HP Expands Laptop Battery Recall Programme to 78,500 Units Over Fire and Burn Risks

HP has expanded the recall of its laptop batteries that are found to be vulnerable to "fire and burn hazards". The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has revealed that the new development comes as the latest expansion of the original battery recall that was initiated in January 2018 and then expanded in January this year. It includes an addition of 28,500 battery units of HP laptops -- up from the 50,000 units being recalled last year. Models that are affected include HP ProBooks, HP Pavilion x360, and HP ZBook among others. Also, the batteries in question were sold as accessories or replacement batteries for models such as HP Envy 15, HP ProBook 4xx G5 series, and HP ZBook Studio G4 among others.

"This recall expansion was previously announced independently on January 17, 2019, by the firm due to US government furlough," reads a note on the CPSC website detailing the battery recall move that was updated on March 12.

According to the note on the CPSC website, HP received eight new reports of battery packs overheating, melting or charring in the US, "including one report of minor injury and two reports of property damage totalling $1,100" (roughly Rs. 76,600).

The list of HP notebooks involved in the recall process include models sold between April 2015 and December last year. "The batteries were shipped with or sold as accessories for HP ProBooks (64x G2 and G3 series, 65x G2 and G3 series, 4xx G4 series), HPx360 (310 G2), HP Pavilion x360 11inch Notebook PC, HP 11 Notebook PC, HP ZBook (17 G3, and Studio G3) mobile workstations. The batteries were also sold as accessories or replacement batteries for the HP ZBook Studio G4 mobile workstation, HP ProBook 4xx G5 series, HP Envy 15, HP Mobile Thin Clients (mt21, mt22, and mt31), or for any of the products listed above," the note specifies.

Customers having any of the noted models should check if their battery is included in the recall by visiting the HP microsite dedicated to the issue. The microsite also details instructions on how to enable a "Battery Safety Mode" if the battery is vulnerable to the issues. Notably, HP will provide free battery replacement through an authorised technician.

As we mentioned, the recall was originally initiated in January 2018. HP also kicked off a similar replacement programme for about 1,01,000 laptop batteries in January 2017.