14 DAY TRIAL // Remember we told you the HP Chromebook 11 experienced some issues as of late? The device was pulled off retail shelves at BestBuy and online from the HP official website too, seemingly because of charger overheating issues.
Google and HP apparently came up with the fix for the problem so users will soon be able to purchase a Chromebook 11 dedicated charger right off the Google Play store, to replace the faulty one.
Now after a month since the Chromebooks where redrawn from sale, Consumer Reports posted an article in an attempt to shed some light of what really went wrong here.
Consumer Reports (CR) apparently tested the chargers to see exactly how heated they really got and recorded a temperature as high as 140° Fahrenheit / 60° Celsius, reports Yahoo. At first glance the temperature seems to be quite steamy, but is it really too hot in terms of electronics capacity?
CR got in touch with consumer safety director for the Underwriters Laboratories (UL), John Drengenberg in an attempt to answer the question. Underwriters Laboratories was in fact the company that provided certification for the HP Chromebook 11 before it was released.
UL sets safety standards for a lot of electronic devices and Drengenberg claims that UL’s temperature thresholds for products are relative since they are based on the different materials used to build the power supply’s enclosure.
“I can tell you from my years of working in the lab that I can barely keep my fingers on a product that is at 55° Celsius / 131° Fahrenheit. My threshold of pain is right there. Now is that a fire hazard or shock hazard? I don’t know.”
At the moment, we're not sure we’re going to see the HP Chromebook 11 come back to the market, but for those of you who have already purchased one, Google and HP recommend you use another UL-listed charger if you don’t feel like paying an extra $19.99 / €15 for a brand new charger.