The viral Haribo power bank you’re carrying could be a fire risk

What’s happened? A viral power bank just went from backpacker favorite to potential safety hazard. An examination by Lumafield shows that the widely sold Haribo 20,000 mAh power bank (and earphones) has serious internal battery defects, which likely led to its removal from online stores.

• The scans revealed misaligned battery cells, with electrodes folded or warped instead of stacked flat.
• Layers inside the cells showed irregular geometry and uneven wrapping, indicating poor quality control.
• Lumafield found that the Haribo earbuds also contain poorly built battery cells with defects similar to the power bank.

This is important because: Haribo power banks became a hit among travelers and backpackers because of their huge 20,000 mAh capacity in an unusually small, lightweight shell. But the Haribo power banks were recently removed from Amazon, and pending orders were cancelled. That’s when Lumafield ran the device through an industrial CT scanner, which revealed the internal defects hidden beneath the compact shell.

CT scans of the power bank show that the electrode layers do not form a neat block. Instead, they bend, bulge, and sometimes shift, creating “wavy” misalignment rather than a tight pack. This kind of mis-stacking significantly increases the risk of lithium plating or dendrite growth, where tiny metal fibers can form and eventually create internal shorts or even fires.

Why should I care? If you own one of these Haribo-branded batteries or earbuds, it’s time to reconsider using them.

• The problems are structural and not visible from the outside, meaning the risk remains even if the pack looks brand-new.
• Lumafield’s findings make it clear that this isn’t just poor quality but a safety risk that could cause overheating, premature failure or even fire.

OK, what’s next? If you are looking for safer alternatives to carry on your trips, you can check out some of the best compact power bank deals available right now in the Black Friday sale, including options that offer solid build quality without cutting corners.