If you or someone you know has an HP laptop with a lithium-ion battery, listen up. Earlier today, HP announced that it was recalling “more than 50,000 laptops because of the danger of fire in cases of battery malfunction.” The recall itself was issued after HP “received eight reports of batteries overheating, melting, or charring,” according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. As a result of the malfunction, there were “three incidents of property damage totaling $1,500 and a single first-degree burn to the hand.”
If you or someone you know has an HP laptop with a lithium-ion battery, listen up. Earlier today, HP announced that it was recalling “more than 50,000 laptops because of the danger of fire in cases of battery malfunction.” The recall itself was issued after HP “received eight reports of batteries overheating, melting, or charring,” according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. As a result of the malfunction, there were “three incidents of property damage totaling $1,500 and a single first-degree burn to the hand.”
When discussing the decision to issue the recall, HP said:
“These batteries have the potential to overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to customers. For this reason, it is extremely important to check whether your battery is affected.”
Not all HP laptops with lithium-ion batteries were recalled, though. In fact, according to the notice, only lithium-ion batteries for the following laptops are included in the recall:
- HP ProBook (64x G2 and G3 series, 65x G2 and G3 series)
- HPx360 310 G2HP Envy m6
- HP Pavilion x360
- HP 11
- HP ZBook (17 G3, 17 G4, and Studio G3)
The laptops were sold nationwide between December 2015 and December 2017 at a number of stores, including Amazon, the HP website, and Best Buy. Another 2,600 laptops were also sold at stores throughout Canada.
It’s important to note, however, that the recall is for the lithium-ion batteries, “not the entire computer.” To determine if your laptop is impacted, you can run “HP’s Validation Utility software, found on the company’s website, to determine if the battery has been recalled.” Consumers who find their battery is indeed part of the recall can “install an update that will put the device in Battery Safe Mode, which will discharge the battery and prevent it from being charged until it’s replaced.” The update will allow laptop owners to use their computers “safely with AC power while they wait for a new battery,” according to the recall notice. However, the majority of the affected batteries “are not user-replaceable,” so those needing a replacement will actually have an HP technician visit to “install the replacement.”
Sources:
HP Recalls 50,000 Lithium-Ion Laptop Batteries Over Fire Risk
Charring, melting laptop batteries cause HP to issue voluntary recall
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