U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission – Recall w/Health Canada
Note: On February 20, 2014, Fitbit Inc. announced a refund program for the Fitbit Force. This news release serves as the official recall announcement.
Recall Date: March 12, 2014
Recall Number: 14-129
Fitbit Recalls Force Activity-Tracking Wristband Due to Risk of Skin Irritation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.
Recall Summary
Name of Product: Wireless activity-tracking wristband
Hazard: Users can develop allergic reactions to the stainless steel casing, materials used in the strap, or adhesives used to assemble the product, resulting in redness, rashes or blistering where the skin has been in contact with the tracker.
Remedy: Refund
Consumer Contact: Fitbit, toll-free at (888) 656-6381 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET daily or online at www.fitbit.com and click on Recall/Safety Info on the right side of the page next to Terms of Use for more information. Click here to register for a refund.
Recall Details
Units: About 1,000,000 in the U.S. and about 28,000 in Canada
Description: This recall involves Fitbit ForceTM wireless activity-tracking wristbands with model numbers FB402BK, FB402BKS, FB402SL and FB402SLS. The wristband operates as a pedometer, sleep monitor and watch. It is made of plastic with a stainless steel casing and clasp and a small LED display screen. The display screen is flush with the top side of the band and a control button is on one side of the band. The wristband is about 3/4 inch wide and comes in large and small sizes and in the colors black or slate. The model number is on the back of the recalled wristband below the charging port.
Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received about 9,900 reports of the wristband causing skin irritation and about 250 reports of blistering.
Remedy: Consumers should contact Fitbit for a full refund.
Sold at: AT&T, Best Buy, Brookstone, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Radio Shack, REI, Sports Authority, Target and other stores nationwide, and online at Amazon.com and Fitbit.com from October 2013 to February 2014 for about $130.
Importer/Distributor: Fitbit Inc., of San Francisco
Manufacturer: Flextronics Sales & Marketing AP Ltd., of Port Louis, Mauritius
Manufactured in: China.
Note: Health Canada’s press release is available at http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2014/38259r-eng.php.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products – such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals – contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.
Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC’s free e-mail newsletters.
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Fitbit Force activity-tracking wristband
