HP is reportedly recalling some laptops for change batterys. Essentially, HP has responded immediately to reports that some batteries in some models are overheating. So the company figured it's better to be safe than sorry.
This seems to be an annual delivery for HP. 2016, the company revoked 41.000 laptop batteries after overheating reports. Then 2017, HP recalled 101.000 batteries for the same reason. This year, the number of laptop batteries recalled is about 50.000.
According to HP, recalled batteries "have the potential to overheat and cause a fire hazard." The company bases its conclusion on eight reports related to melting or battery damage, one of which led to extensive damage to the computer and another reported first-degree burns.
Affected products are HP Probook 64x (G2 and G3), HP ProBook 65x (G2 and G3), HP x360 310 G2, HP ENVY m6, HP Pavilion x360, HP 11 notebook computers, and HP ZBook (17 G3, 17 G4, and Studio G3) mobile workstations. All computers were released between December 2015 and December 2017.
Hewlett Packard claims that this recall only affects it "0,1% of HP systems sold worldwide in the last two years". The revocation is optional, but the company will replace the affected batteries for free.
To find out if your laptop is affected, go to the official company control page and follow the instructions. You will need to download an HP Battery Validation Utility to check if your battery is affected or not.
Let's say it is very good to see companies taking initiatives to protect the security of their customers. However, this is the third consecutive year when Hewlett Packard recalls its batteries, and it's probably time to switch suppliers.
