Fitbit Ionic Watches Are Burning Users, Prompting A recall

Fitbit is a well known wearable device maker, and people usually go to them for a well-rounded health tracking experience. However, according to a report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the company might be in hot water. A lot of people wearing the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch have reported being burned by the watch, warranting a recall of the watch.

Fitbit needs to recall its Ionic smartwatches

Using any sort of smart device can lead to being burned. That risk is only doubled when you strap that device to your arm. From time to time, smart devices can have battery issues that cause a runaway chain reaction. As batteries age, they can become unstable after a while.

This is the case for the Fitbit Ionic smartwatches. A large number of complaints flowed into Fitbit from users who had been burned by the watch. According to the report, at least 164 reports came in from users who were burned by the watches. At least 115 of those reports were from the United States alone.

Of those who reported being burned, around 40 people reported having burn injuries. Two of the reports in the United States were third-degree burns and four were second-degree burns.

That’s definitely not a good look for the company, but Fitbit started the official recall for the Ionic watch. Those who were affected will get a prepaid package for them to send the watch back to the company. Not only that, but the affected customers will receive a $299 refund and 40% off of a future Fitbit device on top of that.

Which models were affected?

Right now, there is a shortlist of models that were affected by this. There’s Slate Blue/Burnt Orange (Ionic FB503CPBU), the Charcoal Black/Smoke Gray (Ionic FB503GYBK), the Blue Gray/Silver Gray (Ionic FB503WTGY), and the Adidas Edition with Ink Blue and Ice Gray/Silver Gray (Ionic FB503WTNV).

If you have these models, you should definitely contact Fitbit and send them back if you don’t want to risk getting burned by the watch. This watch came out in 2017, so using a 5-year-old battery only increases the risk of getting burned.

No one knows if this will result in a lawsuit against Fitbit. Situations like these typically end with a class-action lawsuit, so don’t be surprised if that happens.