These melting laptops just prompted HP to issue a (voluntary) recall

Some Hewlett Packard owners reported their laptop batteries have charred and melted, prompting the tech company to issue a voluntary recall for the affected devices.

In the Jan. 4 recall, HP cites eight reports of overheating, one in which caused a minor first-degree burn injury. 

The recall applies to 50,000 laptops sold between December 2015 and December 2017, but in a statement the company notes the recall "pertains to 0.1 percent of the HP systems sold globally over the past two years." Though thousands of the lithium batteries might be defective, apparently the problem is not widespread enough for the hardware fixes to be mandatory. Read more...