Panasonic Issues Recall for Toughpad Battery Packs Due to Fire Hazard

Due to concerns about fire hazard, Panasonic issued a voluntary recall of batteries for their Toughpad tablets recently. Panasonic discovered the issue after receiving 16 separate reports of combustion between March and April 2017. The company estimates an affected total of 280,000 units worldwide. This issue involves the hot-swappable battery packs of the FZ-G1 tablets, including MK1, MK2 and MK3 models. Panasonic Toughpad devices can withstand extreme conditions, but the problem specifically revolves around a short circuit after prolonged use in high temperatures.

What should current Toughpad owners do?

Before removing the battery pack, make sure that the model and SKU matches the affected units. This issue is strictly limited to the FZ-G1 MK1, MK2 and MK3 tablets. The chart above lists the specific SKUs affected. Units with larger batteries are exempt, as well as the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1 MK4.

Even with the battery removed, the user can still operate on the mains power, or a DC vehicle dock, so this is what Panasonic advises. There is also a software BIOS utility option which reduces the charging from 4.2 volts to 4.0, and minimizes the peak operating settings of batteries. This BIOS utility update can be downloaded by following this link.

Panasonic is still working out the details with stakeholders on how to issue a battery replacement in the near future. They suggest to keep in touch and contact local Panasonic support to register for replacement batteries .