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Federal government clears MacBook Pro batteries

According to the Feds MacBook Pro owners concerned about the safety of their Lithium Ion battery packs can breathe a sigh of relief, but only if the battery serial number has been checked against Apple's list of recalled cells noted in their voluntary exchange program. Recalled MacBook Pro batteries are identified by a serial number that ends with U7SA, U7SB or U7SC.
Written by Jason D. O'Grady, Contributor

According to the Feds MacBook Pro owners concerned about the safety of their Lithium Ion battery packs can breathe a sigh of relief, but only if the battery serial number has been checked against Apple's list of recalled cells noted in their voluntary exchange program. Recalled MacBook Pro batteries are identified by a serial number that ends with U7SA, U7SB or U7SC.

An article in Computer Reseller News indicates that The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission "has reviewed substandard batteries for Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro notebooks but determined they didn't pose any safety threat." CRN goes on:

CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson declined to say whether Apple's voluntary exchange program arose in response to the bulging problem or whether the program stemmed from other battery issues. "We never allow a company to do an independent recall when there is a substantial potential hazard," Wolfson said.

The Apple battery recall is especially important in light of Dell's recent recall of 4.1 million notebook batteries - the largest such recall in the history of consumer electronics. MacFixIt inferred that the recalled Dell batteries could be the same Sony batteries as those used by Apple in the MacBook Pro, but a definitive link has not been determined.

In related news, Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo will hold a summit in San Jose, California to discuss manufacturing standards for lithium-ion batteries in light of all the recent problems.

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