Who doesn’t love power banks? They’re convenient, generally pretty cheap, they can take your phone from under a day of battery life to double or triple that number without occupying too much space in your backpack or purse, and if you opt for a well-known and reliable brand, they’re (almost always) safe to use.
Unfortunately, just like the actual mobile devices they’re designed to make better, portable chargers can occasionally malfunction, posing a major fire risk due to the lithium-ion battery technology they use. That seems to be the case for a hugely popular Anker PowerCore 1000 product, which you should look to get rid of immediately.
Following 19 reports of fires and explosions (including two minor burn injury cases that fortunately required no medical attention and 11 instances of property damage amounting to more than $60,000), Anker has decided to recall over 1.1 million potentially faulty power banks sold between June 2016 and December 2022 through the company’s official website, as well as Amazon, Newegg, and eBay.
If that’s the case, congratulations, you’re entitled to a $30 Anker.com gift card or a brand-new and (theoretically) non-explosive 10K power bank from the same company. The bad news is you still need to dispose of your old PowerCore 1000 (model A1263) if you don’t want your aforementioned backpack or purse to spontaneously combust.
In order to (safely) do that, you’ll have to find your local municipal household hazardous waste (HHW) collection center and give it a call ahead of time to make sure it accepts recalled lithium-ion batteries.
Now, I realize that 19 unfortunate events in 1.1 million+ products may not sound like much, but if Anker is willing to risk the bad publicity inherently associated with a recall of this magnitude out of an “abundance of caution” for its customers, you should probably make the effort to remove all fire hazards (no matter how small) from your home before you get injured or you damage said home.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian’s passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for ‘adequate’ over ‘overpriced’.
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