HP urges customers to recheck batteries following expanded safety recall program

HP is urging its customers to recheck products following the expansion of its on going global safety recall program.

The batteries can potentially overheat resulting in a fire hazard to customers. For your safety it’s vital you check to see if your battery is one of the ones affected.

In June 2016 HP announced a recall and replacement program for certain notebook computer batteries. The program has now widened to include further batteries which were shipped with the same notebook products:

• Compaq
• HP ProBook
• HP ENVY
• Compaq Presario
• HP Pavilion Notebook
• Other specific HP sold internationally between March 2013 to October 2016.

Even if you have previously checked and weren’t affected the advice given is to recheck as it’s a crucial matter.

Verify now by visiting www.HP.com/go/batteryprogram2016

If your battery is one of the ones affected, terminate use immediately and remove it. You can carry on using your notebook without the battery you just need to ensure the notebook is plugged in to external power with a charger.

HP are providing replacement batteries at no cost for those affected.

You may reminisce back to September last year when Samsung recalled 2.5 million handsets after reports of exploding batteries and handsets catching fire!

https://nexusconsultancy.co.uk/blog/samsung-stops-production-galaxy-note-7-handsets-catch-fire/

Many large corporations have been affected by similar circumstances in the past, having to recall their products; Dell in 2006, Nokia in 2009 and more recently Sony in 2016. Hoverboards were also causing danger and destruction with their lithium-ion battery packs over-heating and exploding leading to their recall last year.

Why is this happening to batteries?

Phones use lithium-ion battery packs and the liquid inside most of these batteries is highly flammable.

If the battery short-circuits it heats up the flammable liquid electrolyte and if the liquid warms up fast enough, this causes the battery to explode. No brand or model is inevitably safe. The electronics industry continues to use these because the batteries are a lot smaller and lighter.