An urgent recall has been issued for thousands of UK laptops, smartphones, and smartwatches amid fears they could explode.
Amazon has been instructed to recall all devices shipped by the Chinese company Dorland.
According to the Government’s Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), the devices pose ‘a serious risk of fire and explosion’.
If you have bought one of the affected devices, OPSS advises you to await further instructions from Amazon about the return and refund process.
Dorland’s devices are advertised as being safe to use in ‘explosive hazardous zones’ such as workspaces where explosive gases or materials are common.
The company claimed its devices were ‘especially suitable for hazardous explosion environment, such as petroleum, chemical, pharmaceutical, oil depot, tank farm and other dangerous places with combustible and explosive gas’.
However, OPSS found that ‘there is no evidence that an appropriate conformity assessment was carried out before the products were placed on the market in Great Britain.’
Additionally, the devices do not bear any of the markings required to be legally sold as explosion-safe in the UK.
An urgent recall has been issued for thousands of UK laptops and smartphones amid a serious risk of explosion (file photo)
The recall affects smartphones sold by the Chinese-based company Dorland which had been sold on Amazon. Pictured: Dorland Extra 5G Plus Rugged Smartphone
According to Dorland’s website, the company is ‘China’s leading manufacturer of explosion-proof electrical automation and intrinsically safe industrial explosion-proof communication terminals, and related technologies and services.’
This is important because workers exposed to explosive materials cannot use just any phone.
Explosion-safe phones remove the risk of creating sparks or excess heat that could trigger an explosion by using reduced power levels and electronically isolated components.
These devices also require country-specific certification and testing before they can be sold as ‘explosion proof’.
However, despite Dorland’s devices being advertised and sold as explosion-safe, the OPSS found that they did not meet the legal requirements for sale in the UK.
In addition to smartphones, the recall also affects laptops and smartwatches sold by Dorland which were being advertised as explosion-safe.
The OPSS points out that the products ‘claim to be suitable for use in Zone 1 and Zone 2 hazardous areas’ – referring to areas in which an explosion is considered likely.
The affected devices include the ‘Dorland Extreme 5G Industrial ‘Intrinsically Safe’ Smartphone Android 11′, the ‘Dorland Laptop EX NB09S 4G Industrial ‘Intrinsically Safe’ EX Laptop’, and the ‘Dorland Smartwatch EX 02 Plus 4G ‘Intrinsically Safe’ Watch’.
According to the Government’s Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), the devices pose ‘a serious risk of fire and explosion’. The affected products include phones, laptops, and wearable smartwatches (stock image)
The laptops and other devices sold by Dorland claimed to be certified ‘explosion-safe’, meaning they could be used in high-risk areas such as those containing flammable gases. However, OPSS says that no tests were ever conducted for sale in the UK. Pictured: Dorland Laptop EX NB09S 4G Industrial ‘Intrinsically Safe’ EX Laptop
The Dorland Smartwatch EX 02 Plus 4G smartwatch (pictured) specifically claimed to be safe to use in high explosion-risk environments but had no testing or any of the required marking to be legally sold as explosion-safe
Now OPSS has issued the recall, Amazon will contact any affected customers with an email with details about the recall.
Affected customers should also see an alert at the top of their ‘Your orders’ page on the Amazon website.
This notification will link the users’ ‘Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts’ page which will have details about the options to return or refund the item.
The OPSS issues product recalls for specific products sold in the UK which are believed to pose a risk to the health and safety of British customers.
For example, last year a recall was issued for a portable battery sold on Amazon after consumers reported it was ‘expanding, igniting, melting, overheating or smoking.’
The recall affected about 488,000 of the Charmast Power Banks sold between December 2018 and September 2024.
In that case, affected customers were cautioned to be careful how they disposed of the batteries and were eligible for a full refund.
Dorland did not respond to a request for comment.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .