The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Apple announce the recall of about 128,000 rechargeable batteries for iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 computers. An internal short can cause the battery cells to overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers. Consumers should stop using them immediately.
The recalled lithium ion batteries are used with the following computers: 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch PowerBook G4 and 15-inch PowerBook G4. The recalled batteries include those with model numbers A1061, A1078 and A1079 and serial numbers that begin with HQ441 through HQ507 or 3X446 through 3X510. Consumers should remove the battery from the computer to view the model and serial numbers labeled on the bottom of the unit. No other PowerBook or iBook batteries are involved in this recall.
| Computer model name | Battery model number | Battery serial number range |
|---|
| 12-inch iBook G4 | A1061 | HQ441 – HQ507 |
| 12-inch PowerBook G4 | A1079 | 3X446 – 3X510 |
| 15-inch PowerBook G4 | A1078 | 3X446 – 3X509 |
National and regional resellers, catalogers, and Apple’s online and retail stores sold the computers with the batteries from October 2004 through May 2005 for between $900 to $2300. The batteries also were sold separately for about $130.
Consumers 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, consumers should plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives.
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