Corsair has discovered a potential problem (opens in new tab) with its SF series of Platinum-certified SFX power supplies that can lead to premature failure when the unit is exposed to high temperatures and high humidity. The problem isn't just limited to units inside U.S. soil as foreign retailers, such as Tiyu (opens in new tab), Ask Corporation (opens in new tab) and Links International (opens in new tab), have issued a recall on imported SF units as well.
Manufacturing, whether it be by machine or a human, isn't perfect by any means. Every once in a while, a bad batch will escape quality controls. Unfortunately, this is the case with the SF series. Corsair's investigation revealed that SF units with a lot code between 194448xx to 201148xx, manufactured between October 2019 and March 2020, can potentially fail. Customers who purchased their SF power supplies before October shouldn't be impacted.
Apparently it's a technical issue that can manifest itself either when you turn the power supply on for the first time, or over a period of use. If you own one of Corsair's SF power supplies or just recently purchased one, you should give the packaging or sticker a quick look to make sure you didn't get one from the bad batch.
Fortunately, the defect resides in the primary section of the power supply. Corsair has reassured its customers that the fault isn't in any way related to the DC section of the unit, meaning the power supply might fizzle, but it won't take your components with it.
According to Corsair, not every SF unit manufactured within the time frame suffers from the failure. At any rate, the manufacturer has put together a voluntary product replacement program (opens in new tab) for affected owners. Corsair will replace the unit free of cost and even take care of the shipping fees.
