Press Releases 2007

Product information of Nokia Battery BL-5C manufactured
by Matsushita Battery in Japan

August 14, 2007
Nokia Japan, Co., Ltd.
Matsushita Battery Industrial, Co., Ltd.
SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp.
NTT DoCoMo Group

Nokia Japan Co., Ltd. (1-8-1 Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, President: Tyler McGee) and Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., Ltd. (1-1 Matsushita-cho, Moriguchi City, President: Masatsugu Kondo) announced today that the companies have identified a possibility of overheating of the Nokia-branded BL-5C battery, manufactured by Matsushita Battery. Two incidents happened in Japan in which extraordinary battery heating occurred while charging. There were no injuries as a result of these incidents. Consumers who are concerned may want to monitor a mobile device while charging that contains a BL-5C battery subject to this product advisory.

The companies have identified that in very rare cases the batteries could potentially experience overheating and swelling initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge. In total, there are approximately 160,000 affected Nokia-branded BL-5C batteries in Japan. Nokia, who received the request from National Consumer Associatons Center, Matsushita, SOFTBANK MOBILE and NTT DoCoMo are working together to investigate this situation for the safety of consumer.

This activity is related to the global product advisory that Nokia has released concurrently today. The global advisory applies to the 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006, from which there have been approximately 100 incidents of overheating reported globally. No serious injuries have been reported.

The companies express their deep apology for any inconvenience caused to the users of the affected products and ask for their cooperation.

Products addressed by this advisory and the customer service procedures of each company are as follows:

Description of incidents
There were two cases in Japan where the consumer has experienced overheating of the BL-5C battery packs supplied by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., Ltd., while charging Vodafone 702NKII manufactured by Nokia. There has been no personal injury as a result. In one of the incidents, a part of the floor was scorched.
Cause
The cause is being investigated.
Products which use BL-5C Battery Pack
BL-5C battery packs, manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., Ltd., are used in the following products.
Those sold by Nokia Japan: Nokia 3120 (Sales start August, 2004), Nokia 6630 (standard version, sales start June, 2006), Nokia Wireless GPS Module "LD-3W"(sales start June, 2007)
Those sold by NTT DoCoMo:FOMA NM850iG (sales start March 2006)
Those sold by Vodafone K.K.:Vodafone 702NK (sales start December, 2004), Vodafone 702NKII (sales start December, 2005), Vodafone 804NK (sales start August, 2006)
How to identify a battery pack subject to this advisory
"Nokia" and "BL-5C" are printed on the front of the battery. On the back of the battery, the Nokia logo appears at the top, and the battery identification number (consisting of 26 characters) is found at the bottom.
From the 26-digit battery identification number, we are able to tell the time the battery was manufactured and the supplier of battery. Only the BL-5C batteries manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., Ltd., between December 2005 and November 2006 are subject to this voluntary replacement. No other batteries are subject to this voluntary replacement.
BL-5C used for Vodafone 702NK, Vodafone 702NKII and Vodafone 804NK sold by Vodafone K.K.

Customer care by Nokia Japan

Regarding the replacement of battery
Please visit the website and follow the procedure to check if your battery is covered by this replacement, or contact Nokia Call center at 0120 830 670.
The affected consumers will need to register their battery identification number and his/her address on the above mentioned Nokia website, or with the Nokia call center. Nokia will send you the replacement battery pack and instructions on how to return the affected battery at a later date.
Customer enquiries
Nokia Call Center: 0120-830-670
  • * From 9:00AM to 9:00PM including Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.

Customer Service by SOFTBANK MOBILE

Customers using the battery pack subject to this advisory will be notified through SMS and other ways and the new battery pack will be sent at a later date. SOFTBANK MOBILE will make loaner handsets available to those customers waiting for the new battery pack to arrive. Please visit your nearest SoftBank shop for assistance.

Sales of the handset models using the battery pack subject to this advisory will be suspended temporarily.

Customers will be notified through
  • Notice of apology in newspaper
  • Website
  • SMS
  • DM
Dedicated help desk for customer enquiries
Toll free number: 0088-21-0035 from fixed lines.
  • * From 9:00AM to 8:00PM including Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.

Customer Service by NTT DoCoMo

Customers using the battery pack subject to this advisory will be notified through DM and other ways and the new battery pack will be sent at a later date. NTT DoCoMo will make loaner handsets (may not support roaming) available to those customers waiting for the new battery pack to arrive. Please visit your nearest DoCoMo shop for assistance.

Sales of the handset models using the battery pack subject to this advisory will be suspended temporarily.

Customers will be notified through
  • Notice of apology in newspaper
  • Website
  • SMS
  • DM
Dedicated help desk for customer enquiries
DoCoMo is currently setting up a dedicated help desk. The details on our help desk will be updated on our Homepage and DM as soon as possible.

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  • The information is true and accurate at the time of publication.
    Price, specification, contact and other information of products and service may be subjected to change. The information contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.