PSA: Amazon is recalling 260,000 power banks over "fire and chemical burn" worries

Amazon is recalling 260,000 Amazon Basics lithium-ion power banks due to overheating reports. The retailer is notifying customers who bought affected products of the recall via email, while the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has outlined the key details on its site.

The problem, according to CPSC, is that “the power bank’s battery can overheat and ignite, posing fire and burn hazards.” Amazon has reportedly received 53 reports of such incidents so far—it goes without saying that, if you own one, you should stop using it immediately.

Amazon is now asking users to dispose of their power banks and will receive a gift card for the amount paid within 10 days of “confirmation of possession of the unit(s).” Below is an Amazon email one of our editors—who owns one of the banks—received.

The six affected Amazon Basics battery packs, which have now been removed from sale, carry model numbers B00ZQ4JQAA, B00LRK8JDC, B00LRK8IV0, B00LRK8I7O, B00LRK8EVO and B00LRK8HJ8.

Here are the sizes:

• 16,100 mAh
• 10,000 mAh
• 5,600 mAh
• 3,000 mAh
• 3,000 mAh (with micro USB cable)
• 2,000 mAh (with micro USB cable)

If you own one of the units and haven’t been contacted by Amazon, you can contact the retailer online here or call Amazon toll-free at 855-215-5134 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday.