Fitbit, a San Francisco-based smartwatch company, is recalling nearly 2 million Ionic smartwatches because of a burn hazard. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
According to the recall — which involves only the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch — the watch’s lithium-ion battery has the potential of significantly overheating, which can lead to burns.
According to authorities, Fitbit received reports of burn-related injuries from 78 people in the United States and 40 internationally. Fitbit has received at minimum 115 reports in the U.S. regarding devices that overheat. Officials said that there were 59 reports of devices heating up internationally.
This is the second recall that Fitbit has issued in the past decade. 2014The company was recalledAfter receiving over 10,000 complaints about the Fitbit Force activity tracking wristband, it was finally approved.
A spokesperson for Fitbit stated, “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,” the spokesperson continued. “These incidents are rare, and the voluntary recall does no harm to other Fitbit smartwatches nor trackers.”
The Ionic fitness products — with model numbers FB503CPBU, FB503GYBK, FB503WTGY and FB503WTNV — have been sold globally between 2017 and 2021. About 1 million of the recalled smartwatches were sold at U.S. retailers including Best Buy, Kohl’s, Target, Amazon.com, and an additional 693,000 were sold internationally, according to Fitbit.
According to the notice, after selling the watches for between $200 and $330 each, Fitbit discontinued production of Ionic in 2020, and customers are encouraged to stop using the watches and contact the company for pre-paid packaging to return their devices and receive a refund of $299.
Returning the devices will also get customers a discount code for 40% off other Fitbit devices.
Consumers looking to return their devices can call Fitbit toll-free at 888-925-1764 or contact the company online at help.fitbit.com/ionic. They can also visit www.fitbit.com and click on “You will find product help at the bottom.