Five Portable Batteries to Buy If Your Anker Was Recalled

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If you own an Anker portable battery, take note: Your battery may pose a fire hazard, and should be disposed of immediately.

The company issued a recall notice for three of its batteries on Friday: Anker says some of the lithium ion batteries used in these models may be a fire risk due to a "manufacturing defect." Affected units can overheat, which can melt plastic, lead to smoke, and, in some cases, catch fire.

Anker believes the issue only affects a small number of batteries in these units, produced between Jan. 3 and Sept. 17 of this year, but is recalling all of them to be safe.

Which Anker batteries are recalled?

According to Anker, the following three portable batteries are recalled:

Anker 334 MagGo Battery (PowerCore 10K), Model: A1642

Anker Power Bank (20,000mAh, 22.5W, Built-In USB-C Cable), Model: A1647

Anker MagGo Power Bank (10,000mAh, 7.5W, Stand), Model: A1652

If any of these model numbers match your battery, head to this Anker site and verify the battery's 16-digit serial number, which you can find on the bottom of the battery. If your battery's serial number isn't 16 digits, it isn't part of this recall. In addition, the serial number does not contain the letters "O" or "I."

How to get a replacement from Anker

Anker says it's using a new distributor for its products going forward, which should, in theory, nip the issue in the bud. If you would like a replacement for your affected unit, Anker requires the following:

Proof of purchase, or at the very least an order confirmation for your battery. If it was a gift, Anker says to contact the purchaser, which seems like a bit of an unnecessary step after supplying customers with portable fire starters.

A picture of the model number.

The serial number of your battery.

Whether or not you get a replacement, Anker implores you to dispose of your battery safely. Consult Anker's recall site for information on how to dispose of batteries in your area.

Portable batteries to buy instead

If you lost your original receipt, or you've simply lost trust in this battery pack, and you're looking to buy another portable charger, there are plenty on the market to choose from. Our sister site PCMag has tested many of these options, and narrowed down its top five. Two of these choices, funnily enough, are Anker products, but they are not affected by the recall. You can consider one of these packs, but if not, there are three other options on this list to choose from.

Belkin's BoostCharge is a 5,000mAh MagSafe battery pack that can magnetically connect to the back of your iPhone, and charge at 7.5W. (A bit slow, but when the battery is literally connected to your phone at all times, it should be fine.) Otterbox offers its charger in sizes from 5,000mAh all the way up to 20,000mAh, while Nimble offers a 10,000mAh battery in a tiny form factor, plus two 20W USB-C ports that can charge two devices at once. Anker's 737 is expensive, but 24,000mAh with 140W power delivery, good for charging larger devices like a laptop, while its USB-C portable charger offers a 10,000mAh battery with two types of USB ports.