Microsoft To Recall Some Surface Pro Chargers Amid Overheating Risk

Microsoft ‘voluntary’ Surface Pro charger recall will be formally revealed later this week, offering owners of Surface Pro, Pro 2 and Pro 3 a new power cord

Microsoft will offer owners of a Surface Pro, Pro 2 or Pro 3 a free replacement charger after it emerged the power cords shipped with the devices are at risk of overheating.

According to Channelnomics, Microsoft is concerned that if cords are “sharply or repeatedly bent” or “tightly wrapped”, they could be a fire hazard. The report claims that instructions on how to acquire a replacement charger will be revealed on Friday with the publication of a special website.

Those who receive a new charger will be advised to throw away their old one, safely and legally. The “voluntary” recall does not impact the Surface Pro 4, which was released late last year.

Read More: Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review

Microsoft Surface Pro recall

Microsoft Surface Pro 3“As a result of damage caused by AC power cords being wound too tightly, twisted or pinched over an extended period of time, a very small proportion of Surface Pro customers have reported issues with their AC power cord,” Microsoft told TechWeekEurope. “We will be releasing details of how customers can obtain a free replacement cable shortly.”

Last year, EE was forced to recall more than a million free power bars it gave to customers as part of a promotion. One customer suffered severe burns after her unit caught fire in the middle of the night, prompting an “urgent investigation”, which found a small number were prone to overheating.

In 2013, HP issued a recall for Chromebook 11 power chargers following overheating reports, while in 2012, Lenovo recalled more than 160,000 of its all-in-one ThinkCentre PCs.

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