Health Canada Recalls BenQ GV31 Projector Over Fire Risk After 243 Units Sold in Canada

Here is the part that outlives the projector. Health Canada files the GV31 under "appliances," but the danger is not appliance-specific — it is battery-specific. Lithium-ion cells are now in power tools, portable power banks, personal electronics and e-mobility products such as e-bikes and scooters. The GV31 is one member of a very large family.

That family has a documented Canadian track record. Between 2013 and 2023, Health Canada's Consumer Product Safety Program received 924 reports of lithium-ion battery incidents, including 266 injuries and three deaths, according to a 2026 notice of intent. Over that same decade, the department issued 87 recalls tied to lithium-ion hazards, covering 374 product models and more than 980,000 units. There are currently no specific regulatory requirements for these batteries in Canada, which is precisely why Ottawa is now weighing mandatory safety rules. One projector recall is a data point. The trend is the story.

The mechanism is consistent across the category. Too much heat builds up inside a cell — from damage, a malfunction, or misuse — and the battery can enter thermal runaway, which Health Canada warns can lead to fires or explosions that are extremely difficult to put out.

That is not a projector problem. It is the same failure language regulators used for the Wyze solar security cameras recalled over a lithium-battery fire and burn hazard. Different product, identical physics.

If the GV31 recall changes one habit in your household, make it this: treat every battery-powered device as something that can fail hot, and charge it accordingly. The projector's natural habitat — a couch-side table, a carpeted basement floor, a covered deck — is exactly where a small thermal problem becomes a large one.

The official guidance is simple and worth applying to everything from your projector to your cordless drill. Health Canada advises charging lithium-ion devices at room temperature, in a spot where you can see them, and away from soft surfaces like a couch or bed that trap heat, per its lithium-ion battery safety guidance. It also cautions against charging longer than recommended, since overcharging is a direct route to overheating.

None of this requires understanding what went wrong inside the GV31. That is the useful thing about placement discipline: it lowers your risk without any diagnosis. The same principle already sits behind other recent home recalls for overheating devices, including the Merkury Innovations heating and cooling fan pulled after reports of catching fire. Where a device charges and cools matters as much as how well it is built.

For 243 households, this recall is an errand: call BenQ, send the unit back. For everyone else, it is a reminder that the most ordinary electronics now carry the same battery risk as the flashier ones — and that a hard surface and a clear exit path are close to free.