Lawsuit against Fitbit alleges heating issues exist across devices, not just the Ionic

Fitbit, now owned by Google, has been in a bit of trouble for a while now. Earlier in March this year, Google announced that it was “voluntarily recalling” 1.7 million Fitbit Ionic smartwatches following reports of 78 instances where the device burned the users. But that clearly did not fix anything. A recently filed lawsuit says that Google recalling just the Ionic smartwatches is not enough and claims that these heating issues exist across the Fitbit product line. 

The court documents mention that all Fitbit smartwatches and trackers have a tendency to overheat, causing burns and/or creating fire hazards. Fitbit has also been accused of trying to blame the issues on “consumer hygiene” in cases where incidents have been reported and also that the company has not “adequately compensated Ionic owners”.  

“Reasonable consumers purchase the products to burn calories - not their skin - and to safely pursue a healthy lifestyle with the aid of a smartwatch,” the complaint against Fitbit reads and the lawsuit is “seeking class-action status”. 

As The Verge reports, the two plaintiffs in the case had bought devices from another Fitbit line - the Versa - a Versa Lite and a Versa 2. The complaint also shows photos of burns sustained by users with other Fitbit devices including the Sense, Versa 3, Blaze, Inspire, and Inspire 2; along with “multiple accounts of Fitbit owners being ‘ghosted’ by the company’s customer support”. 

The lawsuit against Fitbit alleges that while the company did recall the Ionic, it has not done so for its other devices that possibly contain the same defect and thus customers are not aware that “they are carrying a potential fire hazard”. “Specifically, the case stokes fears that customers might wear a smartwatch on a flight, not knowing that the battery may be defective,” reports state. 

The lawsuit also mentions that even though Fitbit promised “full refunds” to Ionic owners, they are “dragging its feet when it comes to issuing those refunds”. 

According to The Verge report, there are multiple complaints on Reddit and other social media platforms of users alleging that Fitbit products have burned or irritated their skins. Many of these complaints also mentioned that Fitbit has been taking months to “issue refunds or even respond”. 

The court documents also include screenshots of replies to the @FitbitSupportTwitter where “customers were frustrated with long waits and unresponsive customer service while trying to get refunds for the recently recalled Ionic”. Reports also mention that the Ionic recall process has been “slow going”. 

Also Read: Fitbit recalls over 1 million Iconic smartwatch due to potential burn hazard

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