Nokia warning affects 46 million cellphone batteries in Canada & The US

Other / Canada

Source: CBC News  

Nokia issued a product advisory Tuesday, warning that as many as 46 million cellphone batteries could be faulty and pose a risk of overheating.

The advisory applies to BL-5C batteries manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. from December 2005 to November 2006, the Finnish company said. Any BL-5Cs or any other battery type manufactured outside of those dates are not considered a risk.

“Consumers with a BL-5C battery subject to this advisory should note that all of the approximately 100 incidents have occurred while charging the battery,” the Finnish company said. “According to Nokia’s knowledge, this issue does not affect any other use of the mobile device.”

The advisory affects seven models of phone sold in Canada. Five are sold by Rogers and the other two by Fido. The model numbers are:

  • 6620, 3120, 6682, 2610, 6085, 6030, 6670

Nokia was unable to provide specific numbers of how many Canadians may be affected by the advisory, but company spokesperson Keith Nowak said the impact will be minimal since the affected models are not among the more popular units.

“Those models affected by this advisory represent maybe 10 per cent of our Canadian sales volumes,” he said.

Problem identified

Nokia has revealed that in some cases, the affected BL-5C batteries could experience overheating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge. A short circuit in a lithium-ion battery can ignite the flammable liquid inside, or generate even more heat that increases the pressure of the liquid and potentially causes a battery to leak or explode.

Manufacturers take steps to prevent this — all lithium batteries must include a protection circuit that limits voltage and temperature spikes.

However, Nokia also said that any overheating is likely not a serious danger.

“There have been 100 incidents out of 300 million batteries, so there’s not much risk,” Nowak said.

Nowak conceded that the battery defect could damage a phone, although there have been no reports of serious injuries or property damage.

Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan is one of several suppliers that have together made some 300 million BL-5C batteries. The lithium-ion battery is one of 14 different battery types used in Nokia phones.

Spotting an affected product

To determine whether a battery is subject to the advisory, customers must remove the battery from the phone to view certain product information. A Nokia battery will have “Nokia” and “BL-5C” printed on the front. On the reverse is a 26-character battery identification number.

Consumers in the U.S. and Canada should visit the website www.nokia.com/batteryreplacement and enter the battery identification number. The website will say whether the battery is affected by the recall. Alternatively, customers can contact Nokia via the following numbers: In the U.S., 1-888-259-4399; in Canada 1-888-226-6542.

Nokia said it will swap any affected batteries for free.


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