Sunday, September 2, 2007

Nokia replaces 46 Million Phone Batteries


Watch your ears, people. Nokia has just issued a warning that the batteries in some—well, make that a lot—of its phones are prone to overheating. About 46 million batteries are suspect, according to the Finnish cell-phone maker.

According to Nokia, its BL-5C batteries, which power about 50 different models of Nokia phones (including the popular N72, N91, and E50 handsets), may overheat while being charged. The phone manufacturer says about 100 cases of battery overheating have been reported worldwide, although none occurred while someone was actually using their phone. Nokia is offering to replace any BL-5C batteries free of charge. While Nokia claims that no injuries have been reported due to overheating batteries, I can only imagine how hot the buggy batteries are getting; my pair of non-Nokia cell phones, which are supposedly A-OK, already get pretty warm while they're charging in their cradles.

So, how can you tell if you've got a bum battery? First, check this page and see if your make of Nokia phone is listed. If it is, then crack open the back cover, find the battery ID number (instructions for finding it are on the same page) and search for it on Nokia's site; a message will pop up if you need to send the battery in for replacement.

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