Dell has voluntarily recalled 4.4 million AC adapters for its notebooks after receiving seven reports of the adapters overheating, posing a risk of fire or electrical shock for users.
Dell announced the recall - which involves Latitude, Precision and Inspiron notebook adapters - in cooperation with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC).
The recall only affects the adapters and not the notebooks, Dell said.
Nicole Gemmell, corporate communications at Dell Australia and New Zealand confirmed that the recall affects its customers here.
"I can advise that based on Dell's direct relationship with customers, we are proactively contacting all affected ANZ customers via email, phone, letters and account teams over the next few weeks to advise them of this situation."
It is not known how many notebooks with these adapters had been sold in Australia and New Zealand.
"Due to the age of some affected adapters and the possibility of units being resold, Dell has also issued a worldwide press release to alert those customers who did not purchase directly from Dell," Gemmell said.
She added that not all adapters shipped during this timeframe are affected, therefore they are requesting customers call 1300 734 947 or visit www.delladapterprogram.com to determine whether their adapter is impacted.
The AC adapters were manufactured by Delta Electronics of Taipei, Taiwan.
Delta also was the vendor involved when IBM announced an AC adapter recall for its notebooks in September.
That recall, also done in conjunction with the CSPC, involved 225,000 AC adapters.
The Dell adapters involved in the current recall have the words "DELL" and "P/N 9364U," P/N 7832D" or "P/N 4983D" printed on the back of the unit. They were shipped to customers between September 1998 and February 2002.
The adapters were also sold separately, including in response to service calls, for between US$30 to US$70. The advanced port replicators and docking stations sold for US$300 to US$600.
Dell will send consumers with recalled adapters a free replacement. The latest recall follows a Dell power adapter recall for 28,000 systems in July.
A Dell spokesman in the US said the company doesn't expect the recall to be "material" to business and, therefore, not have an impact on quarterly results.
The spokesman declined to comment on how much the recall could end up costing the company, or if Delta Electronics or Dell would be responsible for the cost of the recall.
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