Intel Identified CPU Oxidation Issue In Late-2022, Claims They Were Resolved But Supply Chain Uncertainty Still Remains

Intel has addressed the oxidation issues on its 14th Gen & 13th Gen CPUs, stating that the problem was identified two years ago but there’s still doubt.

Intel’s Newest Statement Implies That They Still Have No Idea On Whether CPU Oxidation Issue Is The Root Cause But They Did Disclose It Was Found Back In 2022

Well, Team Blue is in a total mess right now, and there’s no denying that the company’s approach to addressing the problem has made the whole situation worse. Initially, the firm had no idea what was causing the instability issue in its mainstream consumer CPUs, which eventually led to Intel categorizing it as a problem with the microcode algorithm, which was causing elevated voltages in the processor.

However, the actual issue is much deeper, with industry sources associating it with an “oxidation problem,” which we discussed previously, and fortunate enough, Intel has released a statement to provide clarity on this claim. Here is what they had to say:

The Via Oxidation issue currently reported in the press is a minor one that was addressed with manufacturing improvements and screens in early 2023.

The issue was identified in late 2022, and with the manufacturing improvements and additional screens implemented Intel was able to confirm full removal of impacted processors in our supply chain by early 2024. However, on-shelf inventory may have persisted into early 2024 as a result.

Minor manufacturing issues are an inescapable fact with all silicon products. Intel continuously works with customers to troubleshoot and remediate product failure reports and provides public communications on product issues when the customer risk exceeds Intel quality control thresholds.

– Lex H, Intel Community Manager via Reddit

Well, this makes it clear that Team Blue knew that an “oxidation issue” existed in their processors and that too for the past two years, since the problem was initially identified in late 2022, according to the statement. So, either this means that Intel decided to neglect the problem in general, or their implemented fix didn’t work out, which is why a huge portion of 14th Gen & 13th Gen CPUs are facing instability problems. Their statement, in short, means that “an oxidation issue exists, but we don’t know whether that’s the root cause.”

Intel has tried to calm down consumers by extending warranties for its affected processors, but despite this, the community outrage is still massive, and in light of this, multiple class action law firms are investigating the issue to see whether there is a possibility of a lawsuit that would prove to be the voice of consumers. Team Blue needs to act quickly, given that they are going downhill when it comes to finances, and with Arrow Lake-S release right around the corner, the firm should come up with an effective solution, whether it be a large-scale recall.