Arctic Issues Recall As Flawed Batch of Liquid Freezer II Coolers Are Found

Do you own an Arctic Liquid Freezer II AIO liquid cooler? If so, then you’re going to want to pay attention as something of a soft recall has been issued following the discovery of a potentially worrying flaw in the manufacturing process. – Fortunately, this issue has only been found present within certain batch numbers and Arctic has already confirmed that the issue has been resolved with any models currently available to purchase.

If you did, however, purchase a Liquid Freezer II purchased between circa end of 2020 to early 2022 then the following official press release from Arctic (copied in below) is well worth a read as you may be well advised to apply for your replacement CPU cooler.

Arctic Liquid Freezer II Recall Notification

Since its launch in 2019, the Liquid Freezer II series has won countless awards and become a popular product in the hardware community. Because ARCTIC is committed to serving this community with honesty and transparency, it is our duty to inform you of a potential issue. During ARCTIC’s routine quality checks, we found a potential issue with certain Liquid Freezer II units. Which products are potentially affected? Affected products first went on sale in May 2021.

In certain units, the gaskets were not sufficiently vulcanized causing a chemical reaction to occur between the copper cold plate and the gasket. This reaction may lead to sulfur residue and copper plate deposits. If this has happened, it can lead to a reduction in cooling performance and potential loss of cooling liquid. The chemical reaction and degeneration of the gasket is a slow process and can occur within the 6-year warranty period. Thus, there is no reason to panic. We recommend that all affected coolers are serviced as soon as possible.

Q&A/FAQ

Are current products in stores affected?
All products that were on the market and in our warehouses have been subjected to additional quality control testing and have been replaced to ensure that no affected products entered the market.

We have since increased quality assurance and quality control testing. We have also marked these products with a “QC Passed” sticker.

How is the problem solved?
We know that our customers depend on their cooling solutions. In order to ensure the shortest possible interruption, we have developed an at-home service kit to safely guarantee the 6-year life expectance of the product. With this service kit, our customers can easily replace the gasket and copper plate of their Liquid Freezer II themselves within minutes and without any expertise. Providing this service kit to our customers is a sustainable and environmentally friendly process, which upholds our company’s commitment to creating a brighter, cleaner environment while reducing downtime.

How does the service kit work? What is the procedure?
Replacing the gasket and copper cold plate is done in a few simple steps and does not require any expertise. In the video, we show how to exchange the gasket, and the copper cold plate, and also provide detailed instructions to ensure the replacement is done easily and effectively. As always, our support team is happy to assist our customers with any questions.

Which Liquid Freezer II are affected?
A form on our website can be used to check whether a specific Liquid Freezer II is affected. For this purpose, the respective model, the country to which the order was originally shipped, and the date of purchase are specified. Likewise, our customers can use the form to quickly and easily receive the free service kit, consisting of copper plate, gasket, MX-5 0.8 g, additional coolant and screws.

Is the warranty of the products affected?
No. The 6-year warranty will always remain. We are confident in the quality of our products and are committed to keeping our promise to our customers. ARCTIC wants to formally thank our customers for their cooperation in implementing a sustainable solution and for helping us uphold our promise to our customers.

Can the products be sent in for service?
We also offer to do the rework for our customers. To have the gasket and copper plate replaced, the product can be sent to our service teams in Germany or the USA.

Due to shipping times both to and from our facility, plus weekends, you will have to do without your Liquid Freezer II for a few weeks, depending on the destination. To send in the Liquid Freezer II, the following form on our website can be used.

Our service team will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Please contact us at
lf-service@support.arctic.de

We sincerely apologize to everyone affected by this issue and thank you for your trust in ARCTIC.

Apply for Service (and check if your model is affected) by visiting this page.