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Facepalm: If you picked up an Anker Bluetooth speaker from Amazon last year, you’ll want to check if it’s affected by a recent safety recall. The company is pulling specific models off shelves due to potential battery issues that could cause overheating, smoke, and even small fires.
Anker has recalled its Soundcore A3102 speaker (the black model only) and the AnkerWork A3302 PowerConf S3 speakerphone device. The affected model numbers are A3102016, A3302011, and A3302031. These gadgets ranged from $28 to $130 on Amazon last year.
On Thursday, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission noted that Anker received 33 reports of incidents involving the overheating of lithium-ion batteries in these speakers. Consumers experienced devices smoking or catching fire. Although the fires were small, there was one minor burn injury related to an overheated unit.
The CPSC warned that the speakers pose a real “fire hazard” and advised owners to stop using them immediately, power them down, and unplug them from any power sources.
– US Consumer Product Safety Commission (@USCPSC) December 5, 2024
Anker estimates it sold around 69,000 faulty speaker models in the US and another 9,764 units in Canada through Amazon last year. Consumers may have purchased a limited number of Soundcore A3102 speakers through early June 2024.
The Chinese company traced the problem to “manufacturing conditions” with specific speaker batches produced in March and April 2023. Newer Soundcore models, such as the red and blue color variants and the Soundcore 2 and 3 speakers, do not appear to be affected by these issues.
If you own one of the recalled speakers, Anker has launched official recall sites with instructions on identifying the affected model numbers and requesting a free replacement unit. Amazon and Anker have already notified known purchasers about the issue. However, if you have not been contacted but suspect you might have an affected device, enter its serial number on Anker’s website to see if you need to request a replacement.
Anker isn’t alone in this problem. Earlier this month, Audio-Technica had to caution its customers about a potential overheating problem affecting specific batches of its affordable 2024 earbuds model.
