The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2024-2025
Xiaomi recalled 146,891 power banks, then sued its battery supplier
Xiaomi recalled every USB-C 20000 33W power bank made with a flawed battery cell from supplier Amprius, then filed for damages against the same supplier.
Xiaomi · 2025-08-29
What happened
Xiaomi recalled 146,891 USB-C Power Bank 20000 33W units, in light coffee and space blue, manufactured between August and September 2024. The affected batch used a version-2.0 126280-model battery cell from a single supplier that could pose safety risks in extreme scenarios for a very small share of units.
The recall, filed with China's market regulator on August 29, 2025, named the cause as defective raw materials in cells supplied by Amprius (Wuxi). Amprius's problems weren't confined to Xiaomi: the same supplier had previously furnished cells to Romoss for power banks that ignited spontaneously, and the Wuxi market regulator eventually sealed all of Amprius's lithium battery production, with 74 of its 3C certificates suspended or revoked.
Xiaomi said it had begun pursuing economic compensation and legal liability against Amprius for the losses the defective cells caused. The recall landed in the middle of a wider 2025 crisis across China's power bank industry, as certification bodies suspended 3C certificates for Xiaomi alongside Anker, Romoss, Baseus and Ugreen.
Why it happened
- Xiaomi's own recall was precautionary rather than injury-driven, but it depended on the same upstream battery-cell supplier whose defects caused actual ignitions at another major brand.
- A single cell supplier's raw-material defect reached at least two major power bank brands, showing how concentrated China's power bank supply chain had become around a handful of cell makers.
The lesson
Xiaomi's recall was precautionary, but it shared a supplier with Romoss's ignitions — a battery-cell defect doesn't respect brand loyalty, and neither should supplier due diligence.
Aftermath
Xiaomi pursued financial recovery from Amprius while continuing to sell other power bank models. The Amprius production halt and the industry-wide certification review left several major Chinese power bank brands, Xiaomi included, facing supply disruptions into late 2025.
Sources
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