HP issues global recall of laptops with defective batteries

HP is recalling some laptop batteries due to concerns that overheating could cause fires and inflict burns.

The company issued the worldwide recall on Thursday, urging customers to check batteries in several laptop and mobile workstation models sold between December 2015 and December 2017.

These lithium-ion batteries for affected HP laptops were shipped between December 2015 and December 2017. There have been eight reports of the battery packs overheating, melting or charring, three of which include reports of $4,500 in property damage and one report of a first degree burn to a hand.

The affected batteries shipped with certain HP ProBook 64x (G2 and G3), HP ProBook 65x (G2 and G3), HP x360 310 G2, HP ENVY m6, HP Pavilion x360, HP 11 notebooks, and HP ZBook (17 G3, 17 G4, and Studio G3) mobile workstations. Some of the affected batteries were also sold as replacements.

In many cases customers won't be able to replace the batteries themselves since the power cells are internal, so HP is covering the cost of installing a replacement via an authorized technician.

Customers can visit HP's site to learn if their battery should be replaced. Impacted customers will have their batteries replaced free of charge and may continue safely using their device by placing the battery in Safety Mode and connecting to an external power source.

The recall affects around 0.1 percent of HP systems sold globally over the past two years, HP said.

The company has released a statement about the issue that says, ''The quality and safety of all HP products is our top priority. We recently learned that batteries provided by one of our suppliers for certain notebook computers and mobile workstations present a potential safety concern. We are taking immediate action to address this issue including a voluntary recall and replacement of the batteries. This action pertains to 0.1 per cent of the HP systems sold globally over the past two years.''

The US Consumer Protection Safety Commission (CPSC) says about 50,000 units are affected.

"HP has received eight reports of battery packs overheating, melting, or charring, including three reports of property damage totaling $4,500, with one report of a minor injury involving a first-degree burn to the hand," CSPC said in a statement.

HP ended 2017 as the world's largest PC vendor by shipments and the only vendor that actually increased shipments amid shrinking sales across the industry.

HP said it's providing BIOS update to put affected batteries in Battery Safety Mode, which discharges the battery and prevents it from charging until Battery Safety Mode is disabled. Users will still be able to use the device but only when connected to an HP power adapter.

To check whether a battery is affected, HP owners will need to download HP's battery validation utility, which runs the check in about 30 seconds.

This time last year HP recalled 100,000 computers due to overheating batteries, which expanded a previous recall of 41,000 units over the same issues.