UK Not Affected By Mass Nokia Charger Recall

Nokia has announced a product recall for 14 million phone chargers, made by a Chinese manufacturer, which could cause an electric shock. Chargers built to fit UK power sockets are not affected.

The recall programme – one of the largest in history – affects the the AC-3E and AC-3U models, made between June 15 and August 9, 2009 and the AC-4U model, made between April 13 and October 25, which have been sold around the world.

The chargers, made by BYD of China, were found to have a tendency to break open, exposing wires inside which could cause a shock if touched when the charger was plugged in. Nokia says it is “not aware” of any injuries, and found the danger itself during “internal tests”. Sources suggest the danger was first reported in the Nettherlands.

The recall does not affect any chargers built for the UK’s distinctive power socket standard, although some UK users may have the chargers, if they bought their phones while abroad. Full details of the affected chargers are on a Nokia site, chargerexchange.nokia.com. China, Brazil and Argentina are also not affected.

Charger and battery recalls have been a feature of recent life in the tech industry, and have sometimes been damaging to the share price of the company involved, although in this instance Nokia has assured the industry that all the costs will be met by the manufacturer, BYD. In 2007, Nokia replaced 46 million batteries after Matsushita-made components overheated.

This summer saw reports of “exploding” iPods, and HP recalled laptop batteries in May, earlier this

eWEEK caught a rumour of this recall last week, and had it vigorously denied by Nokia last week – though possibly our contact was only referring to the UK.

The picture (left), from Nokia’s charger exchange site shows information to look for on the AC-3E charger.