Apple is recalling 5W USB power adapters that were released mostly in European countries after it was determined that the devices could overheat and put at risk the safety of the user.
The affected adapters came bundled with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S units that were released between October 2009 and September 2012. The adapters were also sold as standalone accessories.
The countries where the affected adapters were released are Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Vietnam.
While the overheating case is rare, Apple determined that a recall should be done to keep customer safety as the comany's foremost priority. Customers who own the defective adapter may have their adapter exchanged for a newer version of the adapter for free.
To determine if the 5W USB adapter is part of the batch that is recalled, Apple customers can check the label between the adapter's prongs. If the "CE" label is solid gray and the model number is A1300, then Apple recommends that the adapter be exchanged for a new one.
To exchange affected adapters, customers can go to any Apple Retail Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider. Customers need to bring the iPhone that the adapter came with as the serial number of the iPhone will be verified first. Customers who will not be able to bring their affected adapters to any participating store for the recall may contact Apple Technical Support to make arrangements for an exchange.
Apple has previously faced overheating issues with their products, including MagSafe adapters, iPads, iPod Nanos and iBooks and PowerBooks batteries. Apple has also previously offered to replace defective chargers, carried out in 2008 for iPhone 3G chargers in the U.S., Canada, Japan and several countries in Latin America.
In November of last year, Apple confirmed that some iPhone 5s users were experiencing battery life issues that made their phones have a much shorter battery life than expected. The problem, due to a manufacturing defect, was surprising as the iPhone 5s promised a longer battery life, lasting 250 hours on standby or 10 hours of regular use, compared to its predecessors. Apple contacted the customers that were having the problem and replaced the affected phones with new ones.
