Kyocera Battery Recall

[Barry]

Kyocera announced a voluntary and precautionary recall of potentially fraudulent batteries in its KE/KX 400 Series, 3200 Series and Slider Series phones. This recall is limited solely to cell phone batteries, as there are no defects with the Kyocera phones. Kyocera Wireless Corp.'s (KWC's) stringent ongoing quality control processes revealed that a battery supplier, since terminated, intentionally provided KWC with batteries containing unapproved battery cells, the internal power sources within the batteries. The supplier's deceit resulted in fraudulent batteries shipping with Kyocera phones and being sold as accessories. Upon deeper investigation, KWC discovered that despite terminating the supplier's services, the supplier continued to make the fraudulent batteries and sold them into the gray (after) market. These counterfeits feature Kyocera's logo and are designed to look identical to legitimate Kyocera-approved batteries. Since the supplier is headquartered in the U.S., KWC is actively working with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to locate these counterfeit batteries, prosecute those involved and ensure they do not reach consumers. The recall is focused only on batteries from this particular supplier and only affects the aforementioned phone models. The affected batteries are easily identified by product numbers and serial codes found on the battery label. It is not known what percentage of batteries from the supplier in question contained fraudulent battery cells, as they can only be identified by disassembling the batteries. While the vast majority of batteries that will be removed from the market are likely to contain safe, reputable cells, the best way to ensure removal of all fraudulently manufactured and counterfeit batteries from the market is to recall all batteries manufactured by this supplier - good or bad. Kyocera Wireless has been coordinating with all carrier partners to contact affected customers directly and alert them of the replacement program procedures. Many customers have already been notified and have received new batteries. Kyocera has also been working with each carrier partner to ensure that all impacted batteries have been removed from their inventories and that all retail locations contain approved batteries for each Kyocera phone model. "This program will create a logistical and financial hardship for Kyocera Wireless Corp., but we know it is the responsible thing to do," said Mano. Today, Kyocera has completely changed its battery supply chain and has strongly enhanced its battery quality processes. KWC has hired a widely renowned leader for its battery engineering team, has formalized a strict, ongoing third-party testing program and has doubled its own internal testing of batteries, among other enhancements. KWC is confident that the batteries currently being shipped in its phones are among the best in the business and the highest quality batteries that the company has ever sold. KWC's global customer care centers are available to address consumers' concerns and answer questions at (toll-free) 866-559-3882, 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. PT Monday - Friday or request a replacement battery online at http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/battery.htm. Affected Batteries The focus of the recall is on the phone models with batteries detailed below: Cell Phone Model Name Cell Phone Model Number Battery Product Numbers and Serial Codes Slider Series SE44 SE47 CV90-L305N-01 (Serial Code 01E0409 or lower) CV90-L305P-01 (Serial Code 01E0409 or lower) CV90-L305T-01 (Serial Code 01E0409 or lower) CV90-L349T-01 (Serial Code 01E0409 or lower) K400 Series "Phantom" "Blade" "Rave" KE413 KE/KX414 KE/KX424 KE433 KE/KX434 CV90-K3040-03 (all Serial Numbers) CV90-K3040-09 (all Serial Numbers) CV90-K3040-10 (all Serial Numbers) CV90-K3040-11 (Serial Number 1104057 and lower) 3200 Series 3225 3250 (Appears above or below phone display) CV90-K3040-03 (all Serial Numbers) CV90-K3040-09 (all Serial Numbers) CV90-K3040-10 (all Serial Numbers) CV90-K3040-11 (Serial Number 1104057 and lower)

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