Wireless Earphone Users Report Fire and Burn Injuries, Prompting Recall of Over 300K Units

A specific brand of wireless earphones has been recalled due to safety concerns that can arise when the earphones overheat, product safety officials said this week.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an independent agency with the federal government based in Maryland, issued a press release announcing the recall on Wednesday. The recall covers more than 300,000 of the Jobsite Pro Wireless Earphones by DEWALT.

According to the CPSC's release, the earphones can run the risk of overheating while they are either charging or in use. In some cases, the earphones can pose "burn and fire hazards" when they are overheated, the CPSC's release said.

E-Filliate, Inc., a consumer electronics company, initiated the recall after receiving 61 reports of the products overheating, according to CPSC. Among those were "five reports of fire and four reports of minor burn injuries," the CPSC said.

E-Filliate said on its website that it launched the recall "to keep our customers safe and prevent injuries by removing the problem products." The earphones covered by the recall were described as having "a black and yellow neckband with wired earbuds" and were sold in packaging that includes mention of the "DEWALT" brand and the specific product name.

All of the earphones have a manufacturing number printed on the left side of the neckband. Any earphones with the following codes are covered by the recall, according to E-Filliate: D4 1910, D4 1912, D4 2003, D4 2004, D4 2006, D4 2009, D4 2011, D4 2012, D4 2101, D4 2103, and D4 2104. Earphones without any printed manufacturing code on the neckband are also covered by the recall, E-Filliate said.

The recall covers an estimated 301,800 sets of earphones.

The earphones were sold between December 2019 and July of this year for an estimated $60 at The Home Depot, Lowe's and other electronic and hardware stores across the U.S., as well as online at cyberguys.com, according to the CPSC.

Individuals who believe they are in possession of a set of the recalled earphones were instructed to stop using them "immediately," regardless of whether they have personally experienced an issue with the product. Those who have the product were encouraged to contact E-Filliate by phone or email to get a pre-paid return label, which can be sent to the consumers by mail or email. The consumers can then use the return labels to send the earphones back to E-Filliate and receive a replacement set. No receipt is necessary in order to return the earphones, E-Filliate said.

Newsweek reached out to DEWALT for comment.