UPDATE: The original headline to this post was "Bell Canada Remotely Kills, Recalls MiFi Routers." Bell got in touch to tell us that it is not a recall but an "exchange program". A forced one, as you'll see below, but not a recall. Also, Bell asked us to tell you that "No exploding batteries have been confirmed. No physical injury or major property damage has been confirmed from a unit damaged due to user induced battery issues. (Thanks, Kevin!)
If your Bell-supplied Mi-Fi cellular Wi-Fi modem died yesterday, here's why: The batteries in some MiFi 2372 units are swelling and causing malfunctions. Bell Canada is recalling units (an envelope is likely already on its way to you) to replace both battery and battery cover.
This will take from six to eight weeks, so in the meantime you'll be given a Novatel U998 Turbo Stick - a USB 3G dongle - to tide you over (not so good if you're using the MiFi with a non-USB equipped gadget, like an iPad or iPod Touch).
So why did your MiFi stop working? After all, your battery appears still be at its normal, non-swollen size. Well Bell, in order to keep you from using the modem, has reached into your device from afar and remotely disabled it. Between 10PM and 11.59PM Eastern on May 3rd (last night), all units were killed.
Although the recall notice doesn't spell it out, we're pretty sure that swelling batteries are a precursor to exploding batteries, and this is why Bell has gone in so hard. Sorry, Canadians. There is a bright side, though: Y'all don't yet have the iPad, so at least you're not losing connectivity there.
Bell Novatel MiFi 2372 "battery may swell" [Mobile Syrup via Engadget]
