Brooklyn-based consumer tech accessories brand Casely, along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), has reannounced a recall of more than 429,000 wireless portable power banks.
This is the second recall notice for the same product and comes after an in-flight incident involving the charger. Although there were no fatalities in this case, the previous recall followed the death of an elderly woman.
Casely first recalled its Power Pods 5000mAh portable MagSafe wireless phone charger (model E33A) in April 2025. The updated notice, issued on April 16, applies to the same model.
In August 2024, a 75-year-old woman from New Jersey died after suffering second- and third-degree burns when the power bank caught fire and exploded in her lap while she was charging her phone.
The latest incident took place in February this year, when a 47-year-old woman suffered first-degree burns after the charger caught fire and exploded on a plane.
While those two cases are the reason this recall is back in the news, they also show how easy it is for us to forget about these types of tech accessories.
Many of us look at portable chargers as throwaway tech. We might buy one for travel, keep another at work, and keep one on our nightstand, treating it the same way we would a charging cable or phone case.
That’s one of the reasons this latest power bank recall is more than another product safety reminder. It highlights how hard it can be to act on a recall when it involves something like a low-cost battery accessory that most people stop thinking about once they’ve taken it out of the box and thrown away the packaging.
According to the CPSC’s Agency Performance Report, the response rate for all consumer product recalls was 44.5% in FY 2025, showing that it’s not always easy to get recalled products out of circulation even after notices go out.
The immediate facts of this recall are clear: the recalled lithium-ion battery can overheat and ignite, and consumers should stop using the device and seek a replacement. But the Casely recall also reminds us that some of the gadgets we don’t spend much time thinking about can come with risks that we shouldn’t ignore.
Why This Recalled Power Bank Is Back in the News Again
When Casely first recalled the power bank in 2025, it had received 51 reports of the product’s lithium-ion battery overheating, expanding, or catching fire while consumers were charging their phones, resulting in six minor burn injuries. Since then, the CPSC says there have been 28 additional reports, forcing a repeat of the recall announcement.
The need to reissue the recall suggests that the hardest part of keeping people safe from a defective product isn’t always just identifying it and making an announcement. The real work is getting that device out of everyday use once it’s become part of people’s routines. Even if consumers see the recall, they may write it off as something others need to worry about and not check whether it applies to their specific device.
For a boutique tech brand like Casely, getting the word out to past buyers can be even harder. When a legacy brand like Apple or Samsung issues a recall notice, it often has more direct channels, including hardware-level connections with users; lifestyle brands like Casely don’t.
That communication gap can be seen in the lag between the 2024 fatality, the 2025 recall, and the 2026 reannouncement. During that time, people kept using the power banks until another one malfunctioned, caught on fire, and exploded, prompting the company to update the recall notice.
Portable Chargers Can Become Hidden Fire Risks
Looking at Casely’s product page for its Power Pod MagSafe battery packs, it’s easy to see why consumers wouldn’t question their safety. They come in a variety of colors, styles, and themes, and you have to click through a couple of pages to find safety information.
Most consumers aren’t going to think of fire risk when they see these colorful chargers. However, behind that shell, they’re still lithium-ion devices. According to the National Fire Protection Association, one issue with lithium-ion batteries is that they can enter thermal runaway, leading to rapid overheating and fire.
While the Casely recall doesn’t identify that as the failure mechanism in this case, it does say the battery can overheat and catch on fire. In a 2025 travel alert, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned that lithium batteries, including power banks and portable chargers, can act as ignition sources and start onboard fires. Because of the fire hazard, the FAA bans lithium batteries in checked luggage.
And that’s where the Casely story goes beyond just one power bank brand. We often keep our portable chargers in places where battery failure can become dangerous fast: on the couch, in a backpack, or on our laps. They’re easy to ignore, but it’s important to remember that they’re not harmless enough to forget.
How to Identify and Safely Dispose of Recalled Power Pods
If you own a Casely Power Pod, the CPSC recommends you stop using it immediately. You can check to see whether you own an affected device by looking for the model number E33A on the back of the charger.
You shouldn’t throw the power bank in the trash, curbside recycling, or the battery drop boxes often found at retail and home improvement stores. Because recalled lithium-ion batteries have a higher fire risk than regular batteries, CSPC says they should be handled differently.
Check with your local household hazardous waste collection center to see whether it accepts recalled lithium-ion devices. If it doesn’t, contact your municipality for instructions on how to dispose of it.
Originally published by Techopedia on August 20, 2026.