established brands are susceptible the occasional misstep. In this case, Energizer has issued a voluntary recall for its smart battery chargers for Xbox One controllers.The chargers are actually produced for Energizer by PDP (Performance Designed Products), a company that bills itself as the number one video game accessory company in North America. That might be the case, but the Engergizer Xbox One 2X Smart Chargers it manufactures have been found to pose a burn hazard to consumers. Anybody...
Read more...
Believe it or not, Barnes and Noble is still selling Nook devices (remember those?). The Nook Tablet 7 is one of its newer models and if you happen to own one, stop using the included power adapter immediately. Barnes and Noble has issued a recall due to the risk of shock. The company warns that the power adapter's casing can break when plugged into an electrical outlet, thereby exposing its metal prongs and posing a risk of shock. "Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled power adapters and register online for a free replacement adapter along with a Barnes and Noble $5 gift card. Once registered, consumers will be able to print a pre-paid UPS label to return the recalled adapters...
Read more...
Back in June 2016, Hewlett-Packard issued a recall of 41,000 batteries produced for laptops sold under both the HP and Compaq brand names. Today, HP announced that it is extending the recall to include an additional 101,000 batteries that were sold in laptops between March 2013 and October 2016. Like before, this recall affects laptops sold under both the HP and Compaq brand names, and includes the HP ProBook, HP ENVY, Compaq Presario, and HP Pavilion notebook families. The recall is currently in place for laptops that were sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with most of the laptops being sold online or through brick and mortar retail locations. HP is taking this latest recall very...
Read more...
It has now been over two months since Samsung issued a global recall for its fire prone Galaxy Note 7 handset and there is still no explanation as to what was causing the batteries in affected units to overheat. That is important information, both for Samsung and the general public who want reassurance this was a one time thing. Well, good news—Samsung apparently wrapped up its investigation and will make its findings public later this month.We will have to take Samsung's word on its findings, at least initially. Once it explains exactly what caused some Galaxy Note 7 handsets to overheat and explode, there could be third-party investigations into the matter to corroborate Samsung's conclusion....
Read more...
Uh oh Houston, we have a problem. Er, make that San Mateo, the city in California where action camera maker GoPro is headquartered. GoPro has also begun dabbling in drones, though things have gotten off to a somewhat rocky start. By that we mean the company has issued a recall for its first drone, called Karma, while it figures out and fixes an issue that can cause it to lose power during flight. The good news for GoPro is that the market isn't flush with Karma drones. Only around 2,500 units have been purchased by consumers since the Karma launched last month, so this is far from a disastrous situation. Even better is that GoPro has not received any reports of injuries or property damage, so...
Read more...
To call the past couple of months "rough" for Samsung would be a huge understatement. When it became clear that its latest (and what was supposed to be greatest) smartphone, the Galaxy Note7, was exploding a little too often, some wondered if Samsung could recover from such bad publicity. Samsung would go on to recall the Galaxy Note7 before eventually pulling it off the market completely. Samsung, however, has one thing on its side that a lot of companies do not: it is massive. Some of the smaller smartphone vendors would have been wiped clean with an incident like this, but Samsung has its size and deep pockets on its side, so it is looking to put the incident behind it and begin working...
Read more...
Samsung opened itself up to criticism over the way it initially tried to handle a global recall of millions of Galaxy Note 7 devices on its own and it caught some heat as a result, but in giving credit where credit is due, the South Korean handset maker deserves praise for bouncing back and making quick work out of exchanging defective handsets for working models that aren't prone to exploding. That's underscored by Samsung now having replaced half a million recalled handsets in the U.S. "Samsung Electronics America, Inc. announced today that about half of all recalled Galaxy Note 7 phones sold in the U.S. have been exchanged through Samsung’s voluntary recall. Additionally, 90 percent of Galaxy...
Read more...
Samsung has its hands full when it comes to dealing with the fallout from its global Galaxy Note7 recall campaign. However, the company is trying to make it easier for customers to determine if their brand new Galaxy Note7 smartphone is safe to use, and won’t all of a sudden burst into flames while charging. Samsung Australia put out some preliminary details on replacement stock earlier this month, but Samsung’s global press office has now issued the official rundown on changes that have been made to new Galaxy Note7 stock that will distinguish them from their fire-prone forebears. The first and most obvious change comes with the retail box for the Galaxy Note7. There will be a bold, black square...
Read more...
The sky is most certainly falling over Samsung headquarters in the wake of reports that its hottest new smartphone, the Galaxy Note7, might actually be too hot to handle, literally. Samsung has received at least 92 reports of Note7 batteries overheating in the U.S. alone since its launch, with 26 of those resulting in burns and more than half causing property damage. While officially recalled in the U.S. now, Samsung has been criticized heavily in the media for their alleged slow response and hackneyed initial exchange program. [Image Source: Baidu] Samsung's public relations disaster may actually be the worst in smartphone history. The Galaxy Note7 was released for sale on August 19th. The first...
Read more...
It's taken longer than it should have getting to this point, but Samsung has finally cooperated with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to formally recall 1 million of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. As part of the recall, Samsung said it's received 92 reports of batteries overheating in the U.S., including 26 reports of burns and 55 incidents involving property damage, among them fires in cars and a garage. "This recall involves the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone sold before September 15, 2016. The recalled devices have a 5.7-inch screen and were sold in the following colors: black onyx, blue coral, gold platinum and silver titanium with a matching stylus. Samsung is printed...
Read more...
After making a series of moves to restructure its mobile business and renew interest in its Galaxy handset line, the situation with the recently released Galaxy Note 7 is taking quite a toll on Samsung. The South Korean electronics firm saw its market capitalization plummet by $22 billion over the past two days, a direct result of the global recall of Galaxy Note 7 devices that are prone to overheat and catch fire.This is just a bad situation all around. For consumers, the risk of a Galaxy Note 7 device exploding is a scary thing, especially with the influx of reports detailing various damage caused by affected handsets. In just the past couple of weeks, overheating Galaxy Note 7 devices have...
Read more...
It's a pretty scary thing when an electronic gadget is prone to exploding and catching fire, as has been reported to happen several of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 devices out in the wild. Adding fuel to the fire (see what we did there?), Samsung's been criticized for the way its handled the subsequent recall. It's still figuring out how best to handle the situation, and one option it has is to remotely deactivate potentially defective Galaxy Note 7 devices after a certain date. A user on reddit claims that Samsung's France division is planning to do exactly that. He was told by someone at Samsung that the South Korean electronics firm that it's in the process of calling every single Galaxy Note 7...
Read more...
By now, we’d expect that most all Galaxy Note7 owners would be well aware of the dangers surrounding the phone. Samsung is in the midst of a global recall for the phone, airlines around the world are banning the use of the phone aboard planes, the FAA has issued a strict warning against using the devices aboard U.S. aircraft, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is demanding that Galaxy Note7 owners stop using their device immediately. On top of that, U.S. carriers have been sending Galaxy Note7 owners text and email messages warning them of the explosion risk while charging, and Samsung has even been sending direct messages to customers. Despite all of these warnings, online/TV coverage,...
Read more...
Update 4:25PM - Samsung is also now urging customers not to use their Galaxy Note 7 devices, stating: "Because your safety is our utmost concern, we ask you to power down your Galaxy Note7 and exchange it now. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of the U.S. Note7 Exchange Program detailed above." You can find Samsung's notice here and their statements in the FAQ.To say that the launch of the Galaxy Note7 has been less-than-ideal for Samsung would be a gross understatement. Almost immediately following the device's shipment in market, it was discovered that some batteries in certain devices had a design flaw that could cause them to catch fire, or more accurately, explode. News of a recall...
Read more...
Reports began springing up last week that some Galaxy Note7 smartphones were exploding while charging. While we initially only heard of a handful of cases that were brought to light, Samsung was obviously tracking a larger number (relatively speaking). In fact, Samsung responded to the incidents rather quickly, publicly acknowledging the problem, verifying that it had received 35 reports of battery failures, and later announcing a global recall that would see all current Galaxy Note7 users receive a brand new replacement device (without an exploding battery, of course). Customers can exchange their Galaxy Note7 for a new Galaxy Note7, or opt to exchange it for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge. In...
Read more...
Samsung announced earlier today that it would be recalling the recently released Galaxy Note7 due to reports of exploding batteries. It was confirmed by Samsung that a small number of Note7 devices (35 at last count) had exploded when charging, and the company quickly moved to recall the phones to ensure customer safety. If you’ve got a Note7, and are wondering how to get your replacement, you’ve got a couple of options. Samsung just sent word that they’ve setup a replacement and exchange program that gives Note7 customers a couple of options. Rather than re-has the details, here is the information direct form Samsung... Samsung Establishes US Product Exchange Program for the Galaxy Note7 Exchange...
Read more...
It appears that initial reports that began to trickle out concerning exploding batteries on Samsung’s brand new flagship Galaxy Note7 smartphone were actually a bit more widespread than initially thought. While we had heard about two reports of batteries exploding while charging, Samsung confirmed today that it has received reports of 35 devices worldwide that have been identified with the defect. As a result, the South Korean company has issued a total and global recall of the Galaxy Note7. According to Samsung, it is working with its suppliers to pinpoint the exact cause of the battery failures and has stopped all sales of the Galaxy Note7 (as we reported earlier this week) while the investigation...
Read more...
