Nokia suspends European sales of Lumia 2520 due to charger shock risk

Nokia is temporarily halting sales of its Lumia 2520 tablet in several countries due to a risk of electric shock when using the chargers. An issue with the plastic exchangeable plug could cause the plug to come loose and separate on the European and U.K. version of the Lumia's AC-300 charger, which poses a risk of electric shock. Nokia notes that there haven't been any confirmed instances of shocks delivered by a faulty charger, but they're still urging consumers to stop using those chargers until Nokia is able to send a replacement.

In addition to the AC-300 wall charger, the travel charger for the Lumia 2520 that has been sold in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, U.K. and the United States. Sales of the Lumia 2520 have been suspended in all of these countries except the U.S., though sales of the travel charger have been halted. Nokia states that there haven't been any incidents due to the flaws in the chargers, and that only the AC-300, which works exclusively with the Lumia 2520, and the travel charger, have these issues, and that all other Nokia chargers are working normally.

Customers who own the affected Lumia 2520 charger are encouraged to send Nokia their contact details for further updates on progress of issuing replacement chargers with a reduced risk of shocking you.

Press release:

Nokia Announces Product Advisory for AC-300 Charger for the Lumia 2520 tablet in select European countries

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced a product advisory for the European and UK variant of the AC-300 charger, which is used exclusively with the Lumia 2520 tablet. Consumers in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland and UK are strongly advised to suspend use of the charger until further notice. Also, consumers who purchased the Lumia 2520 travel charger accessory in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, UK and the US are strongly advised to suspend use of the travel charger accessory.

In total, approximately 30,000 chargers are impacted by this advisory. This includes approximately 600 travel charger accessories sold in the US.

During an internal quality control process, Nokia identified a potential product quality issue that may potentially lead to a safety concern with certain AC-300 chargers, manufactured by a third-party supplier. Under certain conditions, the plastic cover of the charger's exchangeable plug could come loose and separate. If loose and separated, certain internal components pose a hazard of an electric shock if touched while the plug remains in a live socket.

"While there have been no confirmed consumer incidents related to this potential quality issue, product quality and safety are top priorities at Nokia," said Jo Harlow, EVP Smart Devices. "We apologize to the owners of the Lumia 2520, and we are working with urgency to minimize the inconvenience."

Sales of the Lumia 2520 tablet and the travel charger accessories, including the AC-300 chargers in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland and UK, have therefore been temporarily delayed. In the US, we have suspended sales of the travel charger accessory.

The AC-300 charger is exclusively designed to be used with Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet. All other Nokia chargers can be used in a normal manner.

Consumers wanting more information and updates are encouraged to go to: http://www.nokia.com/2520-charger.

Joseph Keller