HP has said the problem is with the batteries, not the laptops, although given that most batteries are nonremovable by end users, the laptop is going to have to be packed off and repaired.  HP though thinks the distinction is important so we are pointing it out.

HP initiated the recall in January 2018, and expanded it in January 2019, but the news hadn't widely circulated because of the US government shut down while Donald (Prince of Orange) Trump held out for his wall.

The UPSC finally posted the news to its site on Tuesday with the explanation: "NOTE: This recall expansion was previously announced independently on  17 January 2019 by the firm due to US government furlough."

This is part of a continuing series of battery recalls from HP. The J17 January 2019was for about 51,000 models, but 41,000 were recalled in June 2016 and 100,000 in January 2017, bringing the total for the past two and a half years to almost a quarter of a million.

The recall applies to laptops sold between April 2015 and December 2018 and may have been shipped with specific HP Probook 64x (G2 and G3), HP ProBook 65x (G2 and G3), HP ProBook 4xx G4 (430, 440, 450, 455, and 470), HP x360 310 G2, HP ENVY M6, HP Pavilion x360, HP 11 notebook computers and HP ZBook (17 G3, 17 G4, and Studio G3) mobile workstations sold worldwide from December 2015 through April 2018. They were also sold as accessories or provided as replacements from December 2015 through December 2018 for the above products, as well as additional products through HP or an authorised HP Service Provider, including certain HP Mobile Thin Client products.

HP warns: "It is essential to recheck your battery, even if you did so previously and were informed that it was not affected. However, if you have already received a replacement battery, you are not affected by this expansion."

If you suspect your laptop qualifies -- it doesn't apply to every model sold within that period -- you can download the validation utility from the recall page to check.