Nokia-branded batteries at risk of overheating -- 46 million devices affected

Here we go again kids. After all those notorious fires related to the batteries used by the world's largest handset manufacturer, Nokia has issued a product advisory for the BL-5C, Nokia-branded battery. That's right, Nokia branded, not just those third-party knockoffs everyone had been pointing the finger at previously. A staggering 46 million batteries in fact, all manufactured by Matsushita (aka, Panasonic) between December 2005 and November 2006, are said to be at risk of "dislodge." According to the release, "in very rare cases" the Nokia-branded BL-5C batteries could short circuit leading to an explosive burn. Nokia goes on to say that the danger only exists while charging the battery and of the 100 or so reported incidents, "no serious injuries or property damage have been reported." Oh really? So the loss of a leg no longer constitutes serious injury? The BL-5C is one of just 14 different batteries used in Nokia products so be sure to check the list below to see if your phone is one of the 52 Nokia handsets affected. If you're unlucky (or lucky, depending upon your viewpoint) enough to be affected, then Nokia will provide a replacement battery free of charge.

Update: We just received word from Nokia that the "overheating" referred to in their advisory will not result in an explosion or even a fire. At worst, batteries will "overheat, expand, and pop out of the phone (due to the expansion of the battery)." Of course, it states right on the battery that it "may explode if damaged" and "do not short circuit" so this little clarification likely won't make you feel any better now will it?

Read -- Product advisory for BL-5C battery
Read -- List of affected Nokia phones and Battery IDs

[xlandaux @ Aug 14th 2007 4:54AM]

the 2nd link is broken :(

[simplyjas @ Aug 14th 2007 5:00AM]

The 2nd link doesn't work...

[paccoast2010 @ Aug 14th 2007 5:01AM]

So when will Sony start recalling their cell phone batteries?

Guys, don't put your cell phones in your front pockets!

[Zeus the God @ Aug 14th 2007 6:51AM]

When will Sony start recalling their PS3s. No one knows...

[iamdigitalman @ Aug 14th 2007 5:02AM]

aww, you gotta be shitting me. Just purchased a 1100 with a BL-5C. I just ran it through, and FORTUNATELY, it's not on the list. Still, I will keep an eye on it, as the battery arrived fully charged to my door, but it's getting low, and I might have to stick it on the charger in a few days. 5+ days out of a battery, not bad.

[cromas @ Aug 14th 2007 11:09AM]

I am so confused that everyone is complaining that their battery is included in the recall. OEM batteries are usually ridiculously expensive. Am I the only one who feels lucky to be getting a brand-new, Nokia-ships-first battery for a phone I purchased almost a year ago? Absolutely free? Woo hoo!

[andrew harrison @ Aug 14th 2007 5:19AM]

I have two 2100s in my house, one was bought a while ago, and the battery in that one is fine.

The other was bought about 18 months ago, and the battery needs to be replaced.

Form is easy to fill out, and luckily I have a good battery that I can use until the replacement arrives.

[ben w @ Aug 14th 2007 7:31AM]

My mothers 6100 or something (the budget one with a camera or bluetooth but not both) wouldn't turn on. Maybe this is why.

[shawn @ Aug 15th 2007 6:50PM]

I have the same model and it will not turn on. But the battery is a bl4c so i dont no.

[RaindancerAU @ Aug 14th 2007 7:56AM]

Please note on the Nokia serial number checking site:

The validation code for the form only checks:
1 - you have entered a 26 character long string
2 - if that string matches one of the 46 million that are being recalled

It DOES NOT check that you have entered a valid serial number. Enter your number incorrectly and you may get a message that your battery is not affected.

For example you could enter 123456878901234567890123456 - which will not match ANY BLC5 serial number and the message will be that your battery is not affected.

Very poor form.

[nDee @ Aug 14th 2007 10:31AM]

Stupid but it works.

[Mr. Private @ Aug 14th 2007 12:59PM]

I would like to see someone post a serial number that actually registers the message that 'your battery is affected'. This form sucks big time for the reasons stated above and that Nokia has capital O's and zeros in their serial numbers... so a huge chance of entering the wrong serial number exists. Is Nokia trying to replace as few batteries as possible? I think so!

[cromas @ Aug 15th 2007 4:57AM]

From what I can tell, there's only one letter in the whole serial number, the first character of the second line. Shouldn't be an issue.

Also I just got a service SMS from SoftBank here in Japan -- they are simply sending me a new battery because they know I bought a Nokia N71 from them a year ago. No questions asked, no serial numbers sent. I wish companies back in the States would learn customer service someday...

[foxdude0486 @ Aug 14th 2007 9:20AM]

Phew, mines a BL-4C...

[JoeX @ Aug 14th 2007 10:26AM]

Me too. That was lucky. I started with Nokia eight years ago and they've always worked well for me.

[hackmiester @ Aug 14th 2007 4:49PM]

BL-6C here...

[xlandaux @ Aug 15th 2007 1:35PM]

BLC-2 still kickin' it!

[paperless @ Aug 14th 2007 9:41AM]

My cousin has a bl-5c battery that has the exact same problems but she cant get a replacement because hers was manufactured in china and is not among the matsuhita-made or whatever its called.

[JoeX @ Aug 14th 2007 10:32AM]

Interesting. The picture of the BL-5C that Engadget is using shows that it is made in Japan.

My BL-4C says:
Cell made in Korea, Further processed in China.

[paperless @ Aug 14th 2007 10:36AM]

I have a BL-5C on my mobiley as well but it was made in hungary and has no problems whatsoever (Europe ftw :P)

[DEEZNUTZ @ Aug 14th 2007 10:01AM]

And so it begins... the uprising of the machines.

Prepare for war people.

[karl @ Aug 14th 2007 10:57AM]

Argh, I have one that isn't affected, apparently. If it was, I would have been worried. I use my phone as my alarm clock, and charge it mere inches from my face every night (I have trouble waking up).

Still, I'll be double-checking the recall site!

[sheldon robidoux @ Aug 16th 2007 12:22AM]

You mentioned having trouble waking up. I used to set several alarms but sometimes would sleep through them anyway. Solution? Across the room I have a table lamp on a timer. The lamp comes on full about 1 hr in advance of any alarms. No noise or music, but it registers with the brain. Generally I'm up with the 1st alarm and occasionally earlier. It seems to help just about anytime, but works even better in winter when it stays dark so late. I read something similar in a study about how light helps to synchronize peoples'internal clock - and how some of us are pretty out of sync in the absence of it.

[eckndu @ Aug 14th 2007 12:05PM]

i think it's time to realize that those made in japs aren't good anymore...

[Torben @ Aug 14th 2007 12:08PM]

They expand alright, I'll post a pic of one of mine when I get home.

[Magnus @ Aug 14th 2007 1:06PM]

Yet again Engadget manages to complete blow things out of proporption. Instead of 'waiting' for these batteries to explode and count their losses, Nokia decides to act responsible and issue this recall for those who want the replacement.

Furthermore, linking this news of yours to a case of a man in Bangkok who had the misfortune of having an accident with his phone is just so blatant. There was no evidence that there was an original Nokia battery in that phone, still you make this look like everyone using Nokia phones are in danger of having their heads blown off!

Stop causing panic and tell it like it is, there are no reports that this malfunction will cause any serious damage to anyone or anything!

[anonymouspimp @ Aug 14th 2007 1:32PM]

LOL, you beat me to it... Thomas Ricker even writes:

"We just received word from Nokia that the "overheating" referred to in their advisory will not result in an explosion or even a fire. At worst, batteries will "overheat, expand, and pop out of the phone (due to the expansion of the battery)." Of course, it states right on the battery that it "may explode if damaged" and "do not short circuit" so this little clarification likely won't make you feel any better now will it?"

Well... most batteries say "may explode if damaged" and "do not short circuit." But only a truly professional, un-biased journalist can spin those two separate statements to read: "If you short circuit this thing, it'll burn your friggin' leg off just like what happened to that one guy in Bangkok!"

So basically... yes... Nokia's clarification that their customers should not be worried about exploding batteries SHOULD make everyone feel better.

[Timerider @ Aug 14th 2007 2:23PM]

Luckly my battery is BL-6C.

[lyautey @ Aug 14th 2007 2:45PM]

mine is affected, they're sending a new one along with instructions on how to send them back the old one

[Micky C @ Aug 14th 2007 3:02PM]

Please go to the link
www.nokia.com/batteryreplacement
to check if your BL-5C needs replacement. I have a BL-5C installed and it didnt need replacement.

[SaeidA.com @ Aug 14th 2007 3:34PM]

I had two BL-5C batteries for my Nokia 6680, and the one im using (on the site it said Nokia will not replace). But the second one it said Nokia will issue a replacement (they will ship it ANYWHERE in the world, and that you have to agree to send it back in for correct disposel)....

So i guess im one of those 46 million ppl... out of 300 million. i feel special

[Japala @ Aug 14th 2007 4:45PM]

Oh this is why I wrote the article on how to replace the BL-5C with more powerfull BL-6C back in 2005. ;)

http://metku.net/index.html?path=mods/6600/index_eng

[Jeffrey0 @ Aug 14th 2007 5:40PM]

How can they say no property damage has been reported?

[picovies @ Aug 14th 2007 10:47PM]

Just bought the discontinued nokia 1100. My battery is on the replacement list. Lucky me.
Yes, I agree that engadget should contact the picture owner.

[Rex @ Aug 15th 2007 8:03AM]

um, that is definately a photoshop, isn't it engadget? and btw my family all have nokia, all bl-5c, and funnily, none are in the effected list, are u sure the form works properly? i know i should be happy, but still, reading all those comments about the form makes me feel, um weird

[Sakana @ Aug 15th 2007 6:19PM]

Hello,

The administrator of this post can contact me by mail asap please.
I'm the author of the photography you use in this article without any authorization.
I don't give you any right to publish and modify my composition.

I already make screenshot and copy of this article. If you don't contact me, I will assert my right.

S.

[Jonathan @ Aug 14th 2007 9:38PM]

I really want to hear what engadget has to say to this... you better write a post about it because it sounds quite exciting! (dare I say even more interesting than the original article??)

[Faberdo Jones @ Aug 15th 2007 7:15PM]

I have a Nokia 6030 and have the battery BL - 5C and I have not had any problems with my cell phone will charging it. *Note I avoid charging anything for long periods of time because if you think about it it makes sense that the battery might overheat while charging it in rare cases.

Anyway Im going to get a new battery by replacing it for free thanks, Nokia.

[Airs @ Aug 16th 2007 12:54AM]

You can check out Nokia's official advisory on this at:

http://www.nokia.com/batteryreplacement/en/

[naatamam @ Aug 16th 2007 5:58PM]

hi
verey good NEWS
tanks

http://naatamam.blogfa.com/post-1513.aspx

[Sakana @ Aug 21st 2007 8:58AM]

I'm still waiting for the author to contact me.

S.

[Ashok Bhatta @ Aug 21st 2007 8:46PM]

Please send me one piece of good (not damaged) battery.

[knnival_ @ Aug 24th 2007 9:26PM]

wtf?!?!?

[-=XilE=- @ Aug 25th 2007 3:52PM]

Uhmm.. I have two of the Nokia batteries . Both of them contain around 4-5 0's or O's.. it's hard to make out :S I'm really hoping i get a new battery as my current one lasts for only about 1½ hour of talking.
Anyway, I can't get the correct result on that site because of the 0's (or O's). My batteries are made in China and Hungary. Are only the ones made in Japan probable to explode?

[AverageFury @ Aug 31st 2007 5:51AM]

New battery received!

It's lighter than the original one and better (1050mah vs 850mah)

[hersh @ Sep 11th 2007 11:22AM]

well the battery in focus is BL-5C and what this post didn't mention is incidents of explosion in Nokia's largest market India. Over past few weeks Indian channels have flashed various ews of battery explosion and in one instance the explosion was so loud it could be heard a mile away. A few users have been minorly injured.
With all bogus promises of replacement, Nokia dealers didn't do any favours by turnng away knocking scared customers.

hersh bhardwaj

[SHAIK FARIED @ Oct 24th 2007 8:30AM]

Hi,

Greetings of the Day!!
My Battery is belongs to Nokia BL-5C battery, My No BL-5C Nokia No is 0670400363563N023212810345
I got a message that my battery will be replaced.
and i filled the contact information,

Please confirm, when i received the New Battery and when i send my old battery..

My Address is : D.No: 18-7-10, Kummari Street, Maharanipeta (post), Visakhapatnam-530002(Andhra Pradesh) Indi