Nokia Issues BL-5C Battery Advisory

Nokia issued a product advisory for the Nokia-branded BL-5C battery - one of the most standard batteries for its cell phones - manufactured by Matsushita Battery of Japan between December 2005 and November 2006. It seems that in rare cases, the battery may experience overheating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge.

The advisory applies to about 46 million batteries (of the more than 300 million BL-5C batteries, including those produced by other manufacturers) manufactured by Matsushita. At this time, there have been about 100 incidents of the overheating reported globally. Thankfully for Nokia, no serious injuries or proerty damage so far. Also, the issue does not affect any other use of the mobile phone.

If you are a concerned customer that doesn't want an overheated, dislodging battery (who isn't?) check the battery for a 26-character ID number printed on the battery and determine if it is one among those manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006, and you will get a free replacement battery.