Lenovo recalls fire-hazard mains cables

Lenovo has announced a product safety recall for power supply cables provided with IdeaPad and selected other systems sold world-wide between February 2011 through to June 2012 following reports of overheating, melting and even burning.

In a major global recall which is expected to affect upwards of a million customers, cables which connect between the mains socket and the DC power transformer are being recalled for replacement following reports from consumers regarding overheating, melting of the plastic insulation and even burns. Power cables sold by Lenovo between February 2011 and June 2012 anywhere in the world, mainly with new IdeaPad and other systems but also sold as extras and replacements, are affected by the recall.

The recall affects the company's entire range of IdeaPad system sold between the two dates, along with selected Lenovo B, G and V series laptops. All affected cables are recognisable by the code LS-15 being stamped into the end which connects to the DC transformer block, although not all such marked cables are faulty: the company's official recall site walks the user through formal identification of faulty parts, including matching part numbers and manufacturing date codes.

The recall appears identical to one issued by Hewlett Packard back in August, in which six million faulty mains cables - identified, as with Lenovo's recall, by the code LS-15 and sold between September 2010 and June 2012 - were recalled due to fire hazards.

Full details of Lenovo's recall are available on the official website.