We’ve received a report via social media about a Fitbit band causing wrist burns, a report backed up with several other similar reports on their forum. Has anyone in the Community come across this issue?
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I wonder if it an allergic reaction to the Fitbit elastomer band, rather than a burn persay. There has been the odd report of an allergic reaction since Fitbits release.
I expect in the summer months when sweat would sit between the band and wrist, the likelihood of a reaction increases.
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Indeed that could be the case. The person making the report indicated that they have been a Fitbit user for five years without experiencing this issue. On the forum link above, there is some conjecture about the design of the FitBit Blaze in particular that the design can cause the device to discharge the battery onto the skin. Any liquid present such as sweat or lotions would no doubt increase the likelihood of a faulty discharge, but it is a fitness band so you would expect it to be safe under sweaty conditions.
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The Fitbit Blaze appears to have the charging contacts on the back of the watch…
There is a risk that of these contacts are shorted by say sweat or another liquid, it may result in a current between the two contacts (assuming that they can be shorted and don’t have some sort of protection such as a diode in the circuit between the contact and battery to prevent this occurring). If a short circuit occurred, then one would expect some potential minor burning would be possible on the skin between these two contacts (rather than more broadly where the watch and its band sit over the wrist)?
The photo looks more like a reaction (maybe even a heat rash) as a plastic/elastomer band wouldn’t conduct body heat or sweat away from behind the band. As the weather has been hotter than usual lately, this may be another plausible reason for the above wrist markings.
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When someone has suffered a reaction to the Fitbit elastomer/metal bands, Fitbit has advised in the past…
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
…
We suggest that consumers experiencing any irritation discontinue using the product and contact Fitbit at force@fitbit.com if they have additional questions.
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I had several fitbits until I switched to Apple Watch, I had a bit of a reaction to the Charge (the original, which was replaced by fitbit by an Alta because the Charge band fell to pieces) but not to any of the others I’ve had, including a Blaze.
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Another article regarding person being badly burnt by his Fitbit.
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Users and buyers of Fitbits are probably going to get more than physical burns with the buyout by Google. The data mining as expressed in the topic about the buyout on this site should also be raising alarms with the users of the devices.
One thing that may come out of the takeover is that Google may spend enough money to resolve the physical issues currently experienced, or we can at least hope they do. ACL anyone?
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