CompuWorld

Do you have a laptop? Have you heard about the millions of lithium ion batteries that are being recalled worldwide? If not, you need to get your act together - and fast! Incidents of laptop going up in flames are not isolated to western world only.

What actually is making these lithium ion batteries leak, overheat, or cumbost? Mostly short circuits - the battery heats up and bursts into flames, or melts causing a lot of damage. A lithium ion battery typically contains several cells. These cells are insulated from each other using separators; a short circuit usually happens when a separator fails. With newer gadgets that are more power hungry, the trend is to manufacture smaller yet more powerful batteries - but that is done by decreasing the thickness of separators. That is why there is always a warning on lithium ion batteries about never throwing them in fire or puncturing them.

So who all have joined the battery recall bandwagon? Dell tops the list with 42 lakh batteries recalled. Then comes apple with 18 lakh recalls, Toshiba with 8.3 lakh, IBM/Lenovo with 5.26 lakh, Fujitsu with 2.87 lakh units, Hitachi with 16,000 units and HP with 15,700 units. Sony manufactured most of the batteries and they have there own recall as well; but the number of units to be recalled is not clear. If you have a laptop manufactured with any of these big names, you need to logon to there website, go to the support area and look around for the battery replacement program. You will need to check/enter the serial number and they will tell you whether you laptop battery is 'at risk'. Better safe than sorry!

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Are you really at blame if your laptop battery spontaneously combusts? Firstly, always buy original. Spurious and aftermarket batteries can blow up your laptop faster than you can say 'Worldwide battery recalls'. Secondly, it is best to always switch of your laptop rather than leave it on stand by or hibernate. Thirdly, treat your battery with care - do not keep charging a lithium ion battery before it is discharged. Ideally you should completely drain your battery before a charge. And lastly, remove the battery when you are not going to use the laptop for long periods (over a month).

Related: Lenovo Recalls Laptop Battries.