USB Charging Block Recall

Our team recently identified an issue with the batch of USB Charging Blocks included with Rocky Talkie purchases since September 8, 2023. A small percentage of Charging Blocks shipped between September 8, 2023 and January 26th, 2024 were found to have an electronic component that does not meet our specifications and should not be used

The issue we’ve identified occurs if you transmit with your radio while charging. In this scenario, the faulty component can overheat and fail. While this is rare, the Charging Blocks are far from meeting our company’s standard for quality and safety, and in an abundance of caution, we have decided to recall all USB Charging Blocks that are potentially impacted – those shipped between September 8, 2023 and January 26th, 2024. Your USB-C cable is unaffected and you can continue to use it along with any other USB Charging Blocks you might own.

We are offering two options to resolve this issue:

1. Order free replacement Charging Blocks for each of your radios purchased since September 8, 2023 by following the link in the email you received. Please note: We wanted to inform you of this issue as early as possible - our team is working hard to purchase replacements that meet our quality standards and expect to ship them throughout February & March.

2. If you already have extra USB-C chargers or charging blocks from your other devices and don’t want more, please feel free to use them to charge your radios going forward. Your radio is compatible with nearly all USB-C chargers (phone or laptop chargers, car chargers, etc.). If you plug in your radio and see the charging indicator light turn on, you’ll know it’s compatible.

FAQ

Can the faulty charger impact my Rocky Talkie or any other electronics?
No, your radio or house/vehicle/power bank electrical system cannot be damaged by the faulty charger component.
 
Can I continue using the chargers if my radios are powered off while charging?
In our testing, if your radios are powered off and are not transmitting, charging works and we have been unable to reproduce the issue. However, since the charging blocks shipped between September 8, 2023 and January 26th, 2024 don’t meet our specifications, there could still be a risk of failure, and we recommend against continuing to use them in this manner even when powered off.
 
I have additional radios purchased before September 8th, 2023 - are these chargers okay to use?
Yes, all chargers included in Rocky Talkie orders prior to September 8, 2023 meet our specifications. However, we understand it may be impossible for you to tell which are the newer chargers that are impacted by the recall. If this is the case, please feel free to stop using all your Rocky Talkie chargers and order however many replacements you require.
 
How did this issue occur?
We test 100% of chargers in our factory, however, our testing was not able to identify this issue. Our 3rd party supplier switched a chip used in the charger that was at its end of life cycle (the chip was no longer available on the market). Against our company policy, they didn’t inform us of this change. Later on we found that this new chip was less reliable and a small percentage of them fail in certain circumstances. Our testing protocol has now been updated to include more scenarios like transmitting on the radios while charging. We are in the process of improving our materials and components controls to prevent issues like this in the future. As a small business with very high standards, we work hard to find suppliers who can meet our demands. We are determined to do better and apologize to our customers for this inconvenience.
 
How should I dispose of my charger?
Please dispose of the affected chargers by either disposing of them in the normal trash or recycling them at an electronics recycling facility.
 
Will my future Rocky Talkie purchases include USB Charging Blocks?
We’ve decided not to include USB Charging Blocks in all future radio orders. We will still be including the USB-C cable along with each radio we sell. Prior to this recall, we were already discussing excluding Charging Blocks for sustainability reasons. We frequently hear from customers who have an abundance of charging blocks and would prefer we exclude them from their order to prevent extra waste, as many other companies do.

If you have any additional questions, please reach out to our team at recall@rockytalkie.com.