HP Chromebook 11 withdrawn from stores due to overheating chargers
14 Nov 2013
The HP Chromebook 11 has been withdrawn by Best Buy and sales suspended on Amazon and HP and Google's online stores, after customer complaints of chargers overheating. According to verge.com, which cited sources, Best Buy had first revealed to it that urgent instructions had been sent to store managers to remove existing stock of the devices.
An internal memo to Best Buy read, "Stores should stop selling the HP Chromebook 11 effective immediately. Partner with sales support to pull the product off the sales floor to a secure location in the warehouse."
Last afternoon, HP responded to the reports, confirming to The Verge that the company and Google initiated the halt in sales due to complaints from some Chromebook 11 owners that the chargers included with the notebooks were overheating. HP also advised current Chromebook 11 owners to stop using their chargers, and ask them instead to rely on third-party chargers.
An HP spokesperson told The Verge that Google and HP were pausing sales of the HP Chromebook 11 after receiving a small number of user reports that some chargers included with the device had been damaged due to over-heating during use. The company, he added, was working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to identify the appropriate corrective action, and would provide additional information and instructions as soon as it could.
HP urged existing Chromebook 11 owners not to power their devices with the chargers that came with the device. The company asked users to continue using their HP Chromebook11 with any other Underwriters Laboratories-listed micro-USB charger.
According to HP, it was working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to figure out the best course of action.
Currently, Google Play lists the Chromebook 11 as "out of inventory."
HP unveiled the colourful Chromebook 11 last month and it sold for an affordable $279.99, with a bright-coloured plastic design that concealed a premium thermal-bonded magnesium chassis.
Among the colour combinations there were several white designs accented with a rainbow of colours (variations on Google's blue, red, yellow and green), though a basic black option was also available.
