Humane AI Pin users warned of fire safety risk from its charging case

In its early days on the market, Humane’s innovative AI Pin has faced some significant challenges. While some reactions just called it a device that’s ahead of its time, others see it as not yet consumer-ready. The company is now dealing with another issue, and this one concerns user safety as well.

As reported by The Verge, the company has issued an urgent warning to customers, advising them to immediately cease using the charging case accessory included with the AI Pin due to a potential fire safety risk. The Charge Case accessory is a portable charging case for the AI Pin, which is separate from the wired charging base that the AI Pin comes with.

This alarming development arose after Humane received a report of a charging issue, which uncovered a quality problem with the battery cell sourced from a third-party vendor. Citing safety concerns, Humane claims to have promptly severed ties with the vendor and is actively seeking a replacement.

While the company reassures that the AI Pin itself, its Battery Booster, and the charging pad are not affected by this issue as they do not utilize battery cells from the implicated vendor, it strongly urges customers to exercise caution and refrain from using the Charge Case Accessory until a resolution is reached.

To compensate for the inconvenience, Humane is offering two free months of its subscription service, which is essential for the AI Pin’s primary functions. However, there’s no confirmation yet on whether the company will provide a replacement charging case; the email states that it would share more information after completing its investigation.

Below is the full email from Humane AI:

Dear Customer,

Out of an abundance of caution, we are reaching out today to ask that you immediately stop using and charging your Charge Case Accessory due to an issue with certain battery cells for the Charge Case Accessory.

Upon receiving a single report of a charging issue while using a third-party USB-C cable and third-party power source, we identified a quality issue with the battery cell supplied by a third-party vendor used in your Charge Case Accessory.

Our investigation determined that the battery supplier was no longer meeting our quality standards and that there is a potential that certain battery cells supplied by this vendor may pose a fire safety risk. As a result, we immediately disqualified this battery vendor while we work to identify a new vendor to avoid such issues and maintain our high quality standards.

The issue identified is isolated only to certain battery cells used in the Charge Case Accessory and is not related to the Charge Case Accessory hardware design.

Importantly, Humane’s AI Pin, its Battery Booster(s), and Charge Pad are not affected as the disqualified vendor does not supply batteries or any other components of those Humane products and are safe for continued use.

While we know this may cause an inconvenience to you, customer safety is our priority at Humane. We design AI Pin and related accessories with safety top of mind, and rigorously test and certify them to applicable US and international safety standards.

We appreciate your understanding and will be providing you with two additional months free of the Humane subscription.

Rest assured we are committed to your safety and satisfaction and will share additional information when we have concluded our investigation.

The Humane Team

The AI Pin, priced at $700, is marketed as a cutting-edge wearable device designed to harness the power of AI in everyday life. It boasts features like real-time translation, advanced voice commands, and seamless usage without a screen. The AI Pin is part of a growing trend of AI-enhanced personal gadgets that promise to make technology more intuitive and accessible.