The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2022–2025
ESR's HaloLock: the power bank recall that grew with every new fire
5 fires in Canada and 9 in the US by July 2025; the August recall grew in September to 9 and 11. 11,757 Canadian units; refund after safe disposal.
ESR · 2025-09-26
What happened
ESR's HaloLock wireless power banks — models 2G520, 2G505B, 2G512B and 2G505 — sold 11,757 units in Canada between October 2022 and July 2025, on Amazon and The Home Depot's website; the same cells were recalled in the US by the CPSC.
The lithium-ion battery is a serious fire hazard. By the end of July 2025: five fire reports in Canada, nine in the US — enough for the August recall. The fires kept arriving: by September 26, 2025, Health Canada expanded the recall with nine Canadian and eleven US fire reports.
The remedy is a full refund from Waymeet Limited after the owner stops using the unit and disposes of it per municipal guidelines. A recall measured in fires-per-month is a reach problem again.
Why it happened
- The lithium-ion battery poses a serious fire hazard — 5 Canadian and 9 US fires by Jul 2025, then 9 and 11 when the recall expanded on Sep 26, 2025
- 11,757 Canadian units sold Oct 2022–Jul 2025 on Amazon and Home Depot's site; the CPSC recalled the US units the same month
- The expansion is the tell: fires kept being reported after the first recall — the unreached power banks kept charging
The lesson
An expanded recall is a recall that watched its own hazard continue — every new fire report is a unit the first notice never reached. The second headline is the reach rate.
Sources
- Health Canada — Expanded recall: ESR HaloLock Wireless Power Bank recalled due to fire hazard (Sep 2025)
- CTV News — Power bank recall expanded in Canada after more fires reported (Sep 2025)
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