Fujitsu recalls Celsius, Lifebook batteries over fire report

Fujitsu has become the latest in a string of companies to recall devices over fire and burn risks, announcing that battery packs for a small number of its laptops can overheat.

While Fujitsu's recall notice, issued late last week, affects only around 6,500 laptops across North America, the flaw is a serious one: Where rival laptop makers' recent recalls have been carried out following reports of overheating, Fujitsu has confirmed a valid report of a battery fire from a Canadian user. The batteries at fault, Fujitsu explains, are Panasonic-branded lithium-ion packs sold between July 2012 and December 2017 both as a standalone accessory and bundled with the company's various laptops.

Fujitsu's Celsius H720 and Lifebook E752, E733, E743, E753, P702, P772, S710, S752, S762, T732, T734, and T902 laptop models are affected, with batteries bearing the product numbers CP556150-03, CP579060-01, and CP629458-03 being recalled. Not all units of each battery model are affected, however, with the company's official recall notice explaining how to use the serial number printed on each battery to verify whether the device is at risk.

Those who are using affected laptops are advised to power the system off and remove the battery immediately - made possible by Fujitsu's design choice to sacrifice size for field-replaceable batteries - and to contact the company's customer service division for a free replacement. The laptop itself can be used on mains power without the battery fitted, Fujitsu has confirmed.