Fitbit is recalling about 1.7 million Ionic smartwatches sold globally because the product's lithium-ion battery can overheat, posing a burn hazard, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced Wednesday.
The voluntary recall impacts 1 million devices sold in the U.S., including through retailers such as Best Buy, Kohl's, Target and online sellers Amazon and Fitbit. About 690,000 Fitbit Ionic fitness products were sold internationally.
Fitbit introduced the smartwatch in 2017 and stopped production of Ionic in 2020.
Fitbit has received at least 115 reports in the U.S. and 59 reports internationally of the battery in the watch overheating, with 78 reports of burn injuries in the U.S. including two reports of third-degree burns and four reports of second-degree burns. Fitbit also received 40 reports of burn injuries internationally, according to the CPSC.
"The health and safety of Fitbit users is our highest priority. We are taking this action out of an abundance of caution for our users. We will offer a refund to Fitbit Ionic customers," the company said in a statement.
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"Customer safety is always Fitbit’s top priority and out of an abundance of caution, we are conducting a voluntary recall of Fitbit Ionic smartwatches," a Fitbit spokesperson told Fierce Healthcare. "We received a very limited number of injury reports - the totals in the CPSC announcement represent less than 0.01% of units sold—of the battery in Fitbit Ionic smartwatches overheating, posing a burn hazard. These incidents are very rare and this voluntary recall does not impact other Fitbit smartwatches or trackers."
The commission and Fitbit advised that consumers should immediately stop using the recalled smartwatches and contact Fitbit to receive prepaid packaging to return the device.
The company said consumers will be issued a refund of $299. Fitbit will also provide participating consumers with a discount code for 40% off another device.
Fitbit is now owned by Google, which announced plans to buy the fitness tracking device company for $2.1 billion in November 2019.