By Alice Seeley
On Wednesday, March 2, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of the Fitbit Ionic Smartwatch. None of the company’s other devices are affected.
More than 1 million Ionic Smartwatches have been sold to consumers in the U.S., in addition to another 693,000 sold internationally. Fitbit issued this recall after receiving 174 reports of the lithium-ion battery watch overheating and causing 168 burn injuries, two reports of third-degree burns, and four reports of second-degree burns.
This recall is “out of an abundance of caution for our users,” Fitbit stated and urged those who own a Fitbit Ionic to stop using the device immediately. After returning the watch, owners will be refunded $299 and a 40% discount code.
In a statement to CNNBusiness, Andrea Holing, a spokesperson for Fitbit, confirmed the recall but reassured the public that the number of injury reports represents less than 0.01% of the Ionic Smartwatches sold.
“These incidents are very rare, and this voluntary recall does not impact other Fitbit smartwatches or trackers.” said Holing.
However, this is not Fitbit’s first recall. In 2014, the company recalled the Fitbit Force after nearly 10,000 reports of allergic reactions due to the metal used.
