Fitbit has recalled 1.7millionsmartwatches after users reported burns when their batteries overheated. Anyone who bought the £225 Ionic watch with the model number FB503 should immediately stop using it and contact Fitbit to return it.
Customers will receive a full refund and a discount of 40% to purchase another Fitbit product, the company said. Fitbit received 115 reports of the battery overheating in the US, with 78 reports of burn injuries including two reports of third-degree burns and four claims of second-degree burns, reports LiverpoolEcho.
One million of the watches were sold in the USA and 700,000 were sold in the rest of the world,
There were 40 reports of burn injuries internationally. Fitbit, based in San Francisco, introduced the Ionic watches in 2017 and stopped producing them in 2020.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall.
In 2014 Fitbit voluntarily recalled its Force device after some customers developed an allergic reaction to nickel in the device’s stainless steel casing.
