Seems some people have been getting rashes from the Fitbit Force. I love my Fitbit Force and have not been having any issues. However, lots of people are not so lucky. Th skin irritations have become so much of a problem that Fitbit is halting all sales of the Force. The recall is voluntary recall for anyone that already owns the Force. The company stopped sales of the Force after consulting with “independent labs and medical experts.”
Fitbit will refund people the full retail value of the Force should they return the device. This is a very big setback Fitbit, who had become the go to wearable health product. The Flex is still for sale but lacking the all important screen. Fitbit is hard at work on a replacement product for the Fitbit Force. We are not sure when it will come out but we are sure they will eliminate the skin-irritation issue.
Fitbit statement:
We are aware that some of our customers have reported a skin irritation from wearing their Force device. We conduct testing in order to satisfy a variety of internationally accepted standards relating to the safety of the materials in our devices. Fitbit wristbands are made of an elastomer material similar to many sports watches and do not contain latex. The Fitbit Force clasps and casing are made with a surgical-grade stainless steel, which is commonly used in watches, jewelry and other products in contact with the skin.
As with any jewelry or watch, numerous factors could cause a skin irritation, such as nickel sensitivity (surgical stainless steel is an alloy containing traces of nickel), reactions to bacteria that can accumulate in wristbands, or a sensitivity to the material of the band elastomer.
However, our customers are our top priority, so we already have been taking steps to make this right with any customers who feel that they have an allergy related to their Fitbit device including offering a refund or a choice of a replacement tracker. Fitbit will handle all shipping costs and will provide a refund in any difference in price.