Sony have issued a product recall for around 69,000 power adapters provided with its Vaio range of desktop PCs and docking stations after reports of short circuits.
As reported over on
Gizmodo, the recall affects the VGP-AC19V17 AC adapter provided with the company's VGC-LT series and VGC-JS2 series Vaio all-in-one desktop PCs along with the VGP-PRBX1 and VGP-PRFE1 laptop docking stations.
A weakness in the electrical insulation is blamed in the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's
official recall notice, which is reported to "
fail over time, [and poses] an electrical shock hazard to consumers."
The recall is world-wide, with the CPSC reporting that of the four incidents that were reported to Sony of the insulation failing all were outside the US. Thankfully, there have been no reports of any injuries caused by the flaw so far.
Sony's website is currently hosting a
serial number checker which will allow customers to see if their particular model is affected. If yours is among the bad batch, Sony advise that you "
unplug and discontinue use of the AC power adapter immediately" and return it for a safer replacement.
This isn't the first time a Sony product has been fingered for causing a spark or two: back in September last year the company issued a similar
recall for certain models of Vaio notebooks due to a "
wiring problem," and November of that same year saw
100,000 laptop batteries manufactured by the company being recalled after "
19 reports of the batteries overheating, including 17 reports of flames/fire."
Is your power supply listed among the dangerous, or is Sony just playing it safe with this recall programme? Share your thoughts over
in the forums.
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