After a U.S. government agency received 13 reports of battery fires, including one that caused a "serious burn" to the user's leg, Best Buy has decided to recall thousands of replacement batteries for Apple's MacBook Pro laptops.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Wednesday that "consumers should stop using this product" because "the battery can catch fire while charging." The culprit product is ATG lithium-ion batteries and Best Buy is recalling about 5,100 of them.
Those batteries being recalled are both the black and white ATG replacement batteries forMacBook Pro computers. Model number "MC-MBOOK13B" is on the label of the black battery and model number "MC-BOOK13W" is on the label of the white battery.
Lithium-ion batteries have a tendency to overheat and even catch fire. As they've become more widely used over the years, they've been involved in several dangerous incidents. A man wasseverely burned in February when his Samsung mobile device spontaneously set ablaze in his pants pocket; and, in 2009, a man was killed by his exploding phone severing his neck artery.
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"After receiving reports from customers of these lithium ion batteries overheating when charging, we believe the right thing to do is to contact our customers and ask them to return the product for replacement or for a Best Buy gift card," Best Buy told Gizmodo. "While we are only one of many companies that may have sold these batteries, we feel they are a potential fire and burn hazard and want to keep our customers safe."
Best Buy wasn't the only retailer selling the ATG batteries, so MacBook Pro owners should double-check that their computers are safe from these potential fire hazards.
CNET contacted Best Buy for comment. We'll update the story when we get more information.
Via the Associated Press.
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