FitBit Ionic smartwatch users are warned over the overheating incidents worldwide. According to the reports, some people suffered from burns of varying degrees because of the wearable device.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission urged people to stop using it in response to the issue.
Furthermore, the CPSC also noted that the consumers should call FitBit regarding the refunds for their purchased FitBit products.
FitBit Ionic Smartwatch Recall
According to a report by Tech Crunch on Wednesday, March 2, the CPSC noted that at least 115 US-based users said that the batteries of their devices suffered from overheating.
On the other hand, their global counterparts, accounting for 59 users, also shared the same sentiment about their FitBit smartwatch.
For a combined number of 118 reports about burns, four have suffered from second-degree burns, while two people said they sustained third-degree burns.
Furthermore, the consumer regulatory agency encouraged the people to halt their usage of these so-called Ionic smartwatches.
In addition, the CPSC told them to contact Fitbit for the pre-paid packaging reception as part of the returning process of the device.
More specifically, the organization launched a special recall for Ionic devices bearing FB503 as the model number. So far, one million units of this product have been produced in the United States, while 693,000 smartwatches were distributed worldwide.
As for the refund, Fitbit will give $299 to the affected customers, not to mention that the smartwatch maker will also grant them a 40% discount when they purchase other products in the future, The Independent wrote in its report.
These wearable devices were reportedly sold from September 2017 up to December 2021. In connection to this, the production of the Ionic smartwatches had been halted in 2020.
"Customer safety is always Fitbit's top priority and out of an abundance of caution, we are conducting a voluntary recall of Fitbit Ionic smartwatches. We received a very limited number of injury reports - the totals in the CPSC announcement represent less than 0.01% of units sold - of the battery in Fitbit Ionic smartwatches overheating, posing a burn hazard. These incidents are very rare and this voluntary recall does not impact other Fitbit smartwatches or trackers," Fitbit said in a statement.
Related Article: Fitbit Unveils New Ionic Smartwatch: GPS, NFC, Heart Rate Sensor, Onboard Storage, Water Resistance, And More
Overheating Smartwatches Are Not First-Time Incidents
What happened to FitBit was not the first time in wearable technology. In 2016, Tech Times reported that Basis Peak wearables faced some complaints following several reports from users who got burned because of overheating concerns.
The firm admitted that despite their efforts to create a solution for this problem, they could not come up with a viable remedy. For that, they asked customers to return all of their smartwatches and products for a refund.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
