Fitbit recalls over 1 million Ionic smartwatches over burn injury risk

Google-owned Fitbit has recalled more than a million of its Ionic smartwatches following reports that overheating batteries had caused burn injuries, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Wednesday (March 2).

The regulator said Fitbit had received at least 115 reports in the United States and 59 from overseas, including cases where the overheating led to third- and second-degree burns.

The total reports in the CPSC announcement represented less than 0.01 per cent of the units sold, according to Fitbit.

"These incidents are very rare and this voluntary recall does not impact other Fitbit smartwatches or trackers," the fitness tracker maker said in a statement.

Of the recalled smartwatches, about one million were sold in the United States and around 693,000 were sold internationally.

Priced at US$299 (S$405.60), the Ionic tracks activity, heart rate and sleep. Fitbit stopped production of the watch in 2020.

The watches were sold at stores operated by companies such as Kohl's and Target and online on Amazon.com and Fitbit.com from September 2017 through December 2021, the CPSC said.

The regulator has asked consumers to stop using the device and said they would receive a refund, as well as a discount offer, from Fitbit on returning the product.

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