Apple's Battery Recall

After last week's recall of 4.1 million Sony-made lithium-ion batteries by Dell (see our past report), it's now Apple's turn to do the same. Today Apple announced a voluntary recall of 1.8 million lithium-ion batteries.

About 1.1 million laptops sold within the U.S. are affected, with an additional 700,000 units sold abroad or online. The laptops containing the recalled batteries were sold in October 2003 through August 2006, Apple said.

The affected notebooks include the 12-inch iBook G4, the 12-inch PowerBook G4, and the 15-inch PowerBook G4. The model number of the iBook is A1061, with battery serial numbers including ZZ338 through ZZ427, 3K429 through 3K611, and 6C510 through 6C626. For the 12-inch PowerBook G4, the model number is A1079, with the affected battery numbers listed as ZZ411 through ZZ427 and 3K428 through 3K611. For the 15-inch PowerBook G4, the affected models are the A1078 and the A1148l, with the battery numbers listed as 3K425 through 3K601, 6N530 through 6N551, and 6N601.

Affected Mac-users should stop using the recalled batteries immediately and contact Apple to arrange for a replacement battery, free of charge. After removing the recalled battery from their iBook or PowerBook, they should plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives.

For answer to more questions, call Apple at 800-275-2273.