Anker has issued a recall for its PowerCore 10000 power bank (model A1263) due to a “potential issue with the lithium-ion battery” that could pose a fire safety risk. The company has received 19 reports of fires and explosions that have caused minor burn injuries and resulted in property damage totaling over $60,700, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC).
2025-06-1312:4113076www.theverge.com
Stop using it immediately.
The recall covers about 1,158,000 units that were sold online through Amazon, Newegg, and eBay between June 2016 and December 2022. The affected batteries can be identified by the Anker logo engraved on the side with the model number A1263 printed on the bottom edge. However, Anker is only recalling units sold in the US with qualifying serial numbers. To check if yours is included, you’ll need to visit Anker’s website.
Anker is offering affected consumers their choice of either a $30 gift card (the recalled battery cost around $27) that can be used on Anker.com, or a free 10,000mAh Anker power bank as a replacement (model A1388) featuring upgrades including a charge level display and a USB-C charging cable lanyard.
To receive the gift card or the replacement, Anker requires a “photo of the power bank with the submission date and the word ‘recall’ or ‘recalled’ written clearly in permanent marker,” to be submitted, and a “photo showing the model number and serial number (SN) printed on the bottom of the device.” The company is also requesting a purchase receipt, but it’s not mandatory to participate in the recall.
After confirming that your power bank is one of the recalled units, Anker says it should be taken to a facility that can safely dispose of lithium-ion batteries due to the risk of fire. Those facilities can be found through the Environmental Protection Agency’s website or other organizations in the US that specialize in processing e-waste. Do not throw them in the trash, recycling bins, or used battery boxes provided at various retail locations.
The recall is also a reminder that power banks and backup batteries can potentially develop severe issues over time, as these particular units are almost a decade old. If you’ve been regularly using devices featuring lithium-ion batteries for a while, you’ll want to be mindful of issues like overheating or visible swelling and dispose of them properly if you think there’s a potential problem. And while the technology is currently more expensive than lithium-ion batteries, you can also consider upgrading to solid-state batteries which are more powerful, safer, and longer lasting than what we commonly use now to power our devices.
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Comments
By BrandoElFollito 2025-06-1314:552 reply I usually buy Anker, mostly because of information like this one. It is sad but shit happens.
The noname battery at half the price may be great (even identical to the branded points, or better) or it may not be. If I do not know that it has a such serious flaw I do not want to use it.
Furthermore, a smaller brand is likely long gone by the time such trouble turns up, so the recall never happens and you're on your own, my friend.
The sad part is how most people will accept catastrophic device failure as a fact of life of their social standing, and feel like they have no recourse in being sold a dangerous product.
In most cases they may have no recourse.
A bunch of these made-for-Amazon brands are just a middleman in China selling white label products from an unspecified manufacturer. Oberdorf v. Amazon means that Amazon can be sued in Pennsylvania, but does not establish liability for other jurisdictions.
The third-party seller is almost certainly liable, but they're a shell company in a country that is difficult for the legal systems of western countries to access. The manufacturer might have some liability, but it's difficult to establish exactly who that is, and they might reasonably claim that they're not selling a finished consumer product, so their only liability is to their customer the middleman.
I think making Amazon liable probably is the best solution, but the courts haven't done it for most of the USA, and I doubt congress will.
By bunderbunder 2025-06-1319:09 Though that starts to sound like an Onion headline: "'There's no way I can possibly avoid this,' says patron of the only store where this happens."
By fhd2 2025-06-1315:45 And even if you do, you might have trouble recognising the brand you hear about in the news. The cheap brand names seem to be mostly arbitrary strings of uppercase characters.
By jollyllama 2025-06-1316:096 reply Conversely, I bought one Anker product 13 years ago and it was DOA. Never bought from them again and I'm constantly surprised by the glowing opinion that people have had of them in the years since.
You've been hearing glowing reviews from everyone else for 13 years and rather than the obvious explanation that you got a rare dud, you assume everyone's gaslit themselves into liking their products despite them failing at a high rate?
By potato3732842 2025-06-1317:52 A huge fraction, perhaps even the majority, of the "discussing consumer products" part of the internet is just people who overpaid for NiceStuff(TM) trying to gaslight everyone else into thinking it was a great value for money so that they can feel justified in their purchase.
So he's kind of on to something. But yeah, probably just got a rare dud.
By accrual 2025-06-1316:26 It makes sense, first impressions are important and your first experience with Anker wasn't a good one. I wouldn't be jumping to buy more of their products either.
On the other hand, I've only had good experiences so I tend to reach for Anker when I need a USB adapter, cable, or power bank. They're established enough that I know I have support if needed, and (IMO) their stuff is decent quality.
By arp242 2025-06-1316:55 Any brand for any type of product has the occasional DOA; it's very hard to completely prevent. The question is: 1) does it occur very frequently, and 2) do they rectify the situation ASAP (that is what warranty is for)?
By accelbred 2025-06-1318:32 I've bought cables from them that dont work with their own chargers. Bought multiple of each so was not a one-off. Their 100W cables fail when used with chargers that can do 100W.
By esseph 2025-06-1317:19 Most trusted brand I've found for cables, phone sized and laptop sized battery packs, etc.
I pay probably 30% more over the cheapie and know I'm actually getting what it says in the label, and that they are a long-lived reputable company that generally stands by their stuff.
It's one of the few things I buy off Amazon that I actually trust.
By Toutouxc 2025-06-1316:23 So what? You could get a DOA product from Apple, Xiaomi or Cisco. Send it back, get a new one. I got a DOA PlayStation 4 and an expensive LG monitor.
Possibly interesting note on this: Amazon runs a query/report on your historical purchases vs recalls. If it finds a hit they display a message on your orders history page saying that something you ordered has been subject to a recall.
Years ago an air fryer I bought there was recalled. We sent the unit off and received a replacement. Nevertheless Amazon kept displaying the message. So I ignore it. It's there very day.
After seeing this article I wondered if I'd bought an affected unit so went to the Amazon order history page. Still displaying the message saying I have a recalled item. But if I click that message it displays two of the Anker batteries (and the Air Fryer, still).
Lesson is that you should click that link once in a while..
And Jeff if you're reading: make the message say "A new item has been added to your recall list".
By Havoc 2025-06-1316:50 Yup. They sent me a recall for a chocolate half a year later. They clearly think I have a vast amount of self-control.
There's been a few Anker Power Bank recalls:
- (this) A1263/PowerCore 10K https://www.anker.com/a1263-recall
- A1642|A1647|A1652/Anker 334 MagGo/PowerCore 10k partial recall in 2024 https://www.anker.com/a1642-a1647-a1652-recall
- A1366/535 Power Bank/PowerCore 20K in 2023 https://www.anker.com/a1366-recall
By out-of-ideas 2025-06-1321:23 appreciate it, had me wonder if any more were and came across: https://us.anker.com/pages/product-recalls
from the page:
edit: forever formatting- Anker PowerCore 10000 power bank -Recalled in June, 2025 - Anker 334 MagGo Battery (PowerCore 10K)/Anker Power Bank/Anker MagGo Power Bank - Recalled in September, 2024 - Anker 321 Power Bank (PowerCore 5K) - Recalled in June, 2024 - Anker 535 Power Bank (PowerCore 20K) - Recalled in February, 2023
