Nokia today initiated a charger exchange program, in which consumers owning certain Nokia-branded chargers manufactured by a third-party supplier are recommended to exchange these chargers for free replacements.

Nokia's global recall affects 14 million chargers made this year because some of them could be faulty.

During a routine quality control process, Nokia said that it identified a potential product quality issue with certain chargers manufactured by one of its third-party suppliers. The plastic covers of the affected chargers could come loose and separate, exposing the charger's internal components and potentially posing an electrical shock hazard if certain internal components are touched while the charger is plugged into a live socket. Nokia added that it was not aware of any incidents or injuries related to these chargers.

"Only a limited number of chargers of certain model types manufactured by a single third-party supplier during a specific time period are within the scope of the exchange program. They are the AC-3E and AC-3U models, manufactured between June 15, 2009 and August 9, 2009; and the AC-4U model, manufactured between April 13, 2009 and October 25, 2009," Nokia said. The AC-3E charger was marketed in Europe while the two others were sold to the North and Latin American markets.

For more information, visit Nokia's website at http://chargerexchange.nokia.com