Nokia issues battery recall

Nokia today recalled 46 million batteries powering some of its most popular phone models, saying the batteries in questions have experienced overheating problems.

Nokia said in approximately 100 instances the batteries, all manufactured by Japanese electronics giant Matsushita, short circuited while charging them, causing them to overheat and dislodge from their phones. Though no injuries or property damage were reported during any of the incidents, Nokia has decided to issue a general recall replacing the batteries free of charge.

The batteries in question carry the product number BL-5C used in more than 50 of its phone models produced over the last several years. But Nokia cautioned not all batteries with that label are subject to recall. While 300 million batteries were made by multiple manufacturers, Nokia is recalling only the 46 million made by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006.