Sadly, from time to time, you will come across a product that just doesn’t make the cut in the real world, leading to some form of recall. Possibly something that wasn’t tested fully before launch or not tested hard enough. In this case, maybe a little bit of both. This round, Anker is having to recall a number of power banks of a specific model due to fire risks, totalling over 40,000 units.
The model in question is the Anker 535 Power Bank (PowerCore 20K), which apparently suffers a risk of the lithium-ion batteries inside overheating both during charge and use. This can lead to a potential fire and thus they have been pulled from shelf and the company is recalling what’s out there.
Anker describes the issue is due to a “manufacturing condition” affecting a “small number” of anker 535 Power Banks. This is likely why you can still find other models within the 535 series as still available from retailers.
There have already been a number of reports surrounding this model where the batteries have overheated, causing harm to one consumer (per the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission).
Thankfully, Anker has posted a page dedicated to the recall, breaking the process down into steps to make it easy for customers to seek a refund. The batteries do not need to be sent back to the company (the last thing you need is a bunch of fire risk batteries running through the mail). It appears the company is responding with genuine concern and speed to the situation.
As mentioned, this will happen from time to time. Especially with so many products featuring lithium-ion batteries now. Similar to the popular crisis that affected the Samsung Note in 2016, or a recall HP made over its laptops back in 2017, this can happen to any company.
Just recently, we had a Vantop action camera that expanded and burst during charge because its battery overheated. Thankfully, it was on a durable metal surface and not inside of the building (or in one of our pockets). Hours later, the action camera was still noticeably hot to the touch. So no matter how amazing (or durable) these devices can be, a certain level of care should always be used when handling or charging them.
