Stop using that Vaio! No, really. Stop using it. Now.
Sony’s support team issued a warning Friday morning to users of the convertible Vaio Fit 11A, noting that batteries in the computer (provided by a third party, the company was quick to note) are liable to overheat, resulting in burns.
The company issued a statement on its eSupport site with a title that says it all: “Request to Stop Using VAIO Fit 11A/Flip Personal Computer.”
“If you have one or more of the VAIO Fit11A/Flip PC model listed below, please immediately discontinue use, shut down and unplug the PC. We are currently identifying affected PCs by serial numbers and developing a program to repair or replace the affected PCs at no charge, or to refund the purchase price for the affected PCs,” the document notes.
More: Read our review of the Vaio Fit 11A
Sony said it expects to post an updated announcement within two weeks.
But please, if you’ve got a Vaio Fit 11A with the serial number SVF11N13CXS, put down the laptop and back slowly away.
The company has not decided whether to issue a full on recall of the affected computers, something that would be unlikely to have an impact on Sony stock, explained Takashi Aoki, a fund manager at Mizuho Asset Management Co.
“The impact on Sony stock price would be limited” from a recall, Aoki said, according to Bloomberg. “Sony already decided to spin off the Vaio business.”
Sony is in the process of restructuring, which may include a sell-off of its Vaio business to Japan Industrial Partners Inc. and a split of the TV manufacturing unit into a separate business this summer.
Laptop batteries are less stable than consumers would hope, unfortunately, and Sony has gone through this type of recall before — notably a 2006 incident that led to the recall of well over 7 million batteries. Yowza.
