Nvidia recalls Shield Tablets over fire hazard concerns

The Nvidia Shield Tablet is a nice piece of electronics, and we praised its streaming capabilities in our August 2014 review. There's just one little problem. Sometimes, they can set things on fire.

That's maybe oversimplifying the situation a bit, but Nvidia has in fact issued a recall of the device after determining that "the battery in these tablets can overheat and pose a fire hazard." Because it's the battery and not the actual tablet that's the problem, only devices with the Y01 battery are affected. You can determine which battery you've got by going into the Settings menu, selecting About Tablet, and then Status.

As a precaution, Nvidia has asked that owners of affected Shield Tablets stop using them immediately, "except as needed to participate in the recall and back up data." Instructions for registering for the recall, which will result in the replacement of the old tablet with a brand new one, can be found at the Nvidia support site.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.