According to a new class action, all Fitbit bracelets and connected watches are likely to cause burns to users.
Two months ago, Fitbit had to orchestrate a massive recall of 1.7 million Ionic watches. In question, concerns about burns on its connected watches launched in 2017. Nevertheless, the age of the models – which have not been offered by the manufacturer since December 2021 – had made it possible to circumscribe the losses of the latter.
However, Ars-Technica reported on Monday that the Ionic would not be the only Fitbit devices affected by these overheating concerns. The specialized site has indeed got its hands on a new collective action (PDF link) targeting the American manufacturer, acquired last year by Google. This complaint indicates that if “One of the affected products — the Fitbit Ionic watch — has been recalled, the same issue exists across all products” And this, ” For years “.
Many models affected
According to the complaint filed by three law firms with the Court of the Northern District of California, the worries of overheating of Fitbit watches and bracelets also concern the Versa 2, Versa, Charge 4, Versa Light, Alta HR, Inspire, Inspire HR and Blaze.
The complaint also highlights several testimonials from users who have suffered burns with the latest Fitbit watches, whether it is the Fitbit Sense or the Fitbit Versa 3. However, the complaint does not target the last two bracelets. from the manufacturer, the Fitbit Charge 5 and Fitbit Luxe.
The text also indicates that “the products are designed with a design problem that causes them to overheat and cause a significant risk of burns and fire”. To support its assertions, the class action also illustrates cases of burns using particularly eloquent photographs.
An insufficient reminder according to the complainants
In addition to these burns caused by watches and bracelets that have not been recalled by the manufacturer, the complaint also attacks the Fitbit Ionic’s recall policy:
Instead of correcting the problem, telling consumers the truth and protecting them, Google simply laid the blame on a device that had been out of sales for a long time.
The class action also indicates that several Fitbit customers could not be reimbursed by the manufacturer since they no longer had the watch with them. Fitbit is also accused of not having communicated enough about this recall to its customers or of having taken too long to reimburse those who had followed the recall.
Contacted, Fitbit declined to comment on this new class action.
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