More than 15 million Toshiba laptop adapters are being recalled in the United States due to a risk of overheating and fires.
The recall also applies to AC adapters sold separately. The adapters “have date codes between April 2008 through December 2012 in either a year month, date format, i.e., April 2008 is 0804, or year week, date format, i.e., week 15 of 2008 is 0815,” according to a recall notice from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The adapters can “overheat and spark, posing burn and fire hazards.”
AC adapters usually get warm when in use. However, excessive heat could be an indication that there is something faulty that could lead to burns.
According to the recall notice, there have been 679 reports of these adapters overheating or catching fire, melting, and burning, including 43 reports of people suffering minor burn injuries. About 15.5 million units are being recalled. In addition, roughly 1.3 million of these adapters were also sold in Canada.
The adapters were manufacture in China, and were imported by California-based Dynabook Americas. The AC adapters are black in color and come with serial numbers listed on the CPSC webpage.
“Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled AC adapters and contact Dynabook Americas for a free replacement AC adapter,” the recall notice stated.
Dynabook states that in most cases, it will only freely replace the AC adapter and not the power cord that came with it. “So, you should keep your power cable for continued use.”
“In certain cases, Dynabook will be providing a new power cord due to the replacement adapter being a three-prong AC power cord, where the original was a two-prong AC power cord. In those cases, the appropriate power cord will be provided with the AC Adapter.”
The free replacement is usually shipped within seven to 14 days, the company states. “Dynabook recommends that you immediately turn off your laptop and wait until you receive a replacement AC Adapter.” The replacement adapter comes with a 90-day limited warranty.
Speaking to CNN, Mikako Kitagawa, a director analyst at Gartner, said that “because the adapters are for very old models, it’s only a very small percentage of the population that is still using them.”
Years ago, AC adapters were a hot topic due to the possibility of overheating and catching fire. “It’s very interesting that this is happening now. If these devices were sold five years ago, and not 15 years ago, it would have a bigger impact on the market,” he stated.
Toshiba isn’t the only company that has recalled their adapters this month. On Feb. 8, CableMod recalled its angled adapters used in GPUs due to fire risks.
“The adapters’ male connector can become loose, overheat, and melt into the graphics processing unit (GPU), posing fire and burn hazards,” the CPSC’s recall notice stated.
Around 25,300 units were affected by the recall. The company had received 272 reports of the adapters becoming loose, overheating, and melting into the GPU. While no injuries were reported, there were at least $74,500 worth of property damage claims.
The adapters were sold via CableMod.com, Amazon.com, and other websites between February and December last year at a price of around $40.
The company offered affected customers a full refund, including the cost of shipping, or a $60 store credit. CableMod is a manufacturer based in China.
