Halt don't catch fire: Amazon recalls hundreds of thousands of Ring doorbells over exploding battery fears

What happens when you mix up the wood and metal screws provided for installation? Heeeeat

Updated Amazon’s home security brand Ring is recalling roughly 360,000 of its Wi-Fi enabled video doorbells over concerns they may catch fire when incorrectly installed.

The recall affects Ring’s second-generation video doorbell, with the defect appearing on units sold in the US and Canada between June and October of this year with the model number 5UM5E5.

Ring includes two sets of screws with its doorbell: the first are wood screws designed to affix the doorbell to a wall, while a second set of Torx T6 screws are used to attach the doorbell to its mounting bracket.

What happens if you mix the screws up? The battery may be damaged by the wrongly chosen screws and overheat, according to recall notices posted on the websites of Health Canada and the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In other words, if you pick the incorrect screw, you end up puncturing the battery, which is not good.

To date, Ring has received 85 reports of overheating (and, in some cases, exploding) Ring units in the United States. In 23 cases, the fault resulted in property damage, while eight people reported suffering “minor burns.”

Health Canada has reported just one incident, which produced no injuries or damages.

Ring is estimated to have sold 350,000 units of the affected product in the United States during the period, with a further 8,700 sold in the Great White North. Customers aren’t expected to return their existing devices for a replacement or refund, but are being encouraged to contact Ring for updated installation instructions.

It’s not clear what those who have already incorrectly installed their doorbells should do. We’ve contacted Ring for clarification. ®

Updated at 1335 UTC to add

Ring told us: "The safety of our customers is our top priority. We have contacted customers who purchased a Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) to ensure they received the updated user manual and follow the device installation instructions. Customers do not need to return their devices."