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Sony Recalls 3.5M AC Adapters For Slim PS2s

Posted by Zonk on from the deja-vu-ala-xbox dept.

nevergleam writes "Sony is recalling over 3.5 million power adapters upon reports that they are overheating. According to The Times Online, there has been one incident of minor shock, and four incidences of property damage. There is a web site available to see if the recall applies to your unit." From the article: "The adaptors were made between August and December last year for the slimline PlayStation 2. About 2.3 million of the affected machines were sold in Europe, with the remaining 1.2 million sold in Asia, Australia and North America."

22 comments

  1. no way.. by steveo777 · · Score: 1
    Hmm... it appears Sony has had another common problem with the X-Boxes. Both had bad DVD drives in the orginals, now we have overheating power adaptors. Coincedence? I think not.

    Come to mention it, both Dr. Pepper and Mr. Pibb's last names both start with a 'P' and have those little dots in their names... I'm onto them now.

    --
    This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
    1. Re:no way.. by frederec · · Score: 1

      8Bit theater reference maybe?

      Yeah, my PS2 got the famous disc read error. Thankfully they fixed it for free, got it back in about a week. Haven't had any problems since (been at least a year since then).

      A friend of mine on the other hand got an Xbox shortly after it came out. His had similar read problems. He had to send it in two or three times before it finally started working properly. Then later he traded it in for a limited translucent one. Only notable thing about that was he didn't think about how he would no longer have his KOTOR saves! Hours and hours down the drain. Funny but sad.

    2. Re:no way.. by FLAGGR · · Score: 1

      Your buddy never learnt how to use a memory card? I guess he deserves to lose his saves if hes dumb enough to not realize they would disappear.

      Anyway, on a side note, it comes off that your using that argument as an anti-xbox one, but that would be silly (even though sony fanboys are capable of worse), so I'll give you the benifit of the doubt.

    3. Re:no way.. by frederec · · Score: 1

      No, I really didn't mean it as pro- or anti- anything. It was just a string of bad luck for my friend. Though I think the KOTOR saves were too big for memory cards. Even still, he just totally forgot about it and didn't think to back anything up.

    4. Re:no way.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Hmm... it appears Sony has had another common problem with the X-Boxes. Both had bad DVD drives in the orginals, now we have overheating power adaptors. Coincedence? I think not.

      It's probably just a crappy port.

      Come to mention it, both Dr. Pepper and Mr. Pibb's last names both start with a 'P' and have those little dots in their names... I'm onto them now.

      Actually, neither Dr Pepper nor Mr Pibb include a period in the name.

    5. Re:no way.. by steveo777 · · Score: 1

      8 bit, yup... and the other post was correct, they don't have the period... messed it up

      --
      This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
  2. Biting people on the ass by GigsVT · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I had a Linksys ethernet switch that came with a small wall-wart that was obviously a switch-mode power supply, very light weight. The thing got so hot that the label turned brown.

    I'm making the assumption these failed power supplies are SMPS, the article didn't say, but I bet it was.

    Companies are looking to skimp on production and shipping costs by ditching old style linear transformer wall warts and going to switching power supplies, but a switch mode power supply is something that is not very tolerant to crappy design that cuts corners and overloads the supply.

    If you overload a linear the voltage will just drop below the usable threshold. If you overload a switcher it'll seem to work for a while, overheat and fail, sometimes spectacularly.

    It's biting them now, so hopefully they'll learn their lesson.

    --
    I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  3. At Least They Caught It. by Walker_Boh_Druid · · Score: 1

    At least they caught the problem before it got too out of hand. I trust the new adapters will be free of charge?

    1. Re:At Least They Caught It. by yRabbit · · Score: 1

      The adapters better carry *some* charge!

      (Argh, apologies. ^^ That's the first thing that came to mind. Except it would be better if this was an article about batteries.)

  4. US Site / Send your old one in first? by HeavyD14 · · Score: 1

    Hmm... the US site doesn't seem to have anything about this on their main page. They do have a page http://www.us.playstation.com/Adaptor/ for american owners, but the page linked in the article is supposedly for all jursdictions, but I'd trust this one first. They also make you send your "defective" adapter in before you can get a new one. I wonder how many people will do that?

  5. Sony Hits the Mark Again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Poor craftsmanship and build quality is a Sony staple nowadays. What else did you expect from this?

  6. no US replacementes?! by Hes+Nikke · · Score: 1

    2 points:
    1. my AC adapter failed 2 weeks ago so i bought a 3rd party unit (uhg, now it's wasted $30!)
    2. the replacement page linked only covers europe, and my AC adapter *IS* covered... The US Playstation website still doesn't say anything, nor does the Consumer Alerts page... uhg!

    *bonus point* - calling sony US support, they gave me this number: 1-888-780-7690 to deal with it. :)
    *bonus bonus point* - calling that 888 number directed me to the Sony US page (linked above) several times - i'm probably just getting a cached version, or someone forgot to upload the most recent pages....

    --
    Don't call me back. Give me a call back. Bye. So yeah. But bye our, well, but alright we are on a shirt this chill.
    1. Re:no US replacementes?! by kilrogg · · Score: 1

      Its up now, here's a direct link: http://www.us.playstation.com/Adaptor/

  7. Learn to read by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > They also make you send your "defective" adapter in before you can get a new one. I wonder how many people will do that?

    Why don't you fucking read the link you posted ?

    Q: How do I get the AC adaptor replaced or get more information about the recall?
    A: Consumers can contact Sony Computer Entertainment America in two ways, through its toll-free customer service number (1-888-780-7690) between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. PT Monday through Saturday, and between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. PT Sunday and/or its official PlayStation® website (www.us.playstation.com). If you are a child, please ask your parent or guardian to help you. Once it has been determined that a consumer possesses a recalled AC adaptor, the company will send a free replacement AC adaptor in a reusable shipping carton. The consumer will be instructed to place the recalled AC adaptor in the shipping carton (but not the AC power cord that accompanied the original AC Adaptor) and send it back to Sony Computer Entertainment America using a prepaid shipping label provided and paid for by the company.

  8. Where's the outrage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When this happened to the Xbox people were calling for the heads of everybody at Microsoft. Sony has the same thing happen and the response is...

    1. Re:Where's the outrage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I want the heads of everybody at Sony for this. After Microsoft had to recall power supplies, you would think Sony would make sure theirs were free of issues, instead of this shit where they shrug their shoulders and say "okay, bring em back for a fixed one."

  9. Australian Adaptors? by cullyn · · Score: 1

    Mine falls under the 'faulty' adaptors, but neither the US or Europe Adaptor sites have anything to fill in, and the Australian PS2 site has nothing about it.

    I'll be contacting EB Games tomorrow to see if they know anything about it, and I'll post up here for anyone else that's stuck.

    --
    The toilets at a local police station have been stolen. Police say they have nothing to go on. - The Two Ronnies
    1. Re:Australian Adaptors? by Masarius · · Score: 1

      You can find the Australian version of the form here: http://au.playstation.com/recall/

  10. Shock and Burnie for PS2! by Psykechan · · Score: 1

    Dude did you hear?

    No man, what?

    Shock and Burnie has been ported to the PS2! It's 'bout time, I mean Sony needed something to sell more PS2s this holiday season.

    Yeah, I was geting bored with DVD Blowout. I'll bet the Gamecube doesn't get this game.

    Dude, no one cares about the lamecube, it's just for kidz. Nintendo wouldn't dare do something like this.