Fitbit has introduced a voluntary recall of its Ionic Smartwatch amid greater than 170 studies that the battery has overheated, inflicting greater than 100 studies of burn accidents.
Fitbit, a U.S. health expertise firm, introduced the recall along with the U.S. Shopper Product Security Fee (CPSC) on Wednesday.
The Ionic smartwatch was first launched in 2017 and the corporate stopped producing it in 2020. When worn, the smartwatch tracks exercise, coronary heart fee, and sleep.
In line with the CPSC, a million of the watches have been offered within the U.S. whereas an extra 693,000 have been offered internationally.
The corporate has obtained 115 studies within the U.S. and 59 studies internationally of the watch's lithium-ion battery overheating, resulting in 78 studies of burn accidents within the U.S. and 40 studies of burn accidents internationally, the CPSC added.
Some burns have been significantly extreme, with 4 studies of second-degree burns and two studies of third-degree burns. Third-degree burns, by which a number of layers of pores and skin are destroyed, are essentially the most dangerous of the 2.
Massive, full thickness third-degree burns heal slowly and poorly with out medical consideration, in line with the Youngsters's Hospital of Philadelphia, although the CPSC didn't state whether or not anybody was hospitalized in its Fitbit Ionic recall announcement.
The recall is restricted to Fitbit's Ionic gadgets and doesn't affect different Fitbit merchandise.
In an announcement printed on its web site yesterday, the corporate mentioned it will supply a $299 refund to Fitbit Ionic prospects and "the well being and security of Fitbit customers is our highest precedence."
"For those who personal a Fitbit Ionic, please cease utilizing your machine," the corporate added.
Fitbit mentioned the Ionic might be recognized by way of the mannequin quantity FB503 on the again of the watch underneath the "CE" mark, whereas these with a Fitbit account can examine if an Ionic is linked to their account by clicking on the As we speak tab, then their profile image, after which the Account web page.
Extra data on the recall is on the market on Fitbit's web site right here and prospects can join a refund as a result of recall utilizing a registration web page right here.
A Fitbit spokesperson instructed Newsweek: "Buyer security is all the time Fitbit's prime precedence and out of an abundance of warning, we're conducting a voluntary recall of Fitbit Ionic smartwatches.
"We obtained a really restricted variety of damage studies—the totals within the CPSC announcement characterize lower than 0.01% of models offered—of the battery in Fitbit Ionic smartwatches overheating, posing a burn hazard. These incidents are very uncommon and this voluntary recall doesn't affect different Fitbit smartwatches or trackers."
Lithium-ion batteries are in every single place within the tech market at present and are current in cellphones, laptops, and even automobiles.
The difficulty of overheating within the batteries is well-documented, with Samsung recalling about a million Galaxy Word 7 telephones as a result of heat-related fires in 2016. Certainly, the Fitbit Ionic recall will not be the one current tech product recall as a result of points with obvious overheating lithium-ion batteries.
On February 17 this yr, the CPSC introduced that round 1,400 robotic lawnmowers made by the corporate Husqvarna had been recalled after the agency obtained 5 studies of batteries overheating, resulting in fires in two reported circumstances. No accidents have been reported.
This recall concerned the Husqvarna-branded Automower 435X AWD and Automower 535 AWD robotic lawnmowers, each of that are powered by lithium-ion batteries.
Replace, 3/4/22, 4:49 a.m. ET: This text has been up to date to incorporate an announcement from Fitbit.
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