The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2024–2026
final's TWS03R: 17 fires on earphones recalled 18 months earlier
The recalled earphones kept burning: 17 major accidents, one in June 2026 in Saitama. The Dec 2024 exchange never reached enough owners; stop using now.
final · 2026-07-10
What happened
final Inc., the Tokyo audio maker, opened a free collect-and-exchange in December 2024 for the TWS03R wireless earphones — six color variants whose lithium-polymer battery could burn.
The recalled earphones kept burning: the Consumer Affairs Agency has logged 17 major product accidents on the recalled product, including a fire in Saitama on June 18, 2026, during the recall period. The agency published the case on July 10, 2026.
Seventeen is not a tail, it is a fleet of small fires — each one an earphone case that stayed in a pocket or a bag instead of going back to the exchange counter.
Why it happened
- The TWS03R's lithium-polymer battery could burn — 17 major product accidents on recalled units, including a Jun 18, 2026 fire in Saitama
- The exchange opened Dec 2024 and is still running; 18 months in, the accidents continue — the unreached owners are the hazard now
- final is a boutique audio brand — 17 fires on a niche earphone outweigh in accident count what mass brands log on millions of units
The lesson
A recall that keeps logging fires is a reach-rate problem, not a remedy problem — the exchange counter was open while the pockets kept burning. Owners reached is the metric.
Sources
- 消費者庁 — 重大製品事故：リコール製品で火災等（イヤホン、final TWS03R） (Jul 2026)
- 消費者庁リコール情報 — final イヤホン 回収・交換 (Dec 2024)
- qbei — finalのTWS03Rイヤホンがリコール中に発火、埼玉県で事故発生 (2026)
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