Replacement of faulty computer batteries

Dell said it had identified a potential issue associated with certain batteries sold with Dell Latitude(tm), Inspiron(tm), XPS(tm) and Dell Precision Mobile Workstation(tm) notebook computers and initiated a battery recall programme in August this year.

In cooperation with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and other regulatory agencies, Dell said it voluntarily recalled certain Dell-branded batteries with cells manufactured by Sony and offered free replacements. Under rare conditions, it was possible for these batteries to overheat, which could pose a risk of fire.

Potentially affected batteries were sold with the following models of Dell notebook computers or provided or sold separately as secondary batteries:

* Latitude: D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810;

* Inspiron: 6000, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 500m, 510m, 600m, 6400, E1505, 700m, 710m, 9400, E1705;

* Dell Precision Mobile Workstations: M20, M60, M70 and M90; and

* XPS: XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170, and XPS M1710.

In addition, these batteries may have also been provided in response to service calls. The batteries were shipped to customers between April 1, 2004 and July 18, 2006. The words Dell and one of the following are printed on the batteries: Made in Japan or Made in China or Battery Cell Made in Japan Assembled in China. In Malta, Intercomp took steps to notify customers that had procured Dell notebooks. It was made clear that battery packs affected by this recall should not be used. Notebook computers can continue to be used by safely turning the system off, ejecting the battery, and using the AC adapter and power cord to power the system until the replacement battery is received.

The initial arrangement was for Dell to ship the replacement batteries directly to the customers however Sony has since been inundated with a huge backlog of battery deliveries as other notebook manufacturers such as Toshiba, Lenovo, Apple, IBM and Fujitsu Siemens also issued battery recall programmes.

Subsequently Dell has modified its strategy in this regard and will now ship replacement batteries direct to its authorised distributor Intercomp for onward delivery to the customers.

A spokesman for Intercomp said: "We have in fact received the first batch of batteries with instructions from Dell to whom to distribute and these have in effect been delivered. The process also includes the retrieval and dispatch of the faulty batteries to Dell. We are now awaiting the next batch of batteries. We apologise to our customers for this inconvenience and we assure them that Dell is doing its utmost to hasten the replacement process in conjunction with Sony."

Customers who may have any additional questions can contact Intercomp technical department on technical@intercomp.com.mt or on 2291 6150/160.