Fitbit Recalling 1 Million Ionic Watches After 'Very Limited Number' of Reports of Burn Injuries

The company said they’ve received “at least” 115 reports of the Ionic smartwatch overheating, with 78 people reporting burn injuries

Fitbit Ionic Smartwatch
Fitbit Ionic. Photo: Alamy Stock Photo

Fitbit is recalling 1 million of their Ionic smartwatches after a "very limited number" of reports of burn injuries, the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said Wednesday.

The wearables company, owned by Google, said they received "at least" 115 reports from Ionic users in the U.S. and 59 from overseas that watch batteries were overheating.

In the U.S., 78 people reported burn injuries from the watches, including two reports of third-degree burns and four reports of second-degree burns. There were another 40 reports of burn injuries from international users.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Fitbit said that the recall was made "out of an abundance of caution."

"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," they said. "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."

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Anyone with Ionic watches with the model FB503CPBU, FB503GYBK, FB503WTGY or FB503WTNV "should immediately stop using" them, CPSC said. Users can contact Fitbit to receive a pre-paid mailer to send the watch back and will receive a refund of $299, along with a discount code for 40% off select Fitbit devices.

The watches, which Fitbit stopped producing in 2020, were first introduced in 2017 and tracked fitness activity, heart rate and sleep. They were sold at Best Buy, Kohl's, Target, Amazon and the Fitbit website until Dec. 2021.

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