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Nokia to Replace 43 Million Batteries

Posted by samzenpus on from the no-more-burning-phone dept.

mysqlbytes writes "According to a recent post on the BBC's website, Nokia has admitted to a problem in the BL-5C batteries made by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. For some of us, it means longer battery life with a new lease of life and for some of us, no more burnt legs. You can check out the product advisory here."

72 comments

  1. Burnt Legs? by pete-classic · · Score: 5, Funny

    I understand that this is a legitimate recall. That said, if your phone is burning your legs while it's charging I'm pretty sure you're using it wrong.

    -Peter

    1. Re:Burnt Legs? by SpottedKuh · · Score: 5, Funny

      That said, if your phone is burning your legs while it's charging I'm pretty sure you're using it wrong.

      Oh, crap. I always wondered why I couldn't walk more than three feet from the wall while I'm charging my phone.

    2. Re:Burnt Legs? by RuBLed · · Score: 1

      I bet it was on vibrate mode while charging to cause a burning sensation on a part of the lower body.

    3. Re:Burnt Legs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I wonder seriously about this. I put in the code from the back of my battery and the site cheerfully informed me, "Your battery may be replaced". Great, I thought. I'll just pop in my contact info and they'll mail me a new one. Great, right??

      Uhm...next page says, "Your battery will NOT be replaced". Think they coulda told me that BEFORE I put in my contact (marketing) info?

      I smell a scam here. Or at least, scummy tactics.

    4. Re:Burnt Legs? by sacrilicious · · Score: 1
      Oh, crap. I always wondered why I couldn't walk more than three feet from the wall while I'm charging my phone.

      You think you have it bad? If the lid of a toilet I'm standing in front of accidentally slams down, I can't walk more *two* feet from it until I put the lid back up. Then there's the pain.

      --
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    5. Re:Burnt Legs? by nacturation · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh, crap. I always wondered why I couldn't walk more than three feet from the wall while I'm charging my phone.



      You think you have it bad? If the lid of a toilet I'm standing in front of accidentally slams down, I can't walk more *two* feet from it until I put the lid back up. Then there's the pain.

      Luxury. Why, in my day we didn't have seats or toilets. We used to have to lay it along the ground, six feet from where we were sitting, and hope nobody tripped over it while we went.
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    6. Re:Burnt Legs? by tantaliz3 · · Score: 1

      Oh, crap. I always wondered why I couldn't walk more than three feet from the wall while I'm charging my phone. Just make sure its on the outside of the leg, or you won't have any reason to find a girlfriend. Someday...
    7. Re:Burnt Legs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just completed that form and it told me my battery would not be replaced without entering any more then the serial number on the first page. They might of changed the procedure since you've done it.

    8. Re:Burnt Legs? by krakelohm · · Score: 1

      Try standing all the way up and not just on your knees resting your junk on the bowl.

      --
      You are all a bunch of idots.
    9. Re:Burnt Legs? by sacrilicious · · Score: 1

      I was actually on a tall stepladder, changing a light while using the toilet at the same time.

      --
      - First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
    10. Re:Burnt Legs? by krakelohm · · Score: 1

      And then you fell junk first and the lid came down? ;)

      --
      You are all a bunch of idots.
  2. This site discussed on TheDailyWTF by willpall · · Score: 5, Informative

    Link to forum thread

    --
    Libertarian: label used by embarrassed Republicans, longing to be open about their greed, drug use and porn collections.
  3. So close! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The recall is for battery model BL-5C. I've got model BL-6C. Almost had a replacement. Hopefully my battery is sti--AUUGH! MY LEGS!

    1. Re:So close! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And I have got BL-5C. Think of my disappointment when I found out that my perfectly normal but old battery won't be changed free of charge!

  4. Dam it! by farmerj · · Score: 1
    Go a replacement battery from Apple with the Sony recall a few months ago, just as my powerbook battery was on it's last legs.

    Thought I was going to get lucky again as my year and a half old 6230i's battery is heading downhill at the moment.

    Was fairly sure it was unlikely when I opened up the phone and the battery said made in Hungary and sure enough it's not one of the affected ones.

    Oh well, maybe next time :-)

    --
    Independence? That's middle-class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth. G.B Shaw
  5. Admitting? by glitch23 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Admitting" seems a bit strong. There is no evidence yet of them denying the matter. It just takes time for reports to come in and see that there is a pattern forming and *realize* all those issues may not be coincidence. "Admitting" to there being an issue implies they were trying to cover up something. At least that's the way I view it. I don't see any wrongdoing, yet.

    --
    this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. -- Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
    1. Re:Admitting? by bladesjester · · Score: 1

      "Admitting" seems a bit strong. There is no evidence yet of them denying the matter.

      Not really. All that saying they admit there is a problem means is that they came out and said "guys, we have a problem with the following batteries". It has absolutely nothing to do with a possible cover up.

      --
      Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
    2. Re:Admitting? by malsdavis · · Score: 1

      Particularly as the problem isn't that major anyway. When other companies are only now recalling children's toys that for months were known to be coated with lead paint, I think Nokia must be commended for offering to replace batteries quickly for such a lesser problem.

      Companies should be heavily criticized for being bad, but also praised for being good.

  6. WTF Javascript by nytrokiss · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yes they have this massive WTF on there website script! http://forums.worsethanfailure.com/forums/thread/1 27881.aspx

    1. Re:WTF Javascript by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's nothing wrong with having a javascript check the input first - users get a response much faster and there will probably many serial numbers entered that won't need to be replaced and thus it will take that load off the server. I'm quite sure that the server does do an additional check after the javascript has first checked that a number is in the range of batteries to be replaced. I have been developing a rather big web application and one requirement we had was that all input had to be checked with javascript first and once it seemed valid, by the server side as well. It made it much more convenient for users since simple things they forgot to enter and so on didn't force them to wait for a response from the server.

    2. Re:WTF Javascript by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes they have this massive WTF on there website script! So is that better or worse than the massive WTF with your English?
  7. Legs? by KeepQuiet · · Score: 1

    Ears maybe... Butt maybe... but legs? huh?

    1. Re:Legs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are these things called pants, jeans, and shorts. They usually have front pockets that you can put things in. They go on your legs. A cell phone is a thing.

      Would you like to know more?

    2. Re:Legs? by yourmomisfasterthana · · Score: 0

      i didn't think that actually actually used the "cargo" pocket in cargo pants... but i've been wrong before...

      --
      -Yourmomisfasterthanabeowulfcluster
  8. Cool! by pair-a-noyd · · Score: 1

    I just bought a new Nokia a new months ago and it has this battery in it.
    Never had any trouble with it but if I get a new one, I'm ok with that.

  9. If you do have a BL-5C by 88Seconds · · Score: 5, Informative

    Go to the following URL http://www.nokia.com/batteryreplacement/en/ to check if you are affected

    1. Re:If you do have a BL-5C by thatskinnyguy · · Score: 1

      Damn it! My phone is on that list! Guess me and Ma Bell are going to have to get acquainted again... damn it.

      --
      The game.
    2. Re:If you do have a BL-5C by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So's my phone, but my BL-5C battery is not from the faulty batch. Enter the battery serial number on the Nokia site to find out.

    3. Re:If you do have a BL-5C by Threni · · Score: 1

      > Damn it! My phone is on that list!

      But is your battery on that list?

    4. Re:If you do have a BL-5C by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know smartass! That's why I said my battery won't be checked! After checking the link that is linked in SUMMARY!

      Sheesh, karma whoring!

    5. Re:If you do have a BL-5C by houghi · · Score: 1

      What I think is strange is that when you go to www.nokia.be and select for either french or dutch, you get to the english version. The same for nokia.de, where you would expect German information. Sweden is pointing to English as well.
      Even the Finish news item points to the English page.

      nokia.es and nokia.fr do not have any information, althogh it might be that no phones in those countries are effected (unlikely, but possible).

      Apparently the information is only available in Japanese and English. Although many people will be able to read that, many more won't be.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    6. Re:If you do have a BL-5C by 88Seconds · · Score: 1

      Yeah - my bad. I was reading through the comments and didn't notice the original link in the summary. I thought I was being helpful, but I was beaten to it. Rather than modding my original post as insightful mod it as redundant. Meanwhile I'll get me coat.

    7. Re:If you do have a BL-5C by thatskinnyguy · · Score: 1

      Sure is. The sticker on the back of it looks like the one in the picture.

      --
      The game.
    8. Re:If you do have a BL-5C by Threni · · Score: 1

      > The sticker on the back of it looks like the one in the picture.

      But does the serial number on your battery look like it might be one of the bad ones?

  10. Forty. Three. Million. by mosel-saar-ruwer · · Score: 0


    That is one f'ing lotta batteries.

    A thousand workers, each exchanging 100 batteries a day, in five day work weeks, for 86 consecutive weeks?

    Ain't gonna happen.

    PS: Can you say mother of all toxic waste dumps?

    1. Re:Forty. Three. Million. by timmarhy · · Score: 4, Interesting
      hardly. It's not your fault, but most people have a lot of trouble comprehending large numbers of things. I'd guess nokia will simply have all their dealers as collection sites, and have them send the boxes back to them where they will scan the bar code on the battery to mark it as returned and then ship the batteries off to a scrap metal recycler. 43 million would amount to a couple of road train loads.

      i'd be suprised if there was significant labour invovled in the process.

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    2. Re:Forty. Three. Million. by Hognoxious · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'd guess nokia will simply have all their dealers as collection sites
      Thanks for pointing that out, it's completely different. So the dealers are entirely staffed by robots - who'd have though it?
      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    3. Re:Forty. Three. Million. by GuldKalle · · Score: 1

      But Nokia still gotta cough up with 43M new batteries. And they can't use whatever spares they have lying around, as they're likely to be affected, too. that has to take up some labour (and time)

      --
      What?
    4. Re:Forty. Three. Million. by tantaliz3 · · Score: 1

      So not only are they being a fair and responsible company...but their creating jobs too!

  11. Nokia Batteries by mc2thaH · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I wish they would recall my N75 battery, I have to charge it about every night, and it's brand new. Everyone else I know that has one has the same problem too. I wonder if I can get a third party battery for it? Anybody know?

    1. Re:Nokia Batteries by Matt_R · · Score: 1

      I have a BL-5C unaffected by the recall in my N70. It goes flat very quickly when I turn 3G on. If I leave it in GSM-only mode, the battery lasts a lot longer.

    2. Re:Nokia Batteries by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Similar thing happened to a friend of mine. I don't think is has anything to do with the battery or the make of the phone. My suspicion is you live in an area with crap 3G coverage. Your phone is probably spending a lot of its time (and battery power) trying to get a 3G signal where in reality you want it to give up and stick to gsm.

    3. Re:Nokia Batteries by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      3G is a battery hog, period.

  12. apple doesnt seem so stupid now by hosecoat · · Score: 1

    they wont ever have to replace any batteries. ;)

  13. Oh no! by evilviper · · Score: 2, Funny

    Oh no, no... You've got it all wrong. I've seen countless PR people on TV and they all say the same thing... It's only cheap, off-brand batteries that explode, NEVER the manufacturer's own batteries.

    The news media, of course, never argues the point.

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    1. Re:Oh no! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh no, no... You've got it all wrong. I've seen countless PR people on TV and they all say the same thing... It's only cheap, off-brand batteries that explode, NEVER the manufacturer's own batteries.

      The news media, of course, never argues the point. They see a problem and announce it on TV which means recall of 46 million batteries and temporary stock market losses.

      Which off brand producer in some China area would do it? Do they even have name on product?

      Off brands products are cheaper because they don't have QA, additional chips which prevent explosion in case of overheat, zero environment care, zero rights of workers. I think it is much more than that $20 price difference.

  14. 26-CHARACTER PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the page https://www.nokia.com/batteryreplacement/en/ demands a 26 char product id number, I have a BL-5C battery with the id number 067040070341251311. I know it's the id number as it's placed in the same place as my other battery which has a 26 char id (0670400363807L322A2BR73050). Guess I have to call Nokia.

    m10

    1. Re:26-CHARACTER PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER by phozz+bare · · Score: 4, Informative

      You don't need to call anyone. If you had actually read the advisory you may have noticed that "if the battery identification number does not contain 26 characters, it is not subject to this product advisory".

  15. 46 Million, Not 43 by yohanes · · Score: 1

    How do they get the number 43?

    --
    -- tinyhack.com
    1. Re:46 Million, Not 43 by Sloppy · · Score: 1

      It's one of those 10^6 vs 2^20 things, like with hard disk capacities. You can call it either 46 million batteries or 43 MegaBatteroids, depending on whether you're trying to make it sound big or small.

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  16. Re:Substitute "Dealerships" for "Workers". by jombeewoof · · Score: 3, Interesting

    But you're assuming 8 hour days, that's only 12 or so batteries an hour.

    I think it would be more like 1000 dealers doing at least 25 batteries an hour, for 11 hours a day 7 days a week.

    I'm too lazy to do the math, but it's a less than 86 weeks. It still is an incredible amount of labor, but at $9 an hour at the very best it's not really all that much money, they'll hire an extra worker or 2 in each shop it's not all that much in the grand scheme of things.

    *disclaimer.
    all numbers pulled out of nowhere, and probably mean next to nothing.

    --
    Linux Zealots: Smarter than Mac Zealots, but still zealots.
  17. Re:Substitute "Dealerships" for "Workers". by nacturation · · Score: 3, Informative

    A thousand dealerships, each exchanging 100 batteries a day, in five day work weeks, for 86 consecutive weeks? I don't know where you live, but in my city alone there's easily more than 1000 retail stores you could go to buy a Nokia phone. And let's say there's 1000 such cities around the world. 86 weeks is 14,448 hours. With 1000 dealers in 1000 cities they could have this entire thing done in 14.5 hours or one to two working days. Or half an hour a day for a month.
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  18. Re:Nice Sig by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Minor variations upon the same general themes.

  19. Have 2 of them by koinu · · Score: 1

    None is affected.

    I wonder how Nokia comes to the conclusion that "46 millions batteries" is "very rare" (quoted from the advisory).

    1. Re:Have 2 of them by lasse_dk · · Score: 1

      with 43 million batteries sold and 100 reported problems very rare seems accurate...

  20. Re:Nice Sig by heinousjay · · Score: 1

    Sorta like Democrats, Socialists, Communists, and Soviets, right?

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  21. Risky business by Taagehornet · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I bet Nokia's rather happy they didn't solder the battery onto the board, but opted for the replaceable solution.

    Considering that every month brings with it a new story of a major hardware manufacturer having to recall xx million devices due to faulty batteries, I'm impressed that Apple had the guts to go for non-replaceables.

    1. Re:Risky business by Zebedeu · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, but Apple would never have this kind of problem because they get their batteries from reputable suppliers, like Sony.

  22. Safety Regulation? by Prodigy+Savant · · Score: 1

    As batteries pack in increasing amounts of power in smaller and smaller enclosures, their explosive power also increases.
    At some point, with the "right" power density, just shorting a battery may be enough to cause a powerful explosion.
    IANAL, but I think the time is ripe for the law to recommend safety guidelines for batteries. At a minimum, maybe all batteries should come with an inbuilt fuse.

    --
    Dont make a better sig, you insensitive clod!
    1. Re:Safety Regulation? by Detritus · · Score: 1

      An internal fuse will not help if there is an internal short in a lithium battery. This can be caused by a manufacturing defect or physical abuse.

      --
      Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
  23. Misreporting, AGAIN! by wandm · · Score: 1

    Not all 43 million batteries need replacing, dimwits! Only a small batch manufactured by Matsushita. You need your battery's serial number to check whether it belongs to that particular batch, mine didn't. If it doesn't, _IT WILL NOT BE REPLACED_.

  24. For those who don't know by postermmxvicom · · Score: 2, Informative

    Matsushita = Panasonic

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  25. Re:Substitute "Dealerships" for "Workers". by Serengeti · · Score: 1

    And thats assuming that all Nokia owners respond to the recall.

  26. That's the battery used in the Nokia 1100... by Lisandro · · Score: 1

    ...and other low end models - some of Nokia's best selling phones. I wonder how many of the end users will even bother to send their batteries back, but still, that's gotta hurt.

  27. Jombeewoof, get off the Internet. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jombeewoof is a bastard who thinks the world owes him a living. http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=267807&cid=202 07637 [slashdot.org] Jombeewoof tried to destroy an Internet Service Provider in Massachusetts by expecting large bandwidth without paying anything. Educated alone doesn't pay the bills. Jombeewoof is not worth your mod points and is a MySpace loser. Jombeewoof, give up, get off the Internet. The TrollGoons won't leave you alone.

    GET THE FUCK OFF THE INTERNET YOU UNLEET BASTARD!