No, NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPUs aren't being officially recalled over fire hazards
The launch of NVIDIA’s Blackwell GPUs have been one of the most tumultuous GPU launches in recent memory, between the missing hardware, black screen reports, questionable pricing versus performance, and now what was briefly an official product recall.
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However, that statement has now been retracted. Here’s what happened. UK publication Kitguru received a message from a reader who told the publication that a retailer they purchased an MSI RTX 5090 Suprim from wasn’t able to furfil the order due to NVIDIA issuing an official recall on several RTX 5090 GPUs. The retailer stated to Ben, the reader, NVIDIA was recalling the cards it has in stock due to “various safety issues,” and more specifically, “due to an increased fire hazard“.
Kitguru launched an investigation into this matter and contacted the retailer Your Game Specialist’s CEO, Jeroen Vukkink, based in the Netherlands. The retailer confirmed that Ben purchased an MSI RTX 5090 Suprim on January 30, 2025, for 3,399 Euros. Ben provided Kitguru with images of the money being taken from the bank account and the dates to go with it. As for the email chain with Your Game Specialist, while the screenshots could be faked Kitguru writes it received the original email from the retailer customer service representative Robbe that informed Ben of the recall.
“NVIDIA has recalled a large number of video cards due to various safety issues. We currently have five units of this model in stock, but they all have to be returned due to an increased fire hazard. In this situation, we do not give priority to anyone; all customers are treated equally based on the ranking when pre-ordering or ordering the video cards,” wrote Your Game Specialist
Ben’s story was completely validated with the information he provided and the backing up by the retailer’s CEO. But what about the recall? According to the CEO, Ben’s purchase was discovered on their end of the system, but the emails weren’t. Jeroen told Kitguru that emails between Ben and the retailer customer service representative were private, and as for the comments about NVIDIA officially recalling the RTX 5090s the retailer had in stock, “it appears to be a miscommunication.“
Kitguru responded to the retailer CEO saying, “telling a customer that 5x MSI RTX5090 cards returned due to a fire hazard recall is a little more serious than a simple ’email miscommunication‘. I would agree. The severity of that claim is dire, as an official product recall due to safety concerns is truly the worst possible outcome for a product launch. Describing that as an “email miscommunication” feels like the comments are being downplayed.
So, where do we land? The retailer has officially retracted its statement about NVIDIA issuing a public recall of RTX 5090 graphics cards due to safety risks. How did this happen? Who knows, but according to Jereon, an investigation is being launched into the root cause of the “miscommunication“.
I’d be shocked if we ever heard how such an egregious statement made it onto an email chain with a customer and the motivations behind it.