Dell Laptop Battery Recall

Faulty Batteries Or Compatibility Issues?

Dell laptop battery recall program is by far the largest of its kind in the history of Dell.

4.1 million batteries for laptop computers were recalled over concerns of overheating and catching fire. In the history of U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission, Dell's was the largest recall involving electronic or electrical products.

The seeds of this huge dell laptop battery recall program were sown, when an internet site on technology industry posted the photos of a Dell laptop amidst flames in an Osaka conference. The Li-Ion laptop batteries manufactured by Sony Corp., used by Dell have caught fire on more than one occasion.

Battery packs consist of a number of cells placed inside it. The cells are made by rolling metal strips. According to Sony Corp., during manufacturing, crimping the rolls left tiny shards of loose metal in the cells. Those shards can cause short circuit in batteries and in extreme cases may lead to fire.

But then, question that arises over here is what about the other laptop manufacturers including Sony that make use of Sony batteries?

Lenovo made it clear that they use Sony batteries for certain models, but their laptops do not stand a chance of catching fire. They have their own technology in place to take care of overheating or any other potential fire hazard. Same with Sony Vaio models, which have safety measures to avoid any such danger, if one has to go by Sony Corp’s views.

This gives a new direction to the issue. There could be some problem with the way Dell is integrating the batteries with its machines. For the time being Dell has volunteered to replace the battery of affected models. Some of the Latitude, Inspiron, Precision and XPS models are affected.

For a consumer it's a two step process to verify if his/her laptop falls into the category of affected models. The Dell official site enlists the models which were sold with the potentially affected batteries. First you need to verify if your battery model falls into any of the category.

Go through the following steps to ensure your qualification for the dell laptop battery recall program.

• Step I: Check the part number of your laptop battery. It's printed at the back of the battery pack. Now verify if your battery model belongs to any of the categories mentioned in the Dell site. If you do not find your model enlisted then you do not qualify for the Dell laptop battery recall program.
• Step II: Check if your specific battery is affected. This can be done by following some easy steps as recommended in the Dell site.

The Dell laptop battery recall program reinforced the commitment of Dell towards consumer safety.

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