Apple has just issued a voluntary recall for certain two-prong AC wall plug adapters used on Macs and some iOS devices sold outside the US. The company says that this is due to a "very rare" risk of the adapters breaking and giving the user an electric shock.
The adapters in question were shipped between 2003 and 2015, in Argentina, Brazil, Contintal Europe, New Zealand, and South Korea. It doesn't affect adapters designed for the US, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, or the UK. The company said that The recall also does not include USB power adapters, but it does apply to adapters included in Apple's $29 "world traveler" kit.
Apple said it is aware of 12 incidents that have occurred due to the broken adapters over the past 12 years, although none have taken place in the United States.
In an official statement, the company explained how to identify adapters that may be affected by the problem. "An affected two-prong plug adapter has either four or five characters or no characters on the inside slot where it attaches to the main Apple power adapter."
The safe, redesigned adapters will have a 3-letter regional code in the slot, such as EUR, KOR, AUS, ARG or BRA.
While recalling the adapters due to 12 worldwide incidents across 12 years may seem a bit overly cautious on Apple's part, the company will want to make sure it does all it can to prevent any further reported issues.
Customer safety is always Apple's top priority, and we have voluntarily decided to exchange affected wall plug adapters with a new, redesigned adapter, free of charge.
Apple's announcement comes a week after Microsoft said it will recall nearly all Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, and Surface Pro 3 power cords over concerns that they can overheat under the wrong circumstances.
If you're in one of the affected regions and think your adapter may be at fault, go to this page to find out how to exchange it.
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