Chromebook 11 Sales Resume After Charger Recall

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Last month, HP's Chromebook 11, which made its debut back in September, was pulled from Google's and HP's online stores as well as Best Buy and Amazon. Presumably, there was something wrong with the Chrome OS laptop, and HP eventually followed up with a statement indicating that some chargers included with the device were damaged due to overheating during use.

"In the meantime, customers who have purchased an HP Chromebook 11 should not use the original charger provided with the product," the HP rep told Techradar. "In the interim they may continue using their HP Chromebook 11 with any other Underwriters Laboratories-listed microUSB charger, for example one provided with a tablet or smartphone. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Google confirmed the halt in sales, saying that it was working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to identify the appropriate corrective action. Now over a month later, both parties are announcing a formal recall of the original charger that came with the Chromebook 11.

"Customers should visit http://chromebook.com/hp11chargerform to request a free replacement charger. We apologize again for the inconvenience this has caused," reads Google's updated blog on Monday. "Your safety is our top priority. With our partner HP, we are resuming sales of the HP Chromebook 11. All new packages will include the replacement charger."

According to the CPSC, Google reportedly received nine reports of overheating and melting. One report claimed property damage thanks to the overheating charger burning a pillow. Another report outlined the charger inflicting a small burn on a consumer.

Customers who purchased the Chromebook 11 before December 1 can order a replacement charger by submitting the online form as linked above. Customers can also call Google at (866) 628-1371 between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. PST. The recall reportedly affects around 145,000 chargers.

Kevin Parrish
3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ericburnby
    So they sold 145,000 in two months. If they keep that stellar sales rate they might hit 1 million in early 2015.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    While there may be 145 000 power supplies potentially affected by the defect, there can be far many more than 145 000 Chromebooks in the wild.

    The adapters that got recalled are likely from a single batch or a batch that contains a particular component that came from a bad batch and only the adapter batches affected by the defect are getting recalled.

    This is why batch numbers, manufacture date, serial number or some other methods of tracing devices back to their manufacturing batch or component batches is necessary - limit recalls to the narrowest scope possible.
    Reply
  • JD88
    12208288 said:
    So they sold 145,000 in two months. If they keep that stellar sales rate they might hit 1 million in early 2015.

    It was only on the market for around a month before sales were halted due to the charger issue.
    Reply