HP recalls more than 100,000 batteries for possible overheating
The recall expands one from HP in June. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the laptop batteries can pose "fire and burn hazards."
Samsung's not the only one with battery woes.
HP has recalled more than 100,000 lithium-ion batteries used in its notebook computers, according to a notice Tuesday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recall is in addition to one from HP in June, when 41,000 batteries were recalled in the US.
The reason, the CPSC said, is possible overheating that can pose "fire and burn hazards."
Devices affected by the recall include HP, Compaq, HP ProBook, HP Envy, Compaq Presario, and HP Pavilion laptops purchased between March 2013 and October 2016. The laptops ranged in price between $300 and $1,700, while the batteries were also sold separately for between $50 and $90.
"Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled batteries, remove them from the notebook computers and contact HP for a free replacement battery," according to the notice. Until customers get a new battery, they should only use the notebooks by plugging them into AC adapters, the commission added.
The problem affected less than 1 percent of the HP laptops sold during the time frame, an HP spokeswoman said.
The episode comes in the aftermath of Samsung's scarring saga with its Galaxy Note 7 phone, which was recalled -- twice -- last year for explosions caused by battery defects. The situation caused reverberations across the device world, spurring efforts by companies and consumer organizations to ensure something like that doesn't happen again.
In fact, the CPSC on Tuesday gave Samsung a pat on the back for its accountability in the recall. At the same time, though, it urged the technology industry to put a greater emphasis on battery safety.
Elliot Kaye, chairman of the commission, said in a statement that consumer electronics companies need to modernize and improve safety standards for lithium-ion batteries while also looking for new power sources to replace them.
"Consumers should never have to worry," Kaye said, "that a battery-powered device might put them, their family or their property at risk."
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