Google voluntarily recalled 1.7 million Fitbit Ionic smartwatches in March due to problems from overheating batteries. A new lawsuit claims that the overheating issue isn’t unique to the Fitbit Ionic. But it’s been a known issue for some time, and it can infect all Fitbit products, past and present.
A new class action lawsuit brought by Jenny Hutchins and Samantha Ramirez, alleges that Fitbit products have a design flaw that can cause burn injuries. Houtchens bought a Fitbit Versa Light watch for her daughter, while Ramirez bought a Fitbit Versa 2 smartwatch. Both suffered from overheating issues with their devices, which resulted in the aforementioned infection.
All Fitbit products have the same defect.
The lawsuit goes further, claiming similar issues exist in other Fitbit products such as the Versa, Versa 2, Versa 3, Charge 4, Versa Light, Ionic, Sense, Alta HR, Inspire, Inspire HR, Inspire 2, and Blaze. Although it only mentions a few specific products, it does indicate that the problem may involve other models not listed. Apparently, this issue has been happening for some time but only recently came up due to Fitbit’s voluntary recall of its ionic smartwatch.
“Furthermore, Google’s “recall” of the Fitbit Ionic failed to fully compensate Ionic owners. It’s just a facade to show that the defendant is “doing the right thing,” but in reality, the summons only protects the defendant’s profits by preventing refunds using methods and techniques that make it difficult for consumers to get compensation for their defective watches.“
Within the documents provided are screenshots of the public and private conversations that took place with Fitbit’s online support channels that back up the above claims. There are also distressing photos showing burns customers have suffered due to overheating issues with their products. Many of these cases show lackluster support by the Fitbit team. In some cases, the company has claimed that the marks may be caused by allergic reactions caused by eczema and skin allergies.
Google Fitbit acquisition may be in smoke
It is not known at this point how widespread the issues mentioned in the lawsuit are. If the overheating issue is already involving the entire Fitbit product line, you may face a very serious problem in the future. Only time will tell if Google’s $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit is worth it.
source: Ars Technica
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