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UAE: Fitbit recalls smartwatches due to burn risk, announces refunds

An AFP report said Fitbit is offering refunds of $299 each for the recalled smartwatches.

Published: Thu 3 Mar 2022, 2:07 PM

Updated: Thu 3 Mar 2022, 4:58 PM

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Fitbit is voluntarily recalling its Ionic smartwatches, due to the risk of batteries overheating.

Impacted users in the UAE have been told to stop using their device and visit the dedicated webpage to receive a refund.

An AFP report said Fitbit is offering refunds of $299 each for the recalled smartwatches. The company had stopped producing the Ionic watches in 2020.

Ionic users can dispose of their device by recycling it as they would any other electronic device or lithium ion battery. They shouldn’t be returned to stores.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a recall notice that it received slightly more than 100 reports of Ionic wearers being burned by the smartwatches.

"Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Ionic smartwatches," AFP quoted the commission as saying.

About a million Ionic smartwatches have been sold in the US and another 693,000 or so outside the country, according to the notice.

“Customer safety is always Fitbit’s top priority and out of an abundance of caution, we are voluntarily recalling Fitbit Ionic smartwatches. We received a very limited number of reports - the totals in the U.S. regulator announcement represent less than 0.01 per cent of units sold - of the battery in Fitbit Ionic smartwatches overheating, posing a burn hazard,” the company said.

It added that such incidents are “very rare” and this recall does not impact other Fitbit smartwatches or trackers.

There have been no reports of fires, the company added.

Visit here for refund.



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