Nokia is offering to replace the batteries of 46 million phones following complaints of overheating.

The problem concerns Nokia-branded BL-5C batteries manufactured by Matsushita, which are found in 300 million phones. These include popular handsets, such as the N71, N72 and 6230i.

Nokia has said in a statement on its website that it had 100 complaints about the batch of batteries manufactured between December 2005 and November 2006.
However, Mark Squires a representative for Nokia, told Computeractive that the complaints from UK users had reached only “single figures.”

“The damage caused by these batteries is minimal, in the worst cases the overheating caused by the faulty batteries will cause the battery to expand, disfigure and dislodge, however it would not cause any phone damage,” he said.

Mr Squires also defended the amount of time taken to identify the problem, saying the batteries had to be charged between 200 and 300 times before it could be identified. Those worried that they may be affected, can log onto Nokia’s website where they will find a full list of phone models.

Consumers can also identify if they have an affected battery by switching off their handset and checking the front of the battery for the words “Nokia” and “BL-5C.”

If the model is a BL-5C consumers are advised to take the battery out and type in the 26-character identification number from the back of the battery, into a toolbar found on the Nokia product advisory page. They will be advised online if the battery can be replaced, and of delivery details for the new battery which Nokia has said it will send out as “quickly as [it] can”

Old batteries must be placed in the freepost bag that comes with the new battery for appropriate disposal by Nokia.