Sony warns users its Vaio Fit 11A may burst into flames

[Reefa]

If you own or have access to a Sony Vaio Fit 11A then you need to stop using it immediately, and stop anyone else using it, too. Sony has shipped over 25,000 units of the Fit 11A to some 52 countries, but it is now warning owners that the hybrid laptop is in danger of catching fire. The reason, as usual, is the battery.

The non-removable battery was supplied by a third-party (Panasonic) and luckily is limited to just the 11A model of the Vaio Fit range. It has been included in those models since launch in February of this year. The battery is susceptible to malfunctioning, overheating, and ultimately setting on fire.

Sony’s advice is to immediately turn off the laptop, disconnect the AC adapter, and stop using it completely. Most affected unit were shipped to Europe, although just under 500 were sold in the US, 2,000 in China, and 3,619 sold in Japan. 7,158 are currently scattered across European markets.

If you own a Vaio Fit 11A then the best thing to do is contact Sony in your country and they should be able to advise you on the next step. It’s unclear whether Sony is going to replace the laptop, offer some kind of refund, or just switch out the battery and ship it back to you in due course. Whatever happens it’s going to be frustrating for owners.

Such an expensive issue will act as a reminder to Sony that selling off its Vaio PC division to JIP was a good decision. JIP is expected to carry on selling Vaio-branded devices, but we won’t see any outside of Japan for the foreseeable future. I suspect they may source their batteries from elsewhere too following this incident.

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