Chromebook 11 Charger Replacement Now Available

Those who bought a Chromebook 11, the Chrome OS-based laptop built by HP, should be happy to hear that replacements for the overheating chargers that shipped with the unit are now available. This issue was caught back in November shortly after the laptop’s release when nine instances of the stock charger overheating were reported to Google and HP, both of which were selling the Chromebook directly as well as through select retailers, namely Best Buy and Amazon.

Fortunately, according to The Verge, only one minor burn and one minor incident of property damage resulted from the heating issues.

At that time, sales of the device were halted and Google released a statement suggesting those who bought the laptop should “continue using their HP Chromebook 11 with any other Underwriters Laboratories-listed micro-USB charger — for example one provided with a tablet or smartphone.” But now users can contact Google directly to receive their free replacement charger.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the same organization that oversaw Google and HP’s recall of the Chromebook 11, just under 150,000 units of the charger need to be replaced. Another way to put it that’s more helpful to the average consumer is that all chargers sold prior to December 1 need to be replaced.

Google, meanwhile, says that neither it nor HP had anything to do with designing or building the original faulty charger.

As these new chargers roll out to consumers, those that weren’t able to grab one before the Chromebook 11 was yanked from store shelves will have to wait patiently as there’s no word as to when sales will recommence. It’s likely both HP and Google are eager to make a few more sales of the device before the holiday season ends, though, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the official Chromebook 11 website.