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What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?
- IncreasePosts 1y agoI had one of those power banks and someone stole it from my bookbag on the beach. Here's hoping they don't hear about the recall!
- normie3000 1y agoI also had one "borrowed" by a "friend"...
- madars 1y agoThe article doesn't show pictures of the unit itself, focusing on the CT scan, so here's the recall notice: https://www.anker.com/a1263-recall https://www.anker.com/a1263-recall
- lopis 1y agoThat link is redirecting to the home page
- LeifCarrotson 1y agoIt's taking me to the recall page, not sure why it's not working for you. See also the CPSC link: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/More-than-One-Million-Anker-Power-Banks-Recalled-Due-to-Fire-and-Burn-Hazards-Manufactured-by-Anker-Innovations https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/More-than-One-Million-Anke... (Notably, this page mentions "Anker has received 19 reports of fires and explosions. This includes two reports of minor burn injuries not requiring medical attention and 11 reports of property damage totaling over $60,700." Puts it into context! That's not a house, but with numbers like that, I wonder if a couple cars were destroyed.) There's also Anker's product recalls main page: https://www.anker.com/product-recalls https://www.anker.com/product-recalls which adds a few other models with different enclosures but presumably with the same upstream manufacturer to the recall.
- pimlottc 1y agoWorks for me from the US; it may depend on what region you're in.
- k33l0r 1y agoAnker is very bad at handling country/region redirects correctly. If you're not located in the region the link is pointing at, they'll just redirect you to the home page of whatever region they think you should be looking at. This is really annoying when trying to find product information because, for example, the Anker Nordics site doesn't have product pages for all the products they sell in Europe, but they won't let you look at product pages from other regions without some VPN shenanigans.
- xmonkee 1y agoI guess this serves as an ad for Lumafield's x-ray machines. I have no use for one but those scans are stunning.
- nerdsniper 1y agoYes, Lumafield does some of my favorite marketing ever. It adds more (absolute) value to the world than they receive back from it. Their monthly CT scans are some of my favorite small joys: https://www.scanofthemonth.com/ https://www.scanofthemonth.com/ I mean, there's probably very good ROI on this marketing; I'm not saying they're foolish or selfless. Just that it doesn't cost them that much to do, so it's a win-win for everyone.
- ck2 1y agoBut will it blend? actually no let's not blend the lithium, forbidden inhaled powder
- jacquesm 1y agoIt's a liquid.
- jszymborski 1y agoLithium is an (albeit soft) solid at room temp. Im not sure there is risk of it becoming powder in a blender but adding water during the blending process (or at any point) would be the main concern for me.
- jacquesm 1y agoNot in those cells. It's a Lithium salt in a solvent.
- nunez 1y agoInterestingly, I ended up buying a Blendtec blender many years later when I could afford one because of those YouTube videos. They long-since stopped making them when I finally got one.
- reginald78 1y agoFor some reason I received a recall notice for one of these from Amazon but I don't recognize it and could not find any purchases in my order history. I vaguely recall my wife might have bought something like this years ago as a gift for some one else but our accounts aren't linked.
- dylan604 1y agoif the accounts are not linked, how did you receive the recall and not her?
- reginald78 1y agoI can only assume our accounts are linked by address and they do the recall notice (at least) by account address. In other words, they aren't linked but kind of are anyway.
- akazantsev 1y agoThey ignored that the temperature sensor had appeared in the unaffected model.
- esseph 1y agoI imagine there will be a stunning amount of owners that will either: A) Keep using it, even if they do hear about the recall B) Throw it in the trash can
- hammyhavoc 1y agoBoth will ultimately be true for a disturbing percentage.
- wolfi1 1y agohere in Central Europe batteries in the trash can are the cause for massive dumpster fires and explosions (not that often, but there was one just last month, took several days to extinguish the fire [0]) [0]: https://www.theinternational.at/nusdorf%E2%80%90debant-500-firefighters-battle-recycling%E2%80%90plant-blaze/ https://www.theinternational.at/nusdorf%E2%80%90debant-500-f...
- consp 1y agoThis is not just a central europe problem. A bit further west people throw them in the trash as well. Fun and smelly since the garbage truck drivers usually notice it when driving and then dump all trash on the street.
- livid-neuro 1y agoI took mine to an Office Depot that "recycled the battery" for free. The guy at the register printed a receipt for having taken it, then took it from me and walked back into the administrative office by the front of the store. I assume it was to take it home. At least I tried...
- crazygringo 1y agoPlaces like Staples and Office Depot have actual electronics/battery recycling bins they keep in the back. They aren't in front for anyone to drop stuff in because they limit what they will accept. So not sure why you're assuming he would take it home. I mean it's not impossible but I'd assume he was just putting it in their electronics recycling.
- amelius 1y agoDoesn't Anker use x-rays or similar in the production process?
- radicaldreamer 1y agoI doubt it, that’s some Apple level QA that hardly any company does.
- amelius 1y agoThey do it at pcbway ... https://www.pcbway.com/pcb_prototype/Automated_X_Ray_Inspection.html https://www.pcbway.com/pcb_prototype/Automated_X_Ray_Inspect...
- xondono 1y ago> that’s some Apple level QA Are you nuts? X-ray inspection is not that rare, there’s even small assembly houses here (Spain) that can do xray automated inspection. This has been standard for years to the point I’ve been sent forms for assembly houses RFQ where there are checkboxes for xray inspection, and I haven’t handled a serious assembly development in ~4 years. What’s new and they’re advertising here is CT, which is another level.
- kube-system 1y agoLiterally on the same website as this post you'll find testimonials of companies that use CT scanners to find leaks in cosmetics bottles, and to refine the fit of a deodorant cap. https://www.lumafield.com/case-studies/loreal https://www.lumafield.com/case-studies/loreal https://www.lumafield.com/case-studies/case-study-enabling-85-percent-faster-time-to-decision https://www.lumafield.com/case-studies/case-study-enabling-8...
- mrheosuper 1y agoWe only do Xray inspection when doing FA, and not always. They are costly and time consuming.
- amelius 1y ago
- AdmiralAsshat 1y agoAmazon sent me a recall notice about this one, indicating they had it from my purchase history, but oddly I couldn't find it in my own collection of power banks, or in the ones I gave to my wife. I'm worried I might have purchased one for another family member as a gift and not remembered who. The recall is concerning, especially since once they started with the one, they quickly added several more to the list. I've ordered at least 17 Anker products over the last ten years (not all of them power banks). I pay the premium over cheaper external batteries, and I have advised my family in the past to do the same. This is ostensibly because they are supposed to be the guys that don't explode. If I can't even take that for granted, then there's really no reason to maintain customer loyalty. There are countless other, cheaper brands available online from no-name Chinese companies.
- abhorrence 1y agoThey also do recalls. Which I’m certain is more than some cheaper no name brands do.
- lukan 1y agoAnd they might pay from now on closer attention. Expensive lesson learned? For now I don't avoid them, yet. Definitely not switching to a random cinese brand instead.
- lyrrad 1y agoI only buy portable Li-ion batteries from manufacturers with a history of product recalls in my country or directly from major retailers that regularly recall defective products. I also only buy portable battery models that I believe will sell or has sold many thousands of units so any widespread manufacturering defects should become apparent sooner.
- BobbyTables2 1y agoYeah, I see your point, never thought of it that way. Just also darkly hilarious — “I only buy <PRODUCT> with a history of product recalls”. There was a time in which we used to avoid such things…
- yegle 1y agoFWIW this has caused a big storm in China. The root of the issue is known to be caused by the battery cell vendor Amprius changing the battery design w/o notifying the power bank manufacturers. AFAIKT Amprius lost the 3C certification (a certification in China) because of this incident. This is one of the Chinese reports on the issue: https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_31048287 https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_31048287 Excerpt from the report above (translated using Google): > The Paper learned from an insider that Anker Innovations' battery cell supplier is already a leading battery cell supplier in the industry, and did not inform customers after it changed materials. In addition to Anker Innovations, the supplier also cooperates with leading power bank brands, so the impact is huge. Although Anker Innovations did not name the supplier, an insider pointed out that the supplier was Amprius. UPDATE: There's an exclusive interview by 36kr with one of Anker's VPs: https://m.36kr.com/p/3365435892680709 https://m.36kr.com/p/3365435892680709
- brk 1y agoAnker should know better by this point. Changing specs without notifying customers is the basic formula of every Chinese manufacturer. They must have gotten lazy with their internal QA/QC processes and random sampling.
- emeraldd 1y agoOr the changes weren't immediately visible externally.
- nomel 1y agoNo, quality control is never based on external packaging, for anything*, since quality control is about the objective quality of the final product: if you're not measuring it, you're not controlling that parameters quality. For batteries, this includes things like x-ray to verify all the layer geometries and assembly, materials, etc [1]. [1] Battery tester: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3IE3npEcuc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3IE3npEcuc *unless the product is visible external packaging.
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- meemo 1y agoEven though this is a recall, a bad thing, it actually makes me more likely to buy from Anker than a no-name brand on Amazon. Those no-name brands almost definitely have problems like this (or worse), but we rarely hear about them.
- Pxtl 1y agoHonestly, when shopping no-name slop I'm seeking out products that don't have batteries, or at least don't have powerful ones (non-vibrating game controllers are probably pretty safe). One less risk.
- MengerSponge 1y agoI've seen some teardowns and power supplies are another place where the no-name slop is spooky.
- turnsout 1y ago100%... I'm seeking products that take AA or AAA batteries instead of built-in lithium batteries, for the same reason.
- Zak 1y agoI wish more devices took field-replaceable cylindrical Li-ion cells. They're pretty common in flashlights and rare in other products where they would be advantageous.
- p1mrx 1y agoI have a couple devices (LDK portable game console, Sihuadon AM/FM radio) that take a Nokia BL-5C, but ~1000 mAh is fairly small.
- y7r4m 1y agoIt would be awesome if we were able to get more things besides vapes (and apparently some flashlights; I assume there are many niches where they are common) to use 18650 or even 21700 li-ion cells. I see most people I know buy AAs by the pallet and go through them regularly for their controllers, led lights, kids toys, etc.. and few I believe bother to dispose of them correctly. Also, repeating your sentiment, for all the tech gadgets.. bluetooth speakers, I'm looking at you.. why not have replaceable batteries for those? There have to be enough vapers now that the knowledge of this type of battery as distinct from the old alkaline ones has passed into mainstream consciousness. This would be a huge selling feature for me. The reasons I see are that it is because the rechargable li-ion are more dangerous and a fire hazard, but is this really true? As with most anything that can carry a risk if misused, I can find a few dozen instances where a vape battery went awry, but surely the benefits outweigh the concerns? Edit: I do understand the irony of saying this on a post about when they do go boom.
- chmod775 1y agoNote that they have another recall for other models going, though their language for those sounds somewhat less dramatic compared to what they used for the PowerCore 10000. More of a "covering our assess" recall than a "holy shit we might be liable for lots of damage" recall. https://www.anker.com/rc2506 https://www.anker.com/rc2506
- jonhohle 1y agoI had a Powercore III Sense 10K (I think), which doesn’t appear on that list, swell on me recently. It’s one of my newer batteries and I bought from Anker trusting their reputation and past purchases. I purchased their Soundcore earbuds, which failed to charge after a few weeks. I don’t think I have any cables from them anymore as they’ve all failed as quickly (or more quickly) than less expensive options. My current perspective, recall or not, is their quality is no different from the alphabet soup companies selling identical looking (and possibly identical) items. It seems like the overheating issue is “not thier fault,” but part of being a trusted brand isn’t just recalling but vetting suppliers and the components they receive.
- doctorhandshake 1y agoI have a recalled Anker battery sitting on my stoop, lest it burn my house down. Who on earth (NE USA ideally) will accept this for safe disposal / recycling? Normal battery recycling places don’t want a recalled battery, natch. Serious question, pls help
- bethekidyouwant 1y agoWell, the first step is to discharge it and then it’s not gonna burn anybody’s house down
- ethan_smith 1y agoContact your local hazardous waste facility or check with Anker directly at anker.com/a1263-recall as they're required to provide free disposal options for recalled products under CPSC regulations.
- doctorhandshake 1y agoI wish this was a viable solution. Linked page says, effectively ‘you’re on your own’. My municipality has two events coming up - August and late October, both calendar events say ‘no electronics’. I really don’t get how this is supposed to work.
- bluescrn 1y ago
- urbandw311er 1y agoThis should just be an empty web page containing solely the text “We don’t know”.
- mmh0000 1y agoI have two of these powerbanks, one ordered in 2019 and another in 2021. Amazon sent me scary emails saying these things will kill me. Anker's recall site says I'm not affected and the product is safe to use. I'm not sure who to trust, but I've erred on the side of caution and trashed the batteries. Because it's not worth dying in a fire over $30 in batteries.
- consp 1y agoBrought them to a special pickup/disposal point? Cause otherwise they will light on fire somewhere else.
- gosub100 1y agoThe scary thing is you can't put the fire out with water. Your only option is to run.
- devmor 1y ago> Your only option is to run. That is not true. Please don't spread misinformation that could lead to deaths or people losing everything they own. You can put out a Lithium battery fire with a class-D fire extinguisher. If you don't have one available, you can isolate the burning battery by surrounding it with sand or other inert, dry substances to keep it from spreading until the fire department arrives with proper equipment to dispose of or extinguish it.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- gosub100 1y agoYou forgot having a fume hood, or halon foam system. Or just a silver heat resistant suit and SCBA. Please don't hold back on the pedantry and "you can"s. People might miss these valuable options and not know they can just coexist with the lithium fire right next door!
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- muratsu 1y agoI think the CT scan tech is cool and the article is written nicely but I don't get the point of this article. Seems like if Anker were using the CT scanner, they still wouldn't be able spot the change. I'm confused.
- BobbyTables2 1y agoThe article authors didn’t want to physically destroy 5 products just to see if anything changed. Would you want to tear down Lithium batteries??? It’s slightly hazardous…
- quietbritishjim 1y agoThe article authors sell 3d scanning products, so a more plausible explanation is that the whole point of the article is to promote that.
- eqvinox 1y agoNice CT scans, but how about just disassembling the powerbanks? The busbar would be plainly visible…
- godelski 1y agoFirst off, I love Luma Field. Always incredible to see what's going on inside things. Even just fun to scroll through their Twitter. Second, Anker is one of the few companies I actually have a very high trust for. A few years back I bought a wall charger[0] from them, it has 2 USB-C and a Type A. A month in, one of the Type-C ports wouldn't charge if the other port was being used. If you send a support ticket they annoyingly give you a response with very basic trouble shooting. But if you respond to that you get a person. They just sent me a new one right away (<10 days) and there was no need to return the charger or anything. So I still use it, just blocked the bad port. I gotta say, whenever I encounter good customer service I become loyal. I wanted to say this because I think a quality matters. Quality often takes nuances and this can often run counter to maximizing profits (Lemon Markets and all that). Looking at Luma's report, I don't get the indication that they had this issue because they were cutting corners but looks like it must be upstream[1]. But am happy to see they were giving gift cards along with the recall. Companies should minimize mistakes as best as they can, but it is important to judge them by how they handle mistakes. It can be easy to get caught in the negativity but I personally don't think I'll stop buying Anker products. [0] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Q52CXX1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Q52CXX1 [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44639759 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44639759
- bityard 1y agoAnker is above average, but the bar for average when it comes to Chinese electronics is, "might not burn down your house immediately." For reasons probably bordering on OCD, I watch a LOT of teardown videos of various electronics. And one thing that always strikes me is how a company with a product will routinely and often change what's inside, while the model number and exterior appearance stays the same. For example, I wanted to buy a big 12V LiFePo4 battery and all of the cheapest ones are on Amazon. Amazon reviews are generally garbage because they're all borderline fake (from useless Viners, or wanna-be useless Viners). The only "honest" reviews of these I could find were YouTube teardowns where they basically have to destroy the case in order to take it apart. I would watch a teardown of one popular battery, and then run across a different teardown of the same model from someone else and the internals of each would be completely different. Completely different cells, battery management board, wires, construction everything. But they both looked identical on the outside. Finished product manufacturers in China rarely have a consistent supply chain. They are negotiating suppliers and batches of components constantly, and are constantly re-engineering everything about the product, except for the external appearance of the case. This Luma Field article confirms what I've already run across myself.
- apronchenkov 1y agoIt was fun to explore the CT scan on my own, then read the article to see what was actually identified, and go back to the scan to find those things myself (despite the limitation of having scans from only one unit -- it was still great!). Initially, I thought there were no details of insides of the battery units, but after adjusting the settings, I was able to see the internal layers!
- dboreham 1y agoI bought two of these. I have no idea where they are now. Hopefully in such a low SoC that they're not dangerous.
- guerrilla 1y agoOkay fine, but I still want to see Big Clive ripping one apart and pointing at things with a screw driver.
- strathmeyer 1y agoGood luck getting a recall if you used your battery enough to rub off the serial number.
- devmor 1y agoOr at all. Anker will just tell you it's not an affected model even though it clearly meets the recall details.
- razodactyl 1y agoThis scrutiny actually makes me more inclined to buy Anker products. There's more trust in a company that will transparently communicate, correct mistakes and raise the safety bar for future products. It also brings to light issues with other manufacturers in the supply chain.
- anotheruser13 1y agoI had one of the affected models. I filled out the recall form yesterday, and they emailed me this morning to let me know the replacement has been sent. They are pretty good about standing behind their products
- vachina 1y agoTldr; > we don't know exactly what flaw triggered this massive recall
- arresin 1y agoUgh. Please don’t use a bad LLM to write this if you’re going to use an LLM.
- Abishek_Muthian 1y agoI've had my share of spicy pillows ranging from iPad to power bank from upstart company which became spicy after using it for just 3 times[1]. I've been overly cautious of batteries for several years now, I charge my devices with 1A charger and keep it between 40% to 80% . I now carry a single 18650 cell power bank instead of those 10,000 mAh, 20,000mAh power banks. I don't sleep with phone, tablet or kindle on bed and I force my partner to do the same to her irritation. Last week her MacBook became spicy overnight and I had to rush to Apple Store morning, the price for battery replacement was more than the price of that MacBook in used market so I had to buy a new MacBook. I miss the good old days where I could take the battery of the Nokia phone and spin it on the table to see if it's become spicy. I pray to EU gods to please force the manufactures to bring back user replaceable batteries. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/spicypillows/s/fMNcm07aT2 https://www.reddit.com/r/spicypillows/s/fMNcm07aT2
- mentalpiracy 1y agoThis honestly sounds like the electricity service line into your place is fucked slightly and it is gradually destroying your electronics.
- Tade0 1y agoAnd/or a particularly hot climate. Some environmental effect either way.
- Abishek_Muthian 1y agoI regularly check the electrical outlets and the main supply; it's mostly just my bad luck.
- Dylan16807 1y agoTo damage batteries it would have to get through two separate power converters. I'm skeptical of that.
- wongarsu 1y agoYour prayers have been (partially) heard. The EU Battery Regulation of 2023 demands that starting February 2027 batteries in all devices have to be user-replaceable with commercially available tools (or for watertight devices or some special device categories replaceable by an independent professional), that replacement batteries have to be available at reasonable prices and that use of third party batteries should not be prevented Lobbyists have worked hard to weaken the regulation, but it should still be a major improvement over the status quo
- jacquesm 1y agoThis is the kind of advertising that I can get behind.
- Lev1a 1y agoGot a recall notice about my few-months-old 20.000mAh Anker power bank from Amazon, went through Anker's verification process and found out that the S/N of mine isn't in the range of affected devices. Dodged a bullet there, also from past experiences [1] with the company their return/replacement process works well. [1] e.g. BT earbuds where one side randomly stopped working after a few months, got a replacement after just a few minutes of explanation/verification hassle.
- flobosg 1y ago> Anker has recalled 710,00 units from those models in China, and the global numbers have yet to be disclosed. Should be 710,000, right?
- u8080 1y agoI have recalled S/N powerbank which was bought in another country Anker shop. Unfortunately Anker doesn't allow me to participate recall because I have no buy proof. How many people keep those for powerbanks? They have Anker stores in my country, however there is no way to exchange it in any way. I would be happy to at least have some discout on a new bank, but no.
- ralferoo 1y agoInterestingly from the photo of the device on the recall notice [3], this device doesn't include the C3 mark, which is the regulatory approval marker for inside China. In the last couple of weeks, there's been a lot of noise [1] about how the regulations [2] about carrying power banks on planes in China got a lot stricter and any powerbank without a C3 mark is prohibited on-board, regardless of size, also any device with the C3 mark that's subject to a recall. Given the timing of these two events, I suspect that there's some relationship. [1] https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/flying-with-power-banks-chinas-new-3c-certification-law-is-a-game-changer-for-aviation-safety-what-you-need-to-know/ https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/flying-with-... [2] https://english.beijing.gov.cn/latest/news/202506/t20250628_4131163.html https://english.beijing.gov.cn/latest/news/202506/t20250628_... [3] https://www.anker.com/a1263-recall https://www.anker.com/a1263-recall
- 1oooqooq 1y agothey claim it's a complex supply chain with lots of variation. i say it's a release asap and fix design issues over time, cheaply. basically the Google school of hardware products.
- tgtweak 1y agoThey also moved from a toroidal SMPS to an integrated PMIC for voltage regulation - but that was likely for cost/weight reasons but also hints at being able to more accurately measure and limit the charge or discharge current as a function of the cell temperature. This design is typically less efficient (generates more heat for the same output) so that strongly hints that the overheating issue was not from the pcb/electronics directly and from the cells themselves. The addition of what I assume is a temperature sensor on the cell in the new design also points to the addition of some charge/discharge regulation based on the active cell temperature that wasn't present in the original model. Moving from busbar to insulated leads also suggests some recurring issues with bus bar short/contacts but was probably not the cause of the overheating issue as busbars usually have lower resistance and higher current capacity. If I had to guess I would say the recall was very likely due to cell overheating on high discharge (PD in/out) in high temperature or high insulation (in a backpack or in the sun) situations where there was no thermal feedback from the cell to the controller and the cell was outside of the specification temperature. Thermal runaway is a known issue with lipo cells and can cause cell rupture and combustion. I've had tons of other packs that have gotten too hot to touch during high charge/discharge and that have "pillowed" up (there is an entire amusingly-named subreddit for shaming cells that have done this... /r/spicypillows) and that is without putting them in a backpack or other insulating environment, or doing so in high ambient temperature. I think anker is likely singled out in the recall because of their size and not necessarily that they made a worse powerbank than most others... but that is only anecdotal based on how many off-brand powerbanks I've seen fail in the same way (bluehive, inui and safuel specifically, to name names) without any recalls or sanctions.
- tgtweak 1y agoTo those saying it was the cell manufacturer (Amprius) that changed the cell specification without notifying buyers... as the one packaging the final component you are responsible for having sufficient safeguards in your QA/testing process and in your final product - you can't pass the blame to your suppliers.
- LorenPechtel 1y agoI find myself wondering. Recalled = tab connectors. Not recalled = wire connectors. Old, old batteries. Fatigue due to a lack of flex?
- o140445 1y ago[dead]
- joemazerino 1y agoMost battery companies have moved to Li-Po by now. If you have bought a bank with Lithium Ion batteries you should return it.