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HP Recalls 70,000 Laptop Batteries
angry tapir writes "Hewlett-Packard has recalled Lithium-Ion batteries used in some of its laptops, as they pose a fire hazard. The recall covers about 70,000 batteries used in the company's HP and Compaq-branded laptops. The affected laptops can be found here."
Mass computer genocide....
That should fix it once and for all.
"Old bag" has more than one meaning.
you know who else wanted to recall 70,000 laptop batteries?
All your batteries proven to catch on fire to the following address: Sales / Marketing Any Company USA. Thanks I need new IT stories at work.
But I had to send my battery back!
both myself and my son have/had laptops on that list.
neither computer had a battery failure, but both have had the powersupply fail.
last year my son's went out and so we swapped batteries so he could run his long enough to get his data off. then a few weeks ago mine did the exact same thing.
i just got a new HP. i'll have to check it's battery
I think that this HP explosive laptop stuff is a bunch of FUD, and given it's more then stellar track rec
This is the 4th recall of batteries by HP in 5 years... You would think, okay maybe the first is a fluke, everyone screws up sometimes. The second time, you get a bit worried, but four times? I think someone in HP needs to work out how much each of these recalls is costing them per year, maybe those figures will convince them that manufacturing them to a higher standard wouldn't be a bad idea.
Without my Li-Ion battery, I'll have to start using the stove to cook meals.
My HP dv9000 is horrible when it comes to overheating. I specifically bought a laptop cooler to keep it cool and operational. Google "hp dv9000 overheating" for a number of people with similar issues.
I wonder how much of the overheating is from the battery simply be improperly designed, or if the laptop's own design heats up the battery more than normal.
...laptops can be carried on-board but without batteries!
I'll remind my wife to try to keep her laptop's airflow ports unobstructed...
Take the number of batteries in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.
I guess X was large.
Look people, don't complain. Whenever this happens to my laptop model I cry out YES and feel happy.
Don't get it? Let me lay it out for you.
1. The likelyhood of your particular battery actually being dangerous is slim to none. It was probably a single unfortunate event that sparked the recall. You were using the battery before the recall and the risk was just as big then (no need to turn this into a Monty Hall discussion, I think you get my meaning...)
2. You will get a BRAND NEW battery. If your battery has any age at all, this is a plus in itself!
3. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! Since you can't be expected to be without your battery, generally the company sends you a new battery first and a return envelope for your "faulty" battery. Now here's the trick: No one is forcing you to send in your old battery! Just forget about the return envelope. I see no moral problem in this. The company has already spent enough on the recall and obviously your battery has no value to them - there's more likely a cost for getting rid of it. This is just a liability thing after all. My bet is they won't be chasing you if your battery never arrives. Now you have 2 working batteries.
Now once for me, it was a DELL and they offered an additional battery as an incentive to the customers that participated in the battery recall.
Yup you guessed it, I ended up having 3 batteries for the rest of that laptop's lifetime! Life was good.
The linked recall notice says "After removing the recalled battery from their notebook computer, consumers may use the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives."
If I wanted a desktop computer, perhaps I'd have bought one?
Slightly disreputable, albeit gregarious
Guess I don't have to worry about buying a replacement for the one that doesn't hold a charge anymore.
It almost saddens me that my battery stopped taking a charge exactly a year after the warranty ends. I almost wish I had an exploding battery just so I might get a free one.
What the heck is wrong with HP, or specifically, with the morons that designed the dv6000 series, of which i am a 'proud' (meh!) owner?
This laptop had its internatl power circuitry fry (HP acknowledges this, and offers a free mail-in repair, even after warranty), the Wifi-mini-PCI card simply disappeared completely (under Windows and linux), and chooses to re-appear aprox. once a month (HP acknowledges this, and IIRC also offers a free off-warranty repair for this. Both of these symptoms happened to a friend's DV9000, too. And now the battery is a fire hazard? I know i am spoiled because my last laptop was a good old indestructible Thinkpad A30 (well, the GPU has some problems, but after so many years, i'd say that's forgivable). But i will be sure not to buy an HP again, until i hear some VERY good news about their engineering skills.
What about laptops sold outside the US? I have a cheap F754LA (LA for Latin American) and the battery is listed among the ones to be recalled.
I think I will get nothing from the local HP support center (in Argentina). My brother has a (cheap, of course) V3614 and the red color vanishes while adjusting the screen angle. The HP guys kept it for full 3 weeks and returned it unfixed. "Not an issue" they said.
Hmmm, I might reconsider to never fly routes that do a 787 in future since 90% of the parts are made in said country with cut corners tm procedures.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
Of course my laptop battery is affected by the recall, who here thinks I should send it in, or just keep it.
O RLY!?!