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EE recalling 1.4 million Power Bars (that's ALL of them). Stop using them!


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Old 16-12-2015, 14:42
jonmorris
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Just a heads up for anyone that got a free EE Power Bar this year. They're ALL a fire risk and EE is taking them all back in stores, and giving out a £20 accessory voucher to be used online as compensation.

If you've got one - STOP using it!

http://jmcomms.com/2015/12/16/ee-rec...to-compensate/
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Old 16-12-2015, 15:29
Synthetic42
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Thanks for the heads up jon, EE conveniently have an "Under £20" catagory on their website too

https://accessories.ee.co.uk/accunder20/
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Old 16-12-2015, 16:03
Zebb
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What a swiz.

EE page:-

An error occurred.

Sorry, the page you are looking for is currently unavailable.
Please try again later.

If you are the system administrator of this resource then you should check the error log for details.

Faithfully yours, nginx.
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Old 16-12-2015, 16:04
Synthetic42
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Not loading now, I bet everyone is trying to view that page at once now

There's a 6000MaH power bank on there for £24.99, the other thing I would personally find useful, just need to put a fiver towards it
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Old 16-12-2015, 16:32
horsepills
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Surely it's safe to keep them as long as you don't leave them unattended whilst charging?

I have one, but just keep it in my rucksack for emergencies - I only charge it up once in a blue moon at my desk at work, whilst I'm sitting right next to it...
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Old 16-12-2015, 16:55
swb1964
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Trouble is, too many people leave things charging unattended.

I try not to but occasionally leave things on while I nip up the road to the shops etc.

The cynic in me wonders if this will be used to end the scheme early....
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Old 16-12-2015, 17:02
testcard
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And definitely don't use a Power Bar to charge your hoverboard.
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Old 16-12-2015, 17:12
Ollie_h19
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Do we have to give the little cable back too? Plugging that into a mains plug charges my phone in about an hour, its great!
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Old 16-12-2015, 17:51
Stig
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Official link:
http://ee.co.uk/power-bar-recall
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Old 16-12-2015, 18:21
d123
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I have 2 of them and have received one text to one number about them.

UPDATED SAFETY ISSUE: in rare cases EE Power Bars have been overheating. We are asking customers to stop using ALL Power Bars and return them to local EE stores. Find out more at http://discover.ee.co.uk/MsHBylGy
I've used them quite seldomly, so the £20 voucher is quite a profit.
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Old 16-12-2015, 18:27
neilybealy
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Just received a text with the info 😀
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Old 16-12-2015, 18:28
packages
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Shame, they do come in handy now and then and they were great for Glastonbury
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Old 16-12-2015, 19:11
d123
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Shame, they do come in handy now and then and they were great for Glastonbury
You could always buy a decent one from Amazon, 10,000mAh is around £10, I got a 22400mAh one for £15 (now £19.99) which gives almost a week of charges.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ilpage_o05_s00
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Old 16-12-2015, 19:25
neilybealy
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Doubt I'll get the voucher now as in not an ee customer
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Old 16-12-2015, 19:45
d123
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Thanks for the heads up jon, EE conveniently have an "Under £20" catagory on their website too

https://accessories.ee.co.uk/accunder20/
Just noticed I t's the same accessory company that Giffgaff use, quite overpriced for most of the stuff.
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Old 16-12-2015, 20:14
binary
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Just a heads up for anyone that got a free EE Power Bar this year. They're ALL a fire risk and EE is taking them all back in stores, and giving out a £20 accessory voucher to be used online as compensation.

If you've got one - STOP using it!

http://jmcomms.com/2015/12/16/ee-rec...to-compensate/
Well that's a screw up and a half of a promotion!
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Old 16-12-2015, 20:15
jchamier
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Well that's a screw up and a half of a promotion!
I suspect EE badly let down by whichever subcontract company they went to. However it shows how much attention to detail the likes of HTC, Samsung, Apple and LG are going to!
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Old 16-12-2015, 20:25
Aye Up
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You could always buy a decent one from Amazon, 10,000mAh is around £10, I got a 22400mAh one for £15 (now £19.99) which gives almost a week of charges.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ilpage_o05_s00
You got it on prime special?

I have developed a collection of them......5 at the moment.....

However they are the dogs bollox, my charging needs are simple and this does it tremendously. Like you it lasts me all week
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Old 16-12-2015, 21:12
d123
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You got it on prime special?

I have developed a collection of them......5 at the moment.....

However they are the dogs bollox, my charging needs are simple and this does it tremendously. Like you it lasts me all week
Yes, it was on a Prime special a few months ago, only the black and red for some reason, it is an excellent battery pack.
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Old 16-12-2015, 22:05
DevonBloke
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Surely it's safe to keep them as long as you don't leave them unattended whilst charging?

I have one, but just keep it in my rucksack for emergencies - I only charge it up once in a blue moon at my desk at work, whilst I'm sitting right next to it...
Just take it back, get the £20 and either buy another one from a reputable source or put another 5 quid towards it and get the Powerbank that Synthetic mentioned.
Not work the risk mate!
I just warned my ex via email and she said she threw hers away because it was getting really hot!!
SHIT!!! and my kids were in that house........

Lithium can get really nasty. I wouldn't be sitting right next to it that's for sure.
Clearly these things have dodgy power and temperature regulators in them and continue to fast charge past the 80% mark.
This is when they explode!!
There's a reason you can only charge a Tesla model S to 180 mile range (80%) in 30 minutes with a Tesla supercharger, but the final 20% takes another hour or more.
If you tried to charge it to 100% in 30-40 minutes your car would explode!!!!
Really quite spectacularly!!!
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Old 16-12-2015, 22:20
Zebb
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The £20 is only for EE accessories, not cash.
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Old 16-12-2015, 23:03
Gigabit
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This idea went up in flames didn't it...
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Old 16-12-2015, 23:46
lightspeed2398
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Lithium can get really nasty. I wouldn't be sitting right next to it that's for sure.
Clearly these things have dodgy power and temperature regulators in them and continue to fast charge past the 80% mark.
This is when they explode!!
There's a reason you can only charge a Tesla model S to 180 mile range (80%) in 30 minutes with a Tesla supercharger, but the final 20% takes another hour or more.
If you tried to charge it to 100% in 30-40 minutes your car would explode!!!!
Really quite spectacularly!!!
I've seen some big LiPo batteries catch fire in real life, bloody hot. Normally the worst kind are kept in protective bags but even with these less dangerous ones it is a bit of a death trap if not properly regulated.
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Old 17-12-2015, 00:28
DevonBloke
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This idea went up in flames didn't it...
LOL.
I think they were made by Anker (someone confirm?)
This is surprising as most of their kit is pretty good.
I bet they got some serious shit over this don't you think?
Methinks EE won't be footing all of the bill over this debacle.
Hahaha
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Old 17-12-2015, 00:41
CheshireBumpkin
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LOL.
I think they were made by Anker (someone confirm?)
Wow. If they were I'll be really surprised. I really rate their stuff, and have lots of it - including a huge powerpack. Maybe they sub-contracted it out as it was such high volume/low value stuff?

I actually feel a bit sorry for EE with this one, and I think they're being unnecessarily generous to people who got one. If you think about it:

- They had a good, innovative promotional idea and must have ploughed some serious cash into it.
- They gave away ('loaned') shed-loads of them out for nothing. No tangible return whatsoever.
- They start going up in smoke and have to recall them all.
- They then give every scrote and his granny who got it free in the first place a £20 voucher.

Net result - huge cost to the business that could have been spent upgrading my bloody mast to 4G

As you say, I'm sure they'll recoup some of it from whichever manufacturer they used, but they'll still end up with a big negative ROI...
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