UPS returning some AirPods Max shipments to Apple as 'hazardous materials' [u]
Some customers in Canada and the US are reportedly being notified by UPS that their AirPods Max will not be delivered because they contain "hazardous materials."
As the first AirPods Max begin to arrive worldwide, an unknown number of customers are instead being told theirs will not be delivered. What UPS describes as an "irregularity" appears to be confined to customers in Canada, though the shipping company is stopping the orders while still en route from the US.
According to iPhone in Canada, users are reporting that the return happens around halfway through the shipping process. One specifies that their package got to UPS's center in Ontario, California before being halted.
"A hazardous materials irregularity occurred with this package," says the UPS shipping notification sent to multiple buyers in Canada. "We'll contact sender with additional information. The package will be returned to sender."
A spokesperson for UPS Canada confirmed to AppleInsider that the issue concerned labelling of the parcels as collected by them.
"Packages tendered to UPS, containing AirPods Max, were incorrectly labeled," said the spokesperson. "For the safety of our employees and the community, all shipments containing potentially hazardous materials must follow specific guidelines. We have followed up to ensure proper labelling."
UPS did not specify any further details, and Apple has yet to comment. It's most likely that these particular AirPods Max shipments do not have the required warnings about batteries.
The sets of AirPods Max received by AppleInsider, and others seen by staffers, were all correctly labelled, so the source of the "exception" is not known.
Separately, new orders for AirPods Max are seeing delivery dates slip into 2021.
Updated: 10:30 AM Eastern Time on December 17, 2020 with the statement from UPS.
As the first AirPods Max begin to arrive worldwide, an unknown number of customers are instead being told theirs will not be delivered. What UPS describes as an "irregularity" appears to be confined to customers in Canada, though the shipping company is stopping the orders while still en route from the US.
According to iPhone in Canada, users are reporting that the return happens around halfway through the shipping process. One specifies that their package got to UPS's center in Ontario, California before being halted.
"A hazardous materials irregularity occurred with this package," says the UPS shipping notification sent to multiple buyers in Canada. "We'll contact sender with additional information. The package will be returned to sender."
A spokesperson for UPS Canada confirmed to AppleInsider that the issue concerned labelling of the parcels as collected by them.
"Packages tendered to UPS, containing AirPods Max, were incorrectly labeled," said the spokesperson. "For the safety of our employees and the community, all shipments containing potentially hazardous materials must follow specific guidelines. We have followed up to ensure proper labelling."
UPS did not specify any further details, and Apple has yet to comment. It's most likely that these particular AirPods Max shipments do not have the required warnings about batteries.
The sets of AirPods Max received by AppleInsider, and others seen by staffers, were all correctly labelled, so the source of the "exception" is not known.
Separately, new orders for AirPods Max are seeing delivery dates slip into 2021.
Updated: 10:30 AM Eastern Time on December 17, 2020 with the statement from UPS.
Comments
once the Amazon delivery service lost my packages. When I called them, they sent more and told me to keep the others, should they arrive. Some of the goods weren’t even being sold by Amazon, just shipped.
The only unsettling issue I've ever had with Amazon, one that was a total fail, was sending me a turntable where the manufacturer's original packaging was completely abused, likely by a forklift, and yet Amazon still send me the damaged package rewrapped inside a "clean" Amazon box. They made it right and threw in some chump change for my trouble. I recently had an issue with the Amazon Key delivery not being delivered inside my garage and after contacting them they traced down the cause of the issue late into the evening and followed up with me in real time.
No shipping company is perfect, but Amazon does seem like it cares and has always tried to resolve issues that I have encountered, even when rare, to my satisfaction. I put Amazon (and its subsidiaries) at the same level as Apple when it comes to customer service.
amd the Macbook Pro I ordered that ups lost, came by air from China to the USA via Japan, South Korea, then into Anchorage Alaska, then to Kentucky, before being loaded onto a truck to NJ, and then NYC.
Wrong. How do you think iPhones get here from China?
Lithium batteries that are part of electronics equipment are permitted on aircraft.
Shipping lithium batteries by air is the most complicated of all forms of transit, due to the increased risk (i.e. and aircraft accidents caused by fire are likely to be fatal). With damaged batteries being blamed for aircraft crashes in the past, the shipping of damaged or defective batteries is strictly forbidden.
When transporting lithium-ion batteries via air, the Dangerous Good Regulations (DGR) must be reviewed and met. These regulations are governed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
If the item is being returned to Apple, then they clearly failed in the proper labeling of the packaging to be safe for shipping by Air.
Not for free. I'd tell them to stop selling their iPad knockoffs and fully support iPad instead and they get full Apple deliveries. They'd both make more money in the long run.