Sony issues partial recall on Tough CFexpress Type A memory cards

Sony Japan has issued an alert for the company’s CEA-G (Tough) series CFexpress Type A memory cards. Under certain conditions, the card can become unrecognised by the camera and not save files correctly.

Fortunately, the conditions won’t be an issue for most of us. They happen when the cards are being used at their extreme low-temperature limits, around -10°C. Sony’s partial recall covers specific batches of memory cards, and Sony will repair or replace them for free.

Sony CEA-G Tough Series CFexpress Type A – Partial Recall

Sony has issued a recall based on cards essentially dying in extremely cold temperatures. The company appears to have narrowed the issue down to specific batches of cards, but it affects the Sony CEA-G CFexpress Type A cards in 80GB ($198), 160GB ($398), 320GB ($648) and 640GB ($998) capacities.

The full (Google-translated) statement reads as follows:

Thank you for using Sony products. We have discovered that in some CFexpress Type A memory cards in the CEA-G series, there are rare cases where the card is not recognized or writing does not finish in low-temperature environments near the lower limit of operating temperature (-10°C).

Therefore, we will repair the affected products free of charge during the free repair period listed below. If you are using an affected memory card product, please check whether your product is eligible for free repair, and if so, please apply via the website below or contact us at the address listed below. We apologize for any inconvenience caused to customers using the affected products. We appreciate your continued patronage of our products.

The issue affects Sony CEA-G80T / CEA-G160T / CEA-G320T / CEA-G640T model cards with specific serial number ranges. The serial number is printed on the back of the product near the bottom.

Here is the list of affected serial number ranges:

• CEA-G80T:
  • ① Products with 8-digit numbers 22030050 to 23050157,
    • except for products with the following numbers:
    • 22030077, 22030094 , 22040022, 22050028, 22050067, 22070075, 22110010, 22110015, 22110029, 22110037, 22110103
  • ② Products with the nine-digit number 220300500 to 230501570
• CEA-G160T:
  • ① Products with 8-digit numbers 22030127 to 24029999,
    • except for products with the following numbers:
    • 22040025, 22040068, 22050029, 22050068, 22070076
  • ② Products with a 9-digit number between 220301270 and 240299990
• CEA-G320T:
  • ① Products with 8-digit numbers between 22090001 and 24029999
  • ② Products with a 9-digit number between 220900010 and 240299990
• CEA-G640T:
  • ① Products with 8-digit numbers between 23010001 and 24029999
  • ② Products with a 9-digit number between 230100010 and 240299990

If you have one of the affected cards, head to the Sony website. You are able to enter your card details, and they will send you a collection kit. You send that back to them with your memory card(s) enclosed and you’ll get working ones back.

Again, it’s not an issue that’s going to affect a massive amount of people. A lot of us will never be shooting in those kinds of temperatures. But it’s probably still a good idea to get yours sorted if you have one of the affected cards.

These cards are on the list of recently VPG-certified CFexpress cards. Sony also has 960GB and 1.92TB Tough CFexpress Type A memory cards. Those, however, are part of Sony’s CEA-M lineup, not CEA-G and aren’t part of this recall. So, if those are the cards you have, you’re probably safe.

[via Asobinet]