Trial and error is a common part of the manufacturing process. Businesses are under pressure to launch new goods quickly in order to maintain their competitive edge, but things don’t always go according to plan. Companies frequently don’t get insightful feedback on how effectively these goods work until after they are delivered to customers. A recall is required when these products don’t work as intended or don’t meet safety regulations.
Regrettably, recalls are not getting any less frequent. In the United States, product recalls increased by 11% in 2023, the most in seven years. Despite being renowned for its high-quality and high-performing goods, tech giant Apple has not been exempt from this issue. The business has had a good number of recalls and service repair initiatives throughout the years. At different times, a number of its goods, like as the Macbooks and iPhones, have needed to be repaired or replaced.
Apple has mostly maintained its image as the manufacturer of some of the most dependable and durable technological devices in spite of these setbacks. However, because of the magnitude of their effects—involving thousands of units and affecting a huge number of users—some of these recalls have garnered a lot of attention. The largest Apple recalls in American history are listed here.
The Sony-made batteries that caused Dell to recall 4.1 million laptops in 2006 were also the cause of another significant recall that year. This time, Apple’s iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 computers were the impacted items.
It was found that these gadgets’ rechargeable lithium-ion batteries were prone to overheating and occasionally caused burns. A few purchasers reported minor burns, and some others suffered property damage, despite the fact that this fault did not result in any major injury.
In response to this problem, Apple advised users to cease using the impacted devices right away. They then offered to swap the batteries for something else. In the meanwhile, users were instructed to put in their AC adapter to power the laptops and get in touch with the company’s support staff to receive a complimentary replacement.
About 1.8 million laptops, 1.1 million of which were from the US alone, were impacted by this recall, which was limited to those sold between October 2003 and August 2006. Despite the fact that this accounted for 32% of all laptops sold at that time, Apple insisted that the recall did not result in a significant loss for the business.
The second iPhone was the iPhone 3G, which debuted in July 2008. It was an advance over the iPhone 2G, supporting a greater variety of third-party apps and providing access to fast 3G networks. Nevertheless, Apple found that the included USB power adaptor was a little difficult.
Shortly after the product’s release, people began to report that the adapters’ metal prongs were prone to breaking off when they were in the power outlet. Apple acknowledged that this flaw presented a risk of electrical shocks and issued a recall in September 2008.
The company advised clients to cease using the old adapters right once and offered a new, ultracompact adapter to replace the damaged ones. To distinguish them from the faulty devices, the new adapters included a green dot at the bottom. Users were forced to use third-party adapters or connect their phones to their PCs in order to charge them in the interim.
Mexico, Canada, Japan, and other South and Central American nations were included in this recall, so it wasn’t just the United States. Millions of users were thought to be impacted, while no precise figure was given.
A year prior to Apple’s acquisition of the audio device company, Beats by Dre started manufacturing Beats Pill XL in 2013. But before Apple recalled it and took it off the market, the speaker had only been manufactured for roughly two years.
The original Pill speaker, a more portable device with a price tag that didn’t match its quality, was replaced by the Beats Pill XL. Numerous characteristics, including as battery life and general quality, were improved with the Pill XL. However, because the battery was prone to overheating and possibly starting a fire, this item eventually failed in this category.
In June 2015, Apple voluntarily recalled 231,000 units, with roughly 220,000 in the United States and 11,000 in Canada, in an effort to reduce this safety danger. In this instance, Apple did not provide a substitute. Rather, the business offered refunds, requesting that customers return the item and contact the company for a store credit or electronic payment. The production of the Beats Pill XL speakers was essentially stopped as a result of this incident.
In 2005, the iPod Mini was superseded by the iPod Nano. It was an amazing device that combined the characteristics of the iPod Shuffle and the standard iPod, and it was significantly thinner than its predecessor. However, after receiving reports of an overheating issue, Apple recalled this device in the United States in November 2011.
The iPod’s batteries were the source of the problem, according to the corporation, which claimed that a manufacturing flaw made these devices unsafe. Apple pointed out that this overheating issue would probably get worse as the battery aged, even though the recall program was started years after the product was first introduced. The danger that might ensue from this has to be avoided.
The recalled devices were ones that were sold from December 2005 to September 2006. After warning customers to discontinue using the product, the company provided free replacements. A 90-day warranty was included with the replacement scheme, which was implemented using reconditioned models.
Apple expected hundreds of returns, but the recall program involved over a million units, far more than they had anticipated.
This list also includes the well-liked MacBook Air. In 2013, models manufactured between June 2012 and June 2013 were the subject of a recall. Although the precise number of units impacted was unknown, the recall was global in scope and applied to both domestic and foreign-sold goods.
Apple claims that the issue was with the MacBook’s disk, particularly the 64- and 128-gigabyte models. The business admitted that a flaw in this part might cause the device’s data to be lost. Consequently, it released the “Macbook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.1” software upgrade.
This firmware was created to test the SSDs in impacted devices and is accessible through the Mac App Store. If a device was identified as affected, the software tried to fix the problem by installing a new firmware. Although many users found success with this technique, software alone was insufficient to update certain disks. Apple provided free replacements for the defective drives in certain situations.
Despite several complaints about this flaw on various forums, the corporation did not reveal the number of units that were impacted.
The iPhone 7, the company’s most recent cutting-edge flagship handset, was released in 2016. It was a terrific addition to Apple’s iPhone lineup, packing more speed and power than its predecessors. However, an irritating problem with the iPhone 7 led to a recall in 2018. Even in cases where there was a clear cellular signal, certain devices showed a constant “No Service” error in the status bar.
Only versions sold in the US, China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Japan were subject to the recall. Apple stated that a logic board flaw was the cause of the display problem. Only certain iPhone 7 units manufactured between September 2016 and February 2018 were recalled, therefore not all models were impacted. The precise number of impacted units was not disclosed by the corporation, though.
Apple provided free fixes for qualified devices in order to fix the issue. Instead, customers might ask for refund if they had already paid for comparable repairs. It was as easy as calling an Apple retail location, contacting Apple Support, or going to an approved service provider to have the problem fixed.
The iPhone 8 was added to the company’s list of recalled items around six months after the iPhone 7 was recalled due to a “no service” problem. In August 2018, Apple declared that certain smartphone models have flaws, notably in their logic boards. Fortunately, the 8 Plus was not affected.
Compared to the iPhone 7, this logic board flaw was different. In this instance, impacted devices frequently experienced abrupt restarts or freezing. They didn’t come on in certain situations. As a reaction, the business offered customers a free repair program that included devices that had not yet displayed the problem, acknowledging that they could do so in the future.
The devices sold between September 2017 and March 2018 were recalled in the US, India, China, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Customers had to use their serial number to verify on a website whether they needed a replacement because not all models from this time frame were impacted. Using this service came with a catch. Prior to Apple fixing the logic board flaw, the gadget had to be repaired at the customer’s expense if it had unrelated damage, such as a cracked screen.
One of the greatest and largest MacBook models available was the 15-inch Macbook Pro until Apple discontinued it and replaced it with the 16-inch in 2019. It was the perfect choice for professionals and creatives who required additional workspace because of its outstanding display and remarkable performance.
However, Apple announced a recall for certain 15-inch Macbook Pros, specifically those manufactured between September 2015 and February 2017, months before the 16-inch Macbook Pro was launched in June 2019. The manufacturer admitted that these laptops’ batteries have a tendency to overheat and occasionally catch fire.
About 26 overheating reports and 17 property damage charges had been filed against Apple at the time of the recall. Additionally, there were a few cases of users getting burned. Approximately 432,000 Macbooks were impacted in the United States alone, despite the fact that only a small number of models were impacted. Those impacted were given free repairs by the company.