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Anker Recalls Model 535 Power Bank Due to Fire Risk
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YEP. I burnt myself on one last month (I was fine but damn it was like touching an oven). I was lucky it was only plugged in for 5 minutes. It melted and I was on vacation. They replaced it and refunded it. I haven’t used the replacement. No thank. It could’ve burnt down the hotel room I was in or ruined my laptop. I’m avoiding all Anker stuff now. Had to run to an Apple Store and bought an Apple dual charger for my iPhone, iPad and computer before my cruise.
Was going to say ... lol. Anker is a pretty respected brand name. It's been around for awhile. Their products are pretty good. (And I didn't get paid or get paid to say this). I also frequent these forums and haven't seen it here, so not sure where "almost everyone" is coming from. lol.
I wonder how relevant these power banks are today. Back when I had a Nexus 5 and a Nexus 7 I used to carry an Anker power bank around in my bag everywhere I went, because devices back then didn't last all day.
Now, the devices I take with me last long enough that there's no point. My 14" MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, iPhone 14PM, Kindle, they just don't need a charge during the day.
I don't even take my MacBook's charger with me because everywhere at work runs on USB-C docking stations. All I carry is the 20watt wall plug, and 1 USB-C cable, and 1 lightning cable as a backup. Weighs almost nothing, and I almost never use it. I could probably turf them out of my bag as well.
I know some people still need them, but it wouldn't surprise me if most people don't anymore.
Now, the devices I take with me last long enough that there's no point. My 14" MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, iPhone 14PM, Kindle, they just don't need a charge during the day.
I don't even take my MacBook's charger with me because everywhere at work runs on USB-C docking stations. All I carry is the 20watt wall plug, and 1 USB-C cable, and 1 lightning cable as a backup. Weighs almost nothing, and I almost never use it. I could probably turf them out of my bag as well.
I know some people still need them, but it wouldn't surprise me if most people don't anymore.
Can someone explain to me what happened with Anker and why the consensus has become negative these days?
I used to buy Anker cables but I just stick to OEM Apple or Belkin these days anyway. I bought a battery bank from Mophie instead recently too.
I’m just surprised because a few months ago everybody was positive about Anker?
I used to buy Anker cables but I just stick to OEM Apple or Belkin these days anyway. I bought a battery bank from Mophie instead recently too.
I’m just surprised because a few months ago everybody was positive about Anker?
They’ve been getting some bad press. People are quick to change their minds about something but I don’t see any change in the quality of their charging products. I don’t know about all the other things they make.
Most of the bad press I’ve seen is from their camera brand, Eufy. I think that’s where some of the Chinese spy comments are coming from. They’ve have some significant privacy issues with how they’re handling customer data. I would not recommend their cameras until something big changes and they get their stuff together.
People are jumping on this recall, but every company has recalls. What’s important is they’ve taking this seriously and are doing the recall.
good grief years of Anker products failing or not working right. I have my expensive lighting cable broken AGAIN after a replacement was sent within the year. This recall is no shock that overall quality, Quality control seems to be less than before. Dont care anymore.CS is a nightmare at times. They are too big and can't keep up with all the items they sell.
Well, I am, I don't buy their crap anymore. years of having items break or fail within a year.
I have mixed feelings about Anker. Their products have always been great for me and their customer service went above and beyond and even sent me free stuff to compensate for my trouble.
That being said I got their AnkerMake 3D Printer (ordered through Kickstarter in like March of last year before these recent troubles) and while it’s been great for me I’ve been reading about a lot of people having problems with it. “Ok, should be not a big deal it’s a brand new device category from them,” I thought. What worries me is how many people are complaining about how terrible their customer service has been. Lots of people are being ignored, can’t even get a response, or it takes weeks to get any parts shipped. They also have no replacement parts available for sale, and these things have been in consumer hands since late October/early November.
Makes me think that Anker is no longer the company it once was. Makes me wonder if once it got big enough it was taken over from the inside. There is so much corruption and censorship and control happening. We really need to stop doing business.
That being said I got their AnkerMake 3D Printer (ordered through Kickstarter in like March of last year before these recent troubles) and while it’s been great for me I’ve been reading about a lot of people having problems with it. “Ok, should be not a big deal it’s a brand new device category from them,” I thought. What worries me is how many people are complaining about how terrible their customer service has been. Lots of people are being ignored, can’t even get a response, or it takes weeks to get any parts shipped. They also have no replacement parts available for sale, and these things have been in consumer hands since late October/early November.
Makes me think that Anker is no longer the company it once was. Makes me wonder if once it got big enough it was taken over from the inside. There is so much corruption and censorship and control happening. We really need to stop doing business.
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Wait, I’m confused here. Their customer service went above and beyond for you and their products have always been great to include the printer that you said you read about people having problems but never had problems yourself.
So all of your experiences have been positive, but since you’ve read other people say they had bad experiences that causes you to have negative feelings.
It just seems like everyone is jumping on the I dislike Anker bandwagon because someone else said to do it. They like the products but everyone saying it’s bad so so it must be bad. i’ve heard of social pressure when it comes to iPhone versus android but I’ve never heard of social pressure about charging product brands. This is a very interesting topic to me.
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The Anker USB3 hubs I purchased and have used for years are still quite functional and are daisy chained to connect all of my USB-A devices to my 16” M1 MBP via one cable, but if they break, boy oh boy I’ll be mad too!
Quality standards of Anker should improve. Was not expecting this.
Say what you will about Anker as a company as a whole, but I think most of the "screw Anker" commentary is really coming from the Eufy camera security debacle.
Obviously I have no knowledge of the internal structure of the company, but it's not uncommon for disparate entities (e.g. power and charging versus security cameras) to be completely separate, independent teams that have little to no interaction with each other. So while the camera brand is definitely tarnished, I would say that's not necessarily a reason to automatically discredit the entire company.
If you own a Samsung washing machine and it fails, you probably won't immediately say "my Samsung phone also now sucks". Or even Apple - if you have an issue with iCloud, you won't immediately say "look at how awful my MacBook Pro is".
Anyway, I do wonder what caused that battery fire. For them to say that "nothing else in the suitcase could have started a fire" isn't actually conclusive. For example, suppose a metal zipper just happened to be in the right place to slip into the USB connector - even with short-circuit protection, that could have caused a small spark that ignited some fabric which in turn eventually overheated the battery. Or suppose there were very heavy objects on top of the battery that placed undue stress on the cells. Or suppose the suitcase was stored near a heat register and was just unusually warm to begin with. Sure, the battery may have propagated the fire, but spontaneous combustion is not necessarily what started it.
(Yes, you can argue that a "premium" brand should have better short-circuit protection, a stronger case that can withstand pressure, and even more thermal cutoffs. And I won't disagree totally. But most of what I'm seeing here seems to be "Anker batteries self-combust, thus they suck." Anker does not manufacture lithium batteries, so it may not even have been an issue of their own doing - could have been a bad batch from the supplier. And even even Apple products have been observed bursting into flame, or that one incident of a kid who burned her mouth sticking a charge cable in her mouth... Basically, a few isolated battery incidents really shouldn't be enough to write off a company as "bad".)
Obviously I have no knowledge of the internal structure of the company, but it's not uncommon for disparate entities (e.g. power and charging versus security cameras) to be completely separate, independent teams that have little to no interaction with each other. So while the camera brand is definitely tarnished, I would say that's not necessarily a reason to automatically discredit the entire company.
If you own a Samsung washing machine and it fails, you probably won't immediately say "my Samsung phone also now sucks". Or even Apple - if you have an issue with iCloud, you won't immediately say "look at how awful my MacBook Pro is".
Anyway, I do wonder what caused that battery fire. For them to say that "nothing else in the suitcase could have started a fire" isn't actually conclusive. For example, suppose a metal zipper just happened to be in the right place to slip into the USB connector - even with short-circuit protection, that could have caused a small spark that ignited some fabric which in turn eventually overheated the battery. Or suppose there were very heavy objects on top of the battery that placed undue stress on the cells. Or suppose the suitcase was stored near a heat register and was just unusually warm to begin with. Sure, the battery may have propagated the fire, but spontaneous combustion is not necessarily what started it.
(Yes, you can argue that a "premium" brand should have better short-circuit protection, a stronger case that can withstand pressure, and even more thermal cutoffs. And I won't disagree totally. But most of what I'm seeing here seems to be "Anker batteries self-combust, thus they suck." Anker does not manufacture lithium batteries, so it may not even have been an issue of their own doing - could have been a bad batch from the supplier. And even even Apple products have been observed bursting into flame, or that one incident of a kid who burned her mouth sticking a charge cable in her mouth... Basically, a few isolated battery incidents really shouldn't be enough to write off a company as "bad".)
in exchanged for a good review? this happens a lot on amazon with Chinese companies, if you leave a negative review , they contact you offering a refund and keep the item asking you to change your review...
I always ignore those requests and the company will send a sob story and increase the amount of bribe offered. An ethical company would give you a refund or replacement and not condition it on the removal of a bad review.
I definitely would not trade a positive review for money or products. That's highly unethical and fortunately I've never been asked to do this. Usually before I buy a product I read lots of reviews, so I generally get what I expected. Even if I got a bad product, I would base my review partlhy on what the customer service did to fix the issue. If I got a charger that was completely dead, and they immediately exchanged it then I would give that a positive review. I definitely would not do it on the condition of getting the exchange though
Isn't this just the nature of Lithium cells?
Hyundai Kona EV, Smart ForTwo Electric, Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid, Volkswagen ID.4s and Chevy Bolt recalls:
arstechnica.com
Why Teslas keep catching on fire:
www.vox.com
Ford F-150 Lightning recall:
www.cnbc.com
laptop battery on a plane recently caught fire:
www.washingtonpost.com
I don't think we know how to make lithium cells yet with a 0% chance of catching fire.
Hyundai Kona EV, Smart ForTwo Electric, Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid, Volkswagen ID.4s and Chevy Bolt recalls:
Multiple recalls spark Fed investigation of LG’s electric car batteries
Five automakers have issued recalls linked to defective lithium-ion cells.
arstechnica.com
Why Teslas keep catching on fire:
Why Teslas keep catching on fire
EVs catch fire far less often than gas-powered cars, but firefighters still need to adapt.
www.vox.com
Ford F-150 Lightning recall:
Ford F-150 Lightning production halt was triggered by vehicle battery fire
The update comes a day after Ford confirmed production of the F-150 Lightning had been suspended over a potential battery issue.
laptop battery on a plane recently caught fire:
Laptop battery fire forces United flight to land, hospitalizes 4
A United flight returned to San Diego airport Tuesday after the crew reported a laptop fire in the cabin, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
www.washingtonpost.com
I don't think we know how to make lithium cells yet with a 0% chance of catching fire.
better report them to amazon CS, they take care of it. I had a problem with the seller when I didn't change the review and tried to get my account banned. Protect yourself
This is alarming. I don't know what's going on at Anker, but they have gone from a great company that you can trust and recommend to all your friends & family to a company you may need to tell your friends & family to avoid.
To be fair they were very good and offered a massive portfolio of great products that were better than the competition. Maybe they have tried to cut corners due to greed and its come back to literally burn them?
Competition has gotten better ?
Most battery packs are horrible. Longevity is bad. They usually do not live up to their rating. Other battery manufacturers are either insanely expensive or no name brands that don’t live up to their ratings.
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